Rifts

A rift is a fancy word for a portal between Earth and the Otherworld. Once created, they are basically permanent doorways that allow curses and humans to cross between worlds. When rifts were first discovered, humans would fall into them all the time and get lost in the Otherworld because they can't find the way back out. That's what I heard, anyway. I'm not that old. But this doesn't happen much anymore. All known rifts in Nova City are mapped out, and mostly we avoid them. There are dozens in Nova City, and thousands across the rest of the world.

Surges

When a new rift is created, it's referred to as a "curse surge," or if you want to sound cool, just a "surge." Gravity gets weird and distorted within the new rift's location, and nearby structures, animals, or humans can get dragged into it or crushed. Tons of curses can also emerge as soon as the new rift appears. Any curses within several yards of a rift can stay in their physical form, and like to attack nearby people. The last surge in Nova City happened 5 years ago. Some say that surges and rifts are created by one super powerful curse, but nobody knows for sure. This supposedly powerful curse is also missing.

Manifestation

Rifts appear in round or elliptical shapes as swirling, spiral formations of red and violet energy. Gravity is distorted around them, and debris from nearby structures can be caught floating in its range. It actually looks pretty cool, like modern art.

Gravity	0.95x - 1.05x Normal
Color	Red-Violet
Size	15'-35' w x 10'-20' h

Entering the Rift

Walking or falling into a rift is a bizarre and unpleasant experience, as if entering a hall of mirrors that slowly shatter while your body is crushed and expanded by gravity, until it abruptly stops, and you find yourself on the other side. I do not recommend unless you're into that sort of thing.

by Dream.ai

Type

Metaphysical, Supernatural