Dimensional Elements

Side by Side

Within the Megaverse there are many different dimensions. In these dimensions there are countless possibilities and other universes. Each dimension is like a sheet of paper, and on the surface of the page is the universe. Place a second sheet of paper on top of the first, and we have a whole new universe just as large and expansive. However, stop and look at the two sheets of paper from the side. The two sheets are so thin that they're practically one sheet. All dimensions layer on top of each like another sheet of paper, but remain as thin as those two sheets.

This is how creatures such as dragon and spirits of light see the Megaverse. Dimensional teleportation is as simple as passing from one sheet of paper to the next; knowing how to do so is the hard part. For some races this is natural and known from birth, while others such as shifters spend a good portion of their lives to learn what a dragon knows from the moment it hatches. Now when most people hear the word teleportation they think of being able to move from any one space to another in the same universe. They naturally figure that dimensional teleportation allows them to travel from a spot in one dimension to any spot in the other dimension.

This is simply not true. Dimensional teleportation moves a character from one dimension to the same spot in another dimension. So if a character on Earth is in the middle of the ocean and teleports to another dimension with Earth, they will find themselves in the middle of an ocean as well. If they don't have a boat, then they better know how to swim.  While every dimension is not set up the same and it may be possible to teleport from the middle of an ocean onto dry land, this does mean that a character cannot use dimensional teleport twice (or once) to end up in a different spot in the same dimension.

Now a rift is a dimensional tear in space. Using the analogy of two sheets of paper again, a rift is a tear in the paper that lets one world flow into the next. Even though the tear closes, the fabric of the dimensional wall remains weakened. This damage is a natural occurrence and happens to all worlds to some degree, with the damage slowly healing over a long period of time. The real danger comes when too many tears are ripped in the dimensional wall before it has time to heal. Like a sheet of paper with too many tears and holes, the dimension becomes too fragile and breaks.

Over and Under

In the history of the Megaverse, there are only four dimensions with enough rift activity worth noting. One of these four dimensions is the home of Spirits of Light, but that will be described in more detail later. The first dimension discussed here is the Palladium World. During the Age of Chaos the Old Ones reigned supreme. Legends tell that they knew every form of magic, and created countless others. Ley line activity on the Palladium World was at an all time high, higher than anywhere or any time in the history of the Megaverse. This power was held in check by the Old Ones. Then came the Great Battle, and everything changed.

During the war both sides travelled dimensions looking for allies and new magic to use in their battle, then allies rifting in or out of battle and others being summoned forth. All these passages through the dimensional wall weakened the fabric which barely held together, largely due to the efforts of the Old Ones. The three legendary heroes put the Old Ones in their sleep, and as the Old Ones slumbered so too did their control. In that moment the ley line activity raged out of control and an endless wave of rifts formed across the world, and the dimension was torn asunder.

Whether a second or eons passed not even the gods know, but the Palladium World finally reformed and recovered from the tragedy. Ley Line activity waned, now at a fraction of the power they possessed prior. With the chaos of the war and the devastation of the dimension after, it's unclear how many races perished in the war and how many may have been lost in the abyss from the dimensional break. Even though reformed and on the road to recovery, the world was not the same.

When a dimension is ripped apart like that a second dimension is formed. These two dimensions become intertwined, with the second often a reflection or a twisted distorted version of the original. Some call this a shadow or mirror dimension. If a dimension is like a sheet a paper then this second dimension is like a bad trace job on the back of the paper; some of the detail may be lost but it's still the same fundamental shape.

A rift opening in one dimension will also open a rift in the second dimension, though these two rifts do not necessarily go to the same location. Punch a hole in a sheet of paper and hold it up. Without moving the sheet of paper, look through the hole from one side. Then look at it from the other side. While the hole is in the same place, the view from each side is different. If an area in one dimension is destroyed, then the same area in the shadow dimension will also be destroyed. The reason may be different, but the end result is always the same. No matter how one may try, these two dimensions are forever linked.

In the case of the Palladium World, this shadow dimension is Hades. This is the reason that Hades resembles the Palladium World so closely, and demons are believed to be twisted versions of the Palladium World inhabitants. Because of this close connection, a demon can die on the Palladium World the same as in Hades. Even though the two dimensions are separate, they are also the same. This close connection is also the reason why demons have such a strong history and mythology in the Palladium World.

The next dimension of note is modern day Earth and its shadow dimension, the Nightlands. Earth and the Nightlands share this same connection resulting in creations such as Dopplegangers. With the two worlds being a mirror of the each other, mirrors are the perfect gateway to travel between each other. Since both are shadow worlds, some suspect that Hades and the Nightlands also share a connection, and this is why there are demons in the Nightlands.

