Ethereal Curtain

Ethereal curtains, also called curtains of vaporous color, were the barriers between the Deep Ethereal and the various Border Ethereal regions of the Ethereal Plane. Some scholars instead reported a single infinite curtain that separated the two regions of the Ethereal, in which case it was called the Wall of Color.  

Description

 

See!? It does look like a wall of chocolate! Xanxos likes chocolate, especially when it's dribbled over raw Elf. Are you an Elf? Hey, come back here!  

— Xanxos the slaad, showing off the ethereal curtain to the Plane of Ooze before lunch.

    Ethereal curtains appeared like enormous sheets of colored vapor, which continuously were in motion. The motion had been described as the flapping of a world-sized flag. Motes of sparkling Light flickered over their surfaces. Some who had seen ethereal curtains described them as looking something like the northern lights found on some worlds.   The curtain or curtains were only visible from the Deep Ethereal side and never from the Border Ethereal.   Anyone separated by a curtain from the Border Ethereal was completely protected from any Harm by any force or being on the other side, whether on the Border Ethereal or the bordered plane.  

Curtain Colors

The color of an ethereal curtain indicated to which Border Ethereal region it led. To those who believed in a single ethereal curtain, the curtain had separate colors in different areas, which indicated the destination. Trusting in the color of the curtain to Lead you to your desired target, however, was considered risky.   The colors of the curtains to most of the major planes are listed in the table below, along with other methods of planar travel:  

Plane	Planar Fork Material	Pitch or Chord	Color Pool	Ethereal Curtain
The Prime	Steel	C	Silver	Metallic Silver or Turquoise
The Feywild			Emerald green	Opalescent white
The Shadowfell			Spiraling black	Silver or dusky gray
Elemental Planes
Elemental Plane of Fire	Copper	A	Fire Emerald	Flickering green or red
Elemental Plane of Earth	Zinc	A	Moss granite	Flickering gray or brown
Elemental Plane of Water	Lead	A	Dark blue	Flickering blue or green
Elemental Plane of Air	Tin	A	Pale blue	Flickering white or blue
Para-Elemental Planes
Smoke	Bronze	A		Pearl
Magma	Brass	A		Maroon
Ooze	Zinc/Lead	A		Chocolate
Ice	Pewter	A		Aquamarine
Quasi-Elemental Planes
Radiance	Copper	A♯		Shifting rainbow
Mineral	Zinc	A♯		Milky pink
Steam	Lead	A♯		Ivory
Lightning	Tin	A♯		Violet
Ash	Copper	A♭		Dark gray
Dust	Zinc	A♭		Dun
Salt	Lead	A♭		Tan
Vacuum	Tin	A♭		Ebony
Energy Planes
Positive Energy Plane	None known	None known	Shining white	Shining white
Negative Energy Plane	None known	None known	Cold ebony	Glossy black
Transitive Planes
Ethereal Plane	Glass	B	Spiraling white	—
Astral Plane	Quartz	B	—	Swirling gray
Outer Planes
Outlands	Platinum	C	Leather brown	Brown
Cynosure	—	—	—	—
The Fugue	—	—	—	—
Mechanus	Silver	C	Diamond	White
Arcadia	Gold	—	—	Pale yellow
* Abellio	Gold	C♯	Saffron	Pale yellow
* Buxenus	Gold	C♯ major	—	Pale yellow
* Layer 3	Gold	C♯ minor	—	Pale yellow
Celestia	Gold	—	—	Brilliant yellow
* Lunia	Gold	D	Gold	Brilliant yellow
* Mercuria	Gold	D major	—	Brilliant yellow
* Venya	Gold	D minor	—	Brilliant yellow
* Other layers	Gold	Unknown	—	Brilliant yellow
Bytopia	Gold	—	—	Dark yellow
* Dothion	Gold	E♭	Amber	Dark yellow
* Shurrock	Gold	E♭ major	—	Dark yellow
Elysium	Gold			Dark green
* Amoria	Gold	E	Opal	Dark green
* Eronia	Gold	E major	—	Dark green
* Belierin	Gold	E minor	—	Dark green
* Thalasia	Gold	—	—	Dark green
The Beastlands	Gold	—	—	Emerald green
* Krigala	Gold	F	Emerald	Emerald green
* Brux	Gold	F major	—	Emerald green
* Karasuthra	Gold	F minor	—	Emerald green
Arborea	Gold	—	—	Bright blue
* Arvandor	Gold	F♯	Sapphire / Dark Green	Bright blue
* Aquallor	Gold	F♯ major	—	Bright blue
* Mithardir	Gold	F♯ minor	—	Bright blue
Ysgard	Gold	G	Indigo	Purple
* Muspelheim	Gold	G major	—	Purple
* Nidavellir	Gold	G minor	—	Purple
Limbo	Nickel	C	Jet	Swirling black
Pandemonium	Iron	—	—	Crimson
* Pandesmos	Iron	C♯	Magenta	Crimson
* Cocytus	Iron	C♯ major	—	Crimson
* Phlegethon	Iron	C♯ minor	—	Crimson
* Agathion	Iron	Unknown	—	Crimson
The Abyss	Iron			Swirling red
* Layer 1	Iron	D	Amethyst	Swirling red
* Other layers	Iron	Unknown	—	Swirling red
Carceri	Iron			Gray-green
* Orthrys	Iron	E♭	Olive or red	Gray-green
* Cathrys	Iron	E♭ major	—	Gray-green
* Minethys	Iron	E♭ minor	—	Gray-green
* Other layers	Iron	Unknown	—	Gray-green
Hades	Iron			Dark red
* Oinos	Iron	E	Rust	Dark red
* Niflheim	Iron	E major	—	Dark red
* Pluton	Iron	E minor	Iron gray	Dark red
Gehenna	Iron			Bright red
* Khalas	Iron	F	Russet	Bright red
* Chamada	Iron	F major	—	Bright red
* Mungoth	Iron	F minor	—	Bright red
* Krangath	Iron	Unknown	—	Bright red
The Nine Hells	Iron			Red & black
* Avernus	Iron	F♯	Ruby	Red & black
* Dis	Iron	F♯ major	—	Red & black
* Minauros	Iron	F♯ minor	—	Red & black
* Other layers	Iron	Unknown	—	Red & black
Acheron	Iron			Metallic red
* Avalas	Iron	G	Flame	Metallic red
* Thuldanin	Iron	G major	—	Metallic red
* Tintibulus	Iron	G minor	—	Metallic red
* Ocanthus	Iron	Unknown	—	Metallic red

