Shadow Dimension

The shadow dimension is an eclectic parallel dimension to the main world of the eighth realm, formed over thousands of years through the slow fusion of devil-made pocket realms with the corrupted lands of the former Salazuir. Beyond the borders of what was articicially created or transferred there by magic the shadow dimension is unstable and far more dangerous, for it is constantly shifting in and out of existance. Even well-traveled links between one part of the dimension and another may suddenly collapse, making all within vanish. The shadow dimension is often beset by great storms of negative magic which can cause intense localized magical radiation, although most denizens keep their cities and lands warded as best they can from such disasters.

In most of the Shadow Dimension, distance is arbitrary, and, in theory, portals that connect to Telgren can be very close to those leading into Cet'aenn. The only rule followed by distance is that no one part of the shadow dimension connects to two or more mortal locations, because when the shadow dimension was first created it was a series of entirely disconnected pocket realms which each had their entrance in one place and one place only. Because of the difficulty in actually breaching the plane border from the outside, very few new hotspots of the dimension are actually made, and most of them that are are made in places where the border is already thin thanks to the influence of devils on the mortal plane, such as Cet'aenn. The exception to this rule is the Blightshade Enclave, only recently achieved.

The Shadow Dimension can therefore be understoof as a vast archipelago within a sea of nothingess. Over time, through expansion of various paths in the Shadow Dimension, safe passge has been made between the original pockets, ensuring that people and armies can move through without suddenly being wrenched from exsistence. Most of these original pocket dimensions are also tightly connected to smaller, branching 'islands' which at one point or another were a certain devil power's fortress, but which have now become a part of the main pocket. However, there remain some areas where these paths are much smaller, and there are tens of Devils lords holding their own pocket of lands disconnected from the rest of their kind- a great advantage in military strategy. Only the most powerful factions have the ability to make these small pockets, and from them they can link to multiple other regions at will, allowing a projection of power. However, many of these factions have been brought to heel by the The Hierarchy, a major devil organization which seeks to control all devils and wage mass war on mortals, hence many of these former 'islands' now being connected to the 'mainlands'.

Each of the Shadow Dimension hotspots is tethered to a specific point in the Shadow Dimension, which is the original pocket dimension. These hotspots are usually a few acres in size, and devils and demons can freely move between the tether point on the mortal plane and this region. However, moving deeper into the shadow dimension or onto the 'islands', this connection becomes very difficult. With enough power, one can force themselves through the border between the two realms and into the mortal plane, but to move large numbers of troops in between the two, devils need to either amass a great amount of power or move closer to the fray in the border between the realms. This makes control of the hotspot very critical to actually dominating the mortal plane, though isolated attacks can be conducted without this requirement.

The Shadow Dimension connects to the mortal plan in the following areas:

• The Cursed Forest of Telgren, where their entrance is warded off by the Egrivalad.
• The Cursed Zone, where devils broke through into the Kingdom of Ilmoric and later assumed control over the whole region.
• The Blightshade Enclave, a small breakthrough where the eponymous Blightshade is managed by devil-servant trolls.
• The Island of the Dark Elementia, where a whole subspecies has been corrupted and turned to the devils' machinations
• The Devoid Lands of Voltheim, where nothing grows, not even the icy flora found elsewhere on the continent. Once the site of a great battle between devils and dragons.
• The Black Spot, the only portal which was not made by the devils; created as a side effect of very dark magic used by the ancient Chitis.
• The Emberwood, a magical forest on Yyradayn that is the heart of the Cult of Sanomudra.
• The Shadowlands of southeast Cet'aenn, a region so riddled with portals and corrupted with dark magic that it can be difficult to tell if one is in the mortal plane or shadow dimension.
• The Hymar Rift, a small but active breach which is combated by religious orders in Hymar.