The Mist Gates

The Mist Gates are the reason Bavo'sand is the city it is, and so much of its history is link to the discover of the Mists and the ability to form stable doorways into it. The gates all a number of common features, made of Stone and Gold inlayed arcana symbols and runes, the ones within the city of Bavo'sand tend to feel more finished and polished than those away from it. but they all have numerous similar features.

History

The Mists were first discovered by the people of Bavan in 9th Century after the Great Migration, a member of House Elvan found a natural entrance way into the mists that only had a single straight path to an unrecorded world, arriving in some sort of research site, but it seemed dusty and unused for a long time, and the doorways all seemed to be sealed with no way of opening, he did find a number of books on the subject of the Paths between Worlds in a langauge similar to that of Common of Bavan, which he did find a little strange a language so close to his own in this unknown place. But it include a lot of information on the Mists and how to create basic gateways to gain access to it. With this knowledge within their hands, their headed back to Bavo'sand via the path and into History as the Father of the Gates. He wasn't a Mage himself but the information he brought back allow the household mages to work out some basic gateway spells. These were only every temporary gates that stay open for at most ten days, but normally less. It was many years later before the first peremenant gates to the mists were form, where it was discover just how many natural pathways seemed to be avaiable from Bavan. With many expeditions into the mists it was discover most worlds had 2 or 3 paths that gateways could connect to, while Bavan had dozens if not hundreds, including a major loci allowing access to dozens of paths by itself, The loci was the first place a permenant gateway was created to. and the first experiments in the Mist Gates happened.

Modern

Obviously since those early gates, many improvements and changes have happened with both the Rituals used to create them and the physical constructions to anchor and fix the gateways have both improved and changed. Over the early years, The Wayfaire Guild came into existance, one of the first of the modern guilds to come into existence, as the Noble Families realised very quickly that any one of them being in control of the gates would be bad for the rest. So a triad of guild leaders was the best option outside of their house being in control.

The Gates

So the gates themselves are each unique in their own way, and over the ages many styles have been used, which is why rarely are two gates the same, unless created by the same artitects in a similar time and place. But most of the bigger ones are made with Stone Slabs creating a circular entrance with golden enlayed runes on them. More modern and refitted ones within the Wayfaire Core also have a metal Iris attach to them allowing quick blocking on the gate, some also have a crystal set in them which if pulled shuts down the magic though them, shutting the entrace more permenantly than the the iris being put in place. The gates where ever they are, are consider property of Wayfaire Guild and Bavo'sand, the land around them is usually given to the city and the moment you enter a wayfaire station the Code Legal of Bavo'sand is the law, Be you Noble, King or Peasant of the lands you in, you are treated under the same laws as those the citizens of Bavo'sand. The Wayfaire and Crystal Mages have created a portable focus for creating new gateaways without the building of the full gateaway, they believe they can be used and operated for months at least, while a permanent structure is built around them. These portable gates required more gold and are created from twisting rods of gold alchemical / mage treated, these can be used with support of mages to create a path between them and a full gate at the other end, meaning the Wayfaire can setup shop in days rather than months that it would usually have taken, on finding a new world, and agreeing trading treaties with the government or rulers within the lands found.