Portals, Gates & Hidden Paths
The Thresholds Between Realms
A Treatise by the Arcane Citadel
Not all journeys require roads or rivers. Some require a key and the right door. The cosmos is veined with hidden gateways, each one a threshold to another world. Some stand eternal, awaiting those who prove themselves worthy, while others flicker in and out of existence, appearing only when the stars align or the right words are spoken.
These portals are neither mere passageways nor simple openings in space. Each one is a test, a contract, or a secret—a doorway between realms that demands knowledge, cunning, or divine favor. Many have spent lifetimes seeking them, while others stumble upon them by accident and are never seen again.
The following are among the most powerful and elusive gateways in the known multiverse.
9. Sigil’s Infinite Portals
"No path is closed in Sigil—only hidden until the key is found."
Nature & Structure
At the heart of all realities stands Sigil, the City of Doors, an impossible metropolis hanging above the Spire in the Outlands. It is a city where every doorway, alleyway, or arch may be a portal to another plane—but only for those who know how to unlock them.
- Every door may lead somewhere else, but no traveler may pass through without the correct key.
- These keys may be objects, words, memories, or even emotions, unique to each portal.
- The portals shift, close, and open at the will of the Lady of Pain, the city’s enigmatic ruler.
Traversing Sigil’s Portals
- Those who learn the city’s secrets can travel anywhere in existence simply by finding the right door.
- Some doorways require specific gestures, others need incantations, and some demand a debt paid in blood or sacrifice.
- There are rumors of portals that lead to lost or forbidden realms, but none who have taken them have returned to confirm their existence.
Sigil is a city of infinite paths, but it is also a labyrinth without a map. Many have entered its streets, but not all have found their way out.
10. The Forgotten Gates
"They were not built to open easily—only for those who deserve to pass."
Nature & Structure
The Forgotten Gates are ancient doorways, hidden in the fabric of the world itself, existing long before mortals first learned to shape stone or bend magic. They are found in ruins, buried beneath mountains, or standing alone in the middle of desolate landscapes. Some are so old that even the gods do not remember their creators.
- The gates are often sealed with inscriptions written in dead languages, their meanings lost to time.
- Some are walled off, half-buried, or disguised as mere archways, waiting for one who knows their secret.
- They are not bound to one plane—some lead to distant worlds, others to forgotten ages of time.
Traversing the Forgotten Gates
- To open a Forgotten Gate, one must speak the right words, fulfill an ancient deed, or present an offering of great significance.
- Some gates require an event to occur, such as a solar eclipse, a blood sacrifice, or the return of a long-dead soul.
- There are those who dedicate their lives to finding these gates, believing they hold the keys to lost gods, forbidden knowledge, or paths to realms unseen since the dawn of time.
Many who seek these gates perish before they ever find them. For those who succeed, however, the passage they unlock is rarely one they expect.
11. The Paths of the Djinn
"The wind does not travel as mortals do—why should those who command it?"
Nature & Structure
The Paths of the Djinn are invisible roads woven into the currents of the wind and sand, known only to those who can walk between moments. These paths allow those who follow them to move across vast distances in the blink of an eye, bending time and space as easily as a desert storm shifts the dunes.
- The Djinn travel these paths at will, vanishing from sight one moment and appearing leagues away the next.
- The roads are not physical, but woven from elemental energy, existing beyond mortal perception.
- It is said that the paths existed before the world was shaped, remnants of an age when the wind itself was alive.
Traversing the Paths of the Djinn
- Only those who have the blessing of the Djinn or who wield artifacts imbued with elemental power may perceive the roads.
- The paths are not stable, shifting with the weather, the stars, and the will of the Djinn Lords.
- Those who step upon them without understanding risk being carried away to realms unknown, lost in the flow of the eternal winds.
There are whispered stories of mortals who have stolen the secrets of the Djinn, learning to walk the paths without their permission. None of these stories end well.
12. The Veil Between Worlds
"The walls between realms are thinner than they appear."
Nature & Structure
The Veil Between Worlds is the unseen barrier separating the Material Plane from the realms of spirits, fae, and shadows. Unlike fixed gates or constructed portals, this veil is a living force, shifting and thinning in places where magic, emotion, or fate is strongest.
- In ancient forests, the veil flickers, allowing travelers to step into the Feywild without realizing it.
- At the edges of battlefields and graveyards, the veil weakens, letting the dead whisper to the living.
- Some say the veil has seams and cracks, where one world bleeds into another, creating places that exist in two realms at once.
Traversing the Veil
- Some are born with the sight, able to see the hidden doorways where the veil is thin.
- Others may use rituals, lunar alignments, or rare artifacts to force the veil open for a short time.
- Certain places, such as ancient standing stones, enchanted lakes, or ruined temples, are naturally attuned to the veil, making passage easier.
Though the veil is thin in places, it is not always meant to be crossed. Those who step beyond its boundaries may find themselves trapped, their time in the mortal world slipping away.
