Noted Locations

[The Narrator]

Notable Locations
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Unless otherwise noted, all information regarding discovered locations follows. These entries can and will change with time.

- Earth (2056) | The Endless Void -​

 

[The Narrator]

Earth (2056)
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Earth is but one of many planets, residing in one of many galaxies, in one of many planes, and yet the small sphere of blue and green calls to more than one race that exists beyond. Some claim its the eclectic nature of the creatures that inhabit it, with their petty squabbles and their equally appealing good will that makes them want to stay, others the conditional climate, so appealing to those that long for a place to settle down, heat of the equator or cool of the polar snow withstanding.

For our story’s purpose, however, perhaps its best to say this same planet is not quite the one one might read of in studies. There is no concern of climate control here, though war and its ugly head certainly exists. There is technology, sociology, humanitarianism, education – debates, internet call-outs, and everything between, but for now we’ll leave that to rest, focusing instead on the daily life that hustles and bustles in the tourist trap known affectionately as New Orleans.

Less affectionately we’ll refer to it as Ground Zero – the very spot in which the first portal opened that connected the planet and everything on it to the Endless. As if nowhere else but the very middle of Jackson Square could hold such an event, all life seemed to freeze when the first rip in reality itself proclaimed the coming of the first aliosa to the world.

The governments, in their infinite wisdom of course, did their best to rid the populace of any knowledge of that existence, but the ones there could not be silenced. Social media met the strange tales of multiple portals opening in multiple large cities that day, with a waiting world full of tangible magic more willing to listen than any others might know.

Fast forward the years to the present, and that first event feels so long ago; the shape-shifting nature of the Endless races means the ability to hide in plain sight. Some alisoa find great amusement in regaling their communities with truthful stories that seem absolutely outlandish. Sanjari have found a different amusement, some melding into the communities as therapists or social workers in order to tap into the vast wealth of emotion that come with such positions.

 

[The Narrator]

Endless
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Where to begin with The Endless? It, if “it” can reasonably be called that, goes by many names – The Endless, The Eternal Realms, The Void are just a few. No one, not even the creatures that inhabit it, can begin to truly understand the source or reasoning behind the space. Those who have experienced the maddening wonders beyond have described it similarly; fans of certain theories have dubbed it “the multiverse”, while those more esoteric have claimed it to be a higher plane of reality altogether.

Most research agrees it to be an utterly otherworldly experience. It is eternal, devoid of light yet not, empty as the space between the stars yet filled with anything and everything imaginable to the soul, nothingness yet solid as one might traverse the floor of their home.

“It” is impossible to truly describe.

The Endless is a non-euclidean space. It seems entirely to exist on a frame of reference – one could walk in a fixed direction infinitely, never reaching a destination beyond the point they began alone, or a relative distance if within the confines of a group. Neither of these will prevent the normal laws of time or space from being totally eschewed, however; at any point members of that group may find themselves upside down to their peers, or perhaps even sideways.

Perhaps it is best then that arriving at a destination “inside” the Endless has nothing to do with the physical. Everything depends on concentration and intention, on a knowing of the destination. This is the most centrally relevant use for the space, as once attuned to the workings of this Void one may travel thousands of miles with several steps – or, as mentioned before, to planes of strange wonder no human had ever seen.

There is a danger ever present with that ability, however – if one forgets their home, it is likely they can never return, doomed to endlessly roam in that darkness forever.

There is one hope even then, in the form of locations. These, unlike destinations, seem to be small breaks in whatever reality the Endless resides; there is no rhyme or reason to these pockets of space, just as there is no particular shape they inhabit – a small field with grass fed by nothing, a fully functional section of some forgotten city. Like an oasis in the desert, one may discover a location simply by dredging on through that nothing.

It is likely, if one has lost their way, that would be their new home.

For all of that, there is one very particular type of location – a portal. A portal is the most apt name, as these locations are a complete “rip” in the fabric that makes up that strange space. To what other place one might lead is a mystery – as one could lead to virtually anywhere and any-plane that exists, and at any time it might as well.

It is through these that the strange races found their way to Earth, one of many destinations, and it to these that navigators attempt to draw themselves and their groups. Recalling arriving at a destination, one may conjure a portal if one has that true intent. A navigator’s true purpose is basically visualization – projecting their will toward destinations of their own creation. These creatures will continue to focus on concepts and thoughts until reaching a “right combination” – something that causes the space before them to lead them elsewhere.

It seems the myriad of races have their own strengths regarding this; aliosa, for example, seem to be able to recall places with ease once they’ve opened a path, while sanjari guard their portal to earth jealously – having great difficulty with recall but amazing skill in making it semi-permanent.