Shadow and Mundane Convergence

There was a time that the Shadow and Mundane realms had completely converged and became a single universe. They remained converged for centuries before once again dividing into two separate universes. This separation occurred during the Paleolithic age. When the two universes separated, all the magic and magical creatures were pulled into the Shadow Realm. The ancient human species Homo Antecessor was pulled into the Shadow Realm as the only hominin that was inherently magical. This left Homo Sapiens, along with the other hominins, behind in the Mundane world. This is how humans came to be present in both the Shadow Realm and the Mundane Realm. This is also the reason that there is generally no magic in the Mundane Realm.   The Shadow Investigations Unit has conducted extensive genetic research on the Shadow Kind that have come through the Rifts. This research has revealed that all the humans that have come through the Rifts are direct descendants of Homo Antecessor. This has allowed them to make the connection with the species of hominin that died out during the Paleolithic age and those humans now living within the Shadow Realm. However, they have no evidence to lead them to believe that there was a full convergence of the two universes. Thus, the current theory held by the Shadow Investigation Unit is that Homo Antecessor was pulled into the Shadow Realm through a rift during the Paleolithic age.   Since the two universes have separated, they have been in close proximity to each other. There have been numerous times that the two universes come into contact. Each time the worlds converge, there is a point of over lap where it becomes possible for Rifts to form, allowing things to be pulled from one universe into the other. However, these Rifts can only form where the universes are converged at the given time. This accounts for why the Rifts have always been limited in geographical location. During the times of overlap, humans who are descendants of Homo Antecessor are on occasion pulled back through to the Mundane Realm and have become trapped there. Because of this, there are those humans within the Mundane World that have the genetic trait required for magic. These humans are the individuals that have the capacity to see past the Veil and can recognize the magical creatures for what they are.   While it is clear that the two universes have a long history of convergence, no pattern has yet been determined. Even the longer lived races do not live long enough to properly track the patterns of universes. Because of this, the Shadow Kind within the Mundane Realm have come to consider the presence of magic within the Mundane Realm in much the same fashion as weather. During the times of convergence, when magic is flowing freely into the Mundane Realm, the Shadow Kind consider this to be the Magic Monsoon. When the two universes are no longer converged and the magic is not flowing into the Mundane Realm, the Shadow Kind consider this to be the Magic Drought. Magic is still present and available in the Mundane world during the time of drought, it is just harder to come by. Many individual Shadow Kind never live long enough to see the change of these magical seasons since a convergence generally lasts centuries.