The Archway

"This place is like a fly trap for humans. You smell the sweet honey it offers, wander into the wide-open entrance just to get a taste, and when you find yourself stuck, drowning, you turn, only to find that the exit is not so easy."

Purpose / Function

The Arch acts as a doorway between the human world and the Wildes. From within its branches it releases pale yellow, glowing butterflies known as the Lure. The Lure spreads out from the Arch when it senses a human that longs for an escape or is lost nearby. Upon spotting the Lure, a human will become entirely entranced with it, and it will lead the human back to the Archway, disappearing in the tunnel. At this point, the urge to enter the tunnel is irresistable. The Wildes calls for the human's soul, tugging on every string they have until they find themselves wandering between the walls of tightly woven tree trunks, under an arch of tangled branches. When they reach the other side, the Lure is gone, and there is only forest where they came from. It is a one-way ticket.

Architecture

The outer architecture of the Archway always changes depending on where it is appearing. It always appears as a man-made archway of some sort, usually deep in a forest and well out of the way of any signs of other man-made structures. The inside is always the same, no matter where it is. Thin, white trees grow with entangled trunks, creating a tunnel with their branches reaching overhead, blocking off any sort of light that could come through. The tunnel's length changes depending on the visitor's connections to the human world and how strong they are; the more connected they are, the longer the tunnel is. Looking back will show nothing but a foggy darkness, even if one has just entered the tunnel. The tunnel disappears entirely once the visitor has entered the Wildes.

Alternative Names

The Gate, Entry

Type

Architectural Element, Entrance / Entryway