Rifts

This document has been contributed by: Morrigan Anivèr

Rifts are a collective term for a tear in the fabric separating two planes of existence. They can only form between planes that are cosmologically close to one another; the Celestial Plane and the Nine Hells do not touch, so there are no rifts connecting them directly. The plane with the highest amount of rifts to other planes is the Astral Plane, the plane of magic and the source of the Weave - which, in and of itself, is a collection of rifts between the Astral and Material Planes. While most rifts are two-way gates between planes, some are one-way connections, connecting one plane to another but not the other way around. Research into rifts, while dangerous, has advanced many academic fields of magical study greatly.

How they Form

A rift is formed when parts of two planes of existence are pulled into the same space. This can be done via a skilled Mage, but more often occurs naturally. As the planes themselves are constantly moving and shifting, it is inevitable for the edges of the planes to bump into one another, wherever those edges happen to be. After a rift is formed, it is likely to migrate to different parts of the planes it connects - a process that takes centuries.

How they Close

While it is possible to close a planar rift, this process is incredibly difficult and energy-intensive. Of course, the amount of effort needed to close a rift depends on the size of the rift, the planes it connects, and the magic (if any) used to open it in the first place. The process requires the harnessing of planar energy, rather than arcane energy - which is much harder to source, especially for mortals. As such, it is much more likely and common for a deity to close a rift than for a mortal to do the same. However, there are still some mortals who have managed to complete such a feat.

Type

Metaphysical

The Nature of a Rift

How a rift manifests is different depending on the planes that it connects. Since the Material Plane is the base framework for many planes of existence, rifts in it cause characteristics of the other plane to bleed into the Prime Material. Rifts between the elemental planes manifest as transitional planes in their own right.

Practical Use of Rifts

Rifts are useful for a number of applications, the most obvious of which being transportation; most planar transportation occurs through the Astral Sea, but where Rifts are present, this transportation can instead be direct. There are a few other applications as well, which may be less obvious. The first of these is to empower or modify one's magic. This is traditionally thought of as a capability within the scope of True Magic, though the harnessing of planar energy allows one to circumvent this additional use of magical energy. Furthermore, planar magic is strong enough on its own that, for those able to harness it, it is an incredibly powerful tool. However, harnessing raw planar energy can also be incredibly dangerous. Colliding energy from two different planes has a tendency to be highly unstable, and can cause damage to the harnesser. Safely harnessing planar magic via rift energy is a practised skill that can take years to learn, and is a highly respected ability to have.

Rift Instability

Planar rifts can vary greatly in their level of stability. Typically, rifts between planes that are closer together are more stable, and the further apart the involved planes are, the less stable the rifts between them tend to be. Larger rifts are also much more likely to be unstable than smaller ones. An unstable rift can be characterised by constant and rapid shifting in size, a deeper influence of each plane on the other, and immense amounts of planar magic eminating from them. Such rifts will even cause arcane magic to go haywire when within their vicinity - it is generally advised against to perform strong magic in the presence of an unstable rift.

Rift Storms

When a planar rift is particularly unstable, it can cause what is known as a rift storm, also sometimes referred to as a planar storm. Formerly, such events were coloqually referred to as "Myldala's Wrath" - though we now know that Myldala herself has nothing to do with these occurances. Rather, they are formed when an open rift becomes so unstable that it begins effecting the area around it on such a large scale that geographic events begin to occur in these regions. On the material plane, this can manifest as earthquakes or hurricanes, while other planes may have differing effects.