    ↑ Glass always breaks in casting of spell. ↑ Quartz breaks about half the time in casting of spell. ↑ Precise determination of destination layer not possible. ↑ Lower layers may be reached through random chords.  

Travel

If a traveler faced an ethereal curtain, desire alone was all that was necessary to enter through the curtain and find oneself on the other side, at the border of another plane able to see into it from the Ethereal. (Strangely, something prevented anyone from reaching the Border Ethereal of the Material Plane around Krynnspace; the ethereal curtain to this part of the multiverse was somehow blocked.)     Likewise, any planar traveler desiring to leave the Border Ethereal of any plane needed only to will it, and she or he would immediately appear facing an ethereal curtain of the appropriate color. To an observer still remaining on the Border Ethereal, the traveler would appear to vanish in an enveloping, roiling mist. (An exception to this was found on the Border Ethereal of the Demiplane of Dread, from which it was impossible to enter the Deep Ethereal.) Later scholars believed that the only way to enter the Deep Ethereal from the Border Ethereal was with a Plane Shift or Gate spell.   Traveling along a curtain before entering it would allow one to appear at a point overlapping a different location on the bordered plane, but since it was not possible to see through the curtain, it was generally not possible to predict which direction of travel along the curtain would Lead to which location, nor did distances traveled in the Deep Ethereal in any way correspond to distances in the Border Ethereal. Some travelers of The Planes argued that those who were clever enough could recognize patterns in the flashing lights in the curtain to find previous sites of entry.   Traveling to another curtain or area of a curtain could feel like a journey of anywhere from 10 to 1,000 hours, though the time that had actually passed in the Material Plane would not be as long. Traveling to the place where passage through a curtain would take one exactly to the desired destination in the Border Ethereal always took longer than if someone simply had willed to reach a given border in general.   If a visitor to the Deep Ethereal was under the effects of a magic item or spell, such as Etherealness, and the duration of the magic wore off, the traveler would immediately be forced through the nearest ethereal curtain and would materialize on the corresponding plane of existence.