Sojourner Webway

The Sojourner Webway was a network of portals created and used during the Age of Magic, primarily by the elves, to transport, trade, and travel over vast distances between their major settlements. This was developed further by the star elves during the same age into a portal not just to other places on the material plane, but a demiplane with connections to several locations including other planes of existence and - if it is to be believed - other worlds entirely.
This arcane technology died during the Shattering which resulted in the decimation of the Eldar civilization, the destruction of much of the knowledge they kept, and the disappearance of most star elves. Recent attempts to recreate or study the few remnants of these gates have been met with mixed results.

Utility

In many cases, several gates were placed within a city at a common transport area and each led to a different location. The star elves went one step further with this concept however, creating a demiplane which would act like a hub for many paths to both elven cities and places within the planes such as the city of Alloy in Aag and the Court of Stars in Faerie. The later design was much more guarded however due to the threat of interplanar invasion.
In the case of many of theses gates a steward was placed to oversee their maintenance and use. These stewards, star elves all, held "keys" that would be used in times of war or danger to close pathways along the webway or reopen them.

Manufacturing

The means of creation of these gates has been lost even to the elves who made them, and few remain to study. Some amount of technology was fused with a great deal of magic to allow a persistent portal.

Social Impact

During the Age of Magic, the webway made it possible to travel between the flying and terrestrial cities of the elves instantly and with as much ease as walking across a bridge. They were necessary in trade and transport of supplies, people, and military forces, though the star elves who remain refute the latter and claim that their portals were not allowed to be used for military movement as they believed in peaceful relations between their fellow elven kingdoms.

Inventor(s)

The star elves were the first to perfect the magic behind transposition and transportation. The true inventor's name has been lost with much of the knowledge forgotten following the Shattering.

Access & Availability

During the Age of Magic, sojourner gates could be found in any major settlement, especially among the flying cities.
Since the fall of the Eldar empire, the gates have become defunct, the disruption of magic disabling them. However, in recent years researchers and arcanists have located a few of these gates and have worked toward reactivating them with mixed results. By any means, they have not become available for public use if anyone has found a way to reawaken their magic.

Related Species

• Elf and Elfkin