Perhaps the most interesting about Earth and the Nightlands is that no one knows quite what happened in Earth's history to cause this shadow dimension to form, but Earth and the Nightlands appear to be (mostly) cut off from other dimensions and is another mystery. This could be a result of what caused the break, or a side effect of the shadow dimension forming.

That brings us to the final dimension, Rifts Earth. While the dimensional wall of Rifts Earth has yet to break, it is on the verge. With the Great Cataclysm came rifts opening up across the world that severely weakened the dimensional wall. During the Dark Age that followed, as the world fought for its survival, the wall began to heal. Everyone focused on survival and what was there, little else. But as the world started to settle the ebb in dimensional travel spiked again.

The world is a hotbed of dimensional activity. Shifters, dragons, the Splugorth, and several other races open dimensional portals on a consistent basis. Demons, who had previously been content to have the run of the land alone, now see the growing threat of humans and feel the need to summon allies. Forces of light see the increased demon activity and arrive to battle them. The increased ley line activity continues to cause new random rifts to open up. With all this dimensional activity the wall is weaker than ever, and should the wall break this may be the largest destruction yet.

When the Palladium World broke its dimensional wall, it was the largest in the history of the Megaverse. All those rifts opening at once tore it apart in one sudden moment. Though catastrophic, the tears were crisp and clean making the reformation natural. In the case of Rifts Earth the tears are so small and consistent that the wall has become brittle with jagged rips. When it breaks the universe may never reform at all. If it does, it may reform more twisted and distorted than any shadow dimension.

Sunny Side Up

Outside of the stack of dimensions that make up the Megaverse there are elemental planes. These planes are much harder to reach, even for experienced dimensional travelers, and random rifts don't tend to open here. While these elemental planes are different than a typical dimension, they do still follow some of the same rules. This includes the dangers of breaking down the planar (or dimensional) walls. While on an elemental plane this is much harder, it is not impossible.

During the Age of Chaos, while the forces of light battled against the Old Ones, both sides tapped into the elemental plane to aid in their war. Each time this plane was tapped, so too did they start to wear down the planar wall. Both sides tapped the elemental plane too greedily, and over the long stretch of the war finally broke down the elemental plane until it crashed. During this time it is said that fires spread across seas, earth ripped up from the ground and rose into the sky, the sky burned, the ground turned to liquid, and everything that had come to be known about fire, earth, water, and air was undone.

These odd phenomenon didn't just occur in the Palladium World, but spread across the entire Megaverse. When the planar walls healed the phenomenon calmed across dimensions as well, but there are still traces of these strange events such as the fire sand in the Yin-Sloth Jungles, quicksand on various worlds, and there are even said to be islands of floating earth still out there.

The break in the elemental plane is why Elementals only chose a very small number of people to call "little brother" and share their Elemental Magic. Never again do the Elementals want their home ripped apart, especially not for concepts they can't understand such as war. This is also why warlocks and Elementals hunt down those who convert spells from Elemental Magic and try to destroy that knowledge. Warlocks may not understand the full reasons, but they know that it's important to their Elemental brethren. If too many others learn this type of magic, it may once again threaten the planar wall.

Like with any normal dimension, when the elemental plane broke down the plane healed in time and reformed. When it did a type of shadow dimension also formed, though the natives do not like to use the term "shadow." Opposite of the elemental plane is a dimension referred to as the Plane of Light. This is the home of the Spirits of Light. When the Plane of Light and the Spirits of Light came into existence, their first act was to tear open the planar wall so wide that every last Spirit of Light poured through the opening and into the Palladium World to wage war with the Old Ones and their minions. Upon seeing them the Old Ones spate their name among a litany of curses, for they knew they helped to create this new foe. (See Dragons & Gods, page 76 for more details on the arrival of the Spirits of Light into the war with the Old Ones).

The close connection between the elemental plane and Plane of Light is the reason why all Spirits of Light also possess elemental powers as part of their nature. Even if they are part of another dimension, the two are connected and Spirits of Light possess a strong connection to the elemental plane. The odd part about the Plane of Light is that, according to the Spirits of Light, they are not the shadowy underside of the elemental plane, but for whatever reason the Plane of Light is the one on top with the elemental plane resting beneath it.

From the point of view of Spirits of Light all the dimensions from the Megaverse are on one level, the shadow dimensions being below them, the elemental plane above both, and the Plane of Light above that. This is why in many theologies Spirits of Lights (often called angels) are believed to come from the sky and heavens, above everyone, while demons (from a shadow dimension) are said to lurk below.