Mirror Gates

Wendelin Ambrosius zu Bücherfelde sat on a large stone and looked at the ancient portal, framed by a gnarled hedge, which was wedged between towering rocks on both sides. It had already had thin cracks since it was built over a thousand years ago and some of the once magnificent sculptures of climbing ivy and fire lilies had already broken off. But the gate still seemed to be intact and, above all, unknown to the captors of the Idakian god-emperor siblings, who had brought death and ruin over the land like apocalyptic riders. The bittersweet smell of a tearful farewell hung in the air. Wendelin knew that today he would undergo the biggest change of his life and take on the form of a human to travel into their world. ...

Mirror Gates are the fastest means of travel between the elemental continents and led to Elaqitan's most terrible catastrophe in 2,800 before the founding of the Council. Although Elaqitan was successfully rebuilt afterwards, the greatest flood of all time left a deep scar in the memory of the Elaqitanians and the people who emigrated to Naharin.

Passing a portal by Blue Fairy 74 - Midjourney-Collage

History

• 3,495 BEC Unveiling of the 1st Mirror Gate in Aqila
• 3,490 BEC Construction of mirror gates on the elemental continents
• 3,432 BEC Installation of first mirror gates on Idaka
• 2,830 BEC Attacks on the Entuti, Mura and Urtis portals on Idaka
• 2,800 BEC Mirror chain reaction opens "gateway" to Earth

The first Mirