On the Fast Ways of Mitraspera

From the new “Travel Compendium” by Tramon Hadris

Greetings to you, by all four directions of the compass, I am Tramon Hadris, scholar, researcher, and extraordinary traveller of worlds.

Anyone who has ever undertaken a long journey, may it be over land, on water or even through the air, will certainly know a thing or two about the hardships such a journey can sometimes entail. When snow or rain soaks through your clothing, the storm blowing in your face so hard you can barely keep on walking, or the blazing sun mercilessly burning your skin; hunger, thirst and exhaustion are taking their toll from you, and you slowly begin to understand that traveling is after all not just a nice “walk and see the wonders of the world”. If there is war going on, in the countries you are passing though, or the people you meet are cruel and of dangerous nature, this is the point where everyone slowly advancing towards their destination will wish whole heartedly for a simpler and faster way of travelling. This wish is probably as old as the first trip that was ever made by any sentient being. And many shared this wish, not only explorers and researchers like us, but many a general, trader and king wished (in the past as well as today) nothing more than to move a lot of things or people swiftly over long distances.

Here on Mitraspera there reigned two powerful rulers, who, a long time ago, made this wish come true, each in their own way. One was the great Horatio Dekundato Khor’Zhul, a ruler of Aeris who must be named among the greatest researchers, mages and inventors of all time; the other was Murach Doloch, a ruler of Terra, of whom few other works are known. Together with their servants and students both created two independent networks of “fast ways”, meaning sites of powerful magic that allowed huge distances to be travelled both quickly and safely. The great thing about is is that some of these devices are still functioning today and can be used by you, dear reader, and myself as long as we know how. The two ways will now be described separately because, while they are similar in function, they are quite different in their use and history.

Khor’Zuhls Portals of Aeris

The dream of fast traveling, even faster than flying, was probably particularly close to the people of Aeris. The great Khor’Zuhl, in the spirit of freedom and movement, devised a network of magical gateways, allowing the traveller to pass through one, and emerge from another, hundreds or even thousands of miles away, mere blinks of an eye later. They are called “White Portals” because the wooden frames, posts, and panels which they are made from are of a snowy white. Today they can usually be seen as two crystal-covered steles that protrude three paces from the ground. But this simple appearance is deceiving, because they have most likely sunk deeply into the ground over the long time of their existence. Originally, as the people of the Naldar tell us, they were white trees, a now almost extinct species of flying plants (or whatever they were) that roamed the skies above vast forests. But once planted into the ground, shaped to a certain growth, equipped with crystals, and endowed with powerful magic, they became marvels of a time whose remains, and reflections can only amaze us today. When the portal is opened a circular, shimmering silver zone stretches over the arched branches. The structure of the world seems to be torn apart right in front of the onlookers’ eyes and fragments of realness drift across a plane of reality like flecks of drifting ice on the border of a broken sheet of ice over wintry lakes. Those who dare to enter step out of another portal connected to the first.

In ancient rimes there were many of such gates, today there are only a handful left. How to push it open, where it leads to and how to determine the target portal are (unfortunately) well-kept secrets of the Naldar. So, if you want to travel fast, you should be on good terms with those proud people. As fantastic as the portal’s capabilities are, their history is grim, as told by the Ancients. The creator of the Void corrupted many of them once, and according to the whispers of forbidden scriptures, he even misused them to create the Negation itself. And lead the world to the brink of the abyss. Even today, some of the devices are contaminated by the Void and do not lead to other portals, but directly into the Void. But there should be ways and means to heal remedy such corruptions. Functional portals are easily recognized by the blue crystals, while Void-infested ones are green in colour. Besides this obvious sign, breathing is impossible within a radius of ten paces.

Murach Doloch’s Tunnel of Terra

It is amazing that rulers of Terra also invented fast travel in their own way, but so very different from the children of Aeris. In the case of these descendants of the Earth, an Ancient Ruler named “Murach Doloch” created a network of “short paths”, meaning tunnels, through which one only must travel a few hours underground, but at the end of the day will emerge hundreds of miles away from the entrance. “Tunnels of Terra” is the name given to the corridors that form an underground labyrinth. This includes a myriad of caves, corridors, chambers, galleries, and tunnels, some of which appear to be of natural origin and which probably nobody knows in their entirety. Some of them were most likely created with other purposes, too, and so you can have some surprising encounters in the depths of Mitraspera, such as the Boro-Madar people, dark elves or even the renegade Ouai who call themselves the Kell’Goron. The last ones especially seem to have a special relation to the tunnels of Terra, it is rumoured that Murach Doloch’s protégé, a certain “Beandar Morochtich”, was once an Ouai himself and later turned to the Kell’Goronn. There are some confusing tales of betrayal and deceit surrounding those two, but it seems certain that Murach Doloch ended up dying in the caves along with his apprentice. As guardians of his work, the builders of the tunnels created the position of “Malaka’Re”, of which there is only one at each time, but over time a long line of successors arose, since during the time of war against the Forsaken, the deep realms also turned into battlefields and some Malaka’Re only held their position for a very limited time before falling. It is important to know that in order to activate the magical effect of the tunnels, you have to enter through a “Gate of Terra”. These Gates of Terra are special magically empowered entrances that can only be opened and activated by a Malaka’Re. If one entered the tunnel network through another entrance (or even a hole in the ground) one would travel no faster underground than on the surface. If you enter the gate with an announced destination, you will always by mystical ways find the fastest path to your destination in the depths. Perhaps even any tunnel beneath the surface of Mythodea can somehow, temporarily, or permanently, become part of the tunnels of Terra. Who understand the magic of the Ancient Rulers? One should only hope that the gate is also open at the destination, or at least the exit is clear, because whoever has to turn back underground will be abandoned by Murach Doloch’s magic of fast travel… those gates of Terra, like the portals of Aeris, are on some areas highly coveted locations, as they allow whole armies to be sent quickly from one place to another.

For several years now the tunnels have been put back into use and a new Malaka’Re has been chosen, a peculiar, slightly insane but benign rat creature named “Skarr”. Those wishing to use the tunnels should consult this Skarr, or at least the Elemental people of the Boro-Madar, for both advice and permission.

Wishing you good-bye by all the four directions of the compass, Tramon Hadris, scholar, researcher and extraordinary traveller of worlds.