Arcane Gates appeared right after Crossing’s Fall. They changed the world and how we scurry over it. But make no mistake, those portals are a harbinger of just how dangerous the world has gotten. Even if the Gates are a necessary evil.
- Captain Elias Driftwood, Captain of the Mystic Seas
Once the Rainbow Bridge collapsed, or so the story is told, the shattered remains of Otherworld crashed to Earth. This caused all manner of catastrophes, disasters, and changes. But the one that stand out most are the Arcane Gates.
These gates, either natural or temporary, are glowing sentinels to how much the world was changed. Arcane Gates are portals of raw magical power that stand silent watch in the Earth’s oceans and seas. Menacing, glowing portals that towered over the tallest ship’s mast by 100 or even 200 feet or more.
Once visible, they often appear as magnificent arches with frames of ever-shifting glowing knotwork, mystic amber symbols, and ethereal images from myth and legends. In the center flows a cobalt-blue, water-like power, as turbulent as the ocean. A mystic energy flowing and undulating within the archway, while fog billows up and out where the entire mystical structure touches water.
No one understands why they only appear in oceans and seas. But one thing quickly became clear, a ship can use one to travel from one side of the world to the other, or to Otherworld remnants, in a second. Arcane Gates changed the nature of travel, trade, and naval power forever.
About the Gates
Some Arcane Gates are natural. Mysterious structures that appeared immediately after the Crossing’s Fall disaster. As best as the most skilled Navigator or Wavebinder understand, these are a direct manifestation of the Etherwave Arcana itself.
These Arcane Gates sit in certain locations on both Earth and the shattered remains of Otherworld. Places where the veil between Earth, Otherworld, and the Etherwave Arcana is at its thinnest. But, for unknown reasons, these nexuses of power are only in the ocean, even if offshore from a mainland or island.
The gates resonate strongly in the Arcana. They are felt by anyone who can Channel the mystic powers from miles away. It isn’t a direction as accurate as a compass, but a strong feeling. A compulsion drawing a person attuned to the Etherwave Arcana to these natural magical knots.
Once a ship sails close, such as a cannon shot away, the gate appears in a flash of emerald lightning. Power boilings along their edges waiting to be used. But, while Wavebinders can sense the Gates, the raw chaos mixed with the forces of nature, it eludes their control. Only a skilled Navigator has the mind and arcane skill to plot a course through them that allows a ship to wind up where it should be on the other side. Many a ship with her crew have been thrown against rocks, shattered against the side of a Gate itself, or vanished forever, without the help of a trained Navigator.
Most wonder why, since it should be a matter of sailing straight through. Which would be simple enough, but sailing through a gate isn’t a matter of setting a course ahead. The power in between the magical arches is as thick as the most blinding fog. Sailing through a gate is a matter of resolve. Seeing where you want to go, since sailing through an Arcane Gate, is also sailing through the Etherwave Arcana itself.
To Harness Chaos
Casting a gate isn’t like dusting crops or lighting candles with the Arcana. It takes a bit of skill and willpower. It’s a bit like trying to lasso a hurricane.
- Lyrandar Starwhisper, Navigator of the Sea Path
But not all Arcane Gates are gifts of nature and the Arcana. Many are temporary creations of Navigators. The only profession that is capable of harnessing the wild combination of primal nature and the Etherwave Arcana to manifest these archways for their vessel. Wavebinders find the chaotic energy of the gate creation beyond their reach. Even Elementalists, with their deep connection to Nature herself, find it impossible to manage. Those that try often come to a bad end. A few wind up with Scars, such as Cursed or Haunted. Most vanish with a scream into the Etherwave Arcana in a burning flash of light, lost forever.
Navigators, on the other hand, learn to use their innate sense of the sea to read the combination of ocean power, nature, and the Etherwave Arcana. They hear that siren’s song it makes, then Channel that into being. But, like any attempt to Channel the Etherwave Arcana, an equivalent exchange of material for energy must be paid. Which is where a ship’s portal platform comes in.
These platforms are marvels of engineering and arcane craftsmanship. Earliest known platforms were an invention by grimling cultures over a thousand generations ago. Since Crossing’s Fall, it took human craftsfolk no time to alter, adjust, and at times improve the designs. They aren’t found on all ships, as they take time to make, but many have some sort of portal platform for a Navigator to use.
Ship portal platforms are crafted from a rare blend of metals and materials that are then imbued with arcane properties. Engravings of flowing water, clouds and more line the raised edge. These are more than just decoration but grooves used by the Etherwave Arcana when it’s Channeled by a Navigator. As a Navigator draws on the Arcana and creates a gate, the cost is paid by the platform itself. Over time, the once polished platform loses its luster and the engravings become worn down. Once cracks appear or the engravings have almost worn away, the platform will be useless.
Creation of these platforms is a well-guarded secret, known only to a select few skilled Engineers and Navigators. Spreading this secret draws down bounties, if not a death sentence, as the creation of the platforms is as dangerous as Channeling the Arcana to assemble a temporary Arcane Gate. Also, no two portal platforms are alike. The engravings, alloys and more reflect the personality and style of the creator, if not the ship the platform rests on.
Gate Casting
Thank you for this inspiring article.
You're very welcome! :D