Portal of Siéhl
They tried to lead me through it, but as they shimmered out and disappeared along the path, I was left swimming at the bottom of the sea, miles from land, with only my air magic for company.The Portal of Siéhl is a magical construction located on the floor of the Amara Ocean, off the eastern coast of Thurásin. Less of a gateway and more of a guided path, this was the first portal to connect the worlds of Tiyu Amara to the Merfolk homeworld of Tiyu Shòbá, though to date only merfolk have been able to make use of it consistently.
Design
Unlike the portals designed by the elves in Abravost, the Portal of Siéhl is not an iron gateway built into the seafloor. Instead, it is a carefully curated pathway dug into the sand and reverently maintained. At seemingly-random points along the edge of this pathway are various Magic Catalysts, which glow brightly as people pass between them. At the end of the pathway is a rough archway/tunnel made of glass, embedded with more catalysts and etched with various patterns and symbols. The tunnel has a back wall made of thick glass, which has been repaired and reinforced many times, and decorated with bright corals on the outside to prevent fish and merfolk colliding with it. According to the merfolk who have used the portal, a very similar construction exists in Tiyu Shòbá, allowing the two to form a single 'tunnel' through the Planar Sea.History
The Wulsed'ok merfolk living in Tiyu Shòbá were completely isolated from the chaos of two massive events that impacted Tiyu Amara - The Collision, and The Separation. However, the effects of these events rippled out across the Planar Sea and were eventually noticed by the merfolk. In an effort to learn about what had happened, they sought to find a means of transiting the Planar Sea, taking advantage of their proficiency with necromancy to enlist the aid of departed souls who could move through that space freely. Over the course of some 30 years, a path was charted between Tiyu Shòbá and Tiyu Amara by the dead, and tentative steps were made by the living to follow. Their experiments culminated in the construction of the Portal of Siéhl, named for one of the elders encouraging the project, which successfully shot a handful of merfolk through to the other world. However, no such structure existed in the seafloor of Tiyu Amara, making returning far more difficult. Eventually, a duplicate of the portal was created, allowing for an ease of travel unrivalled by any other transit method. The Amaran side of the Portal of Siéhl has seen multiple stages of improvement and repair, aimed at increasing its efficiency and reliability for travel. Lessons learned from Siéhl have been used to construct a small handful of other portals which litter the seafloor off the east coast of Thurásin, and lessons from these later portals have flowed back to Siéhl.
The Planar Sea by Mariamichelle, Free-Photos
Planar Drowning
While the merfolk are adept at using the Portal of Siéhl and other similar structures, no human or elf has successfully replicated their methods. This has not been for a lack of trying, with efforts taking place to either construct land-based versions of the portal or to master air magic to go underwater to Siéhl both tried. While the former has usually resulted in only minor magical accidents, the latter has turned tragic many times. Mages have been left unfortunately stranded inside the glass tunnel without the strength to resurface, only sometimes being rescued by later travellers or their guides returning in a panic. Others have been able to replicate some of the portals abilities of teleportation, but not all, leaving them to be rent asunder by the powerful forces of the Planar Sea.
Underwater by Free-Photos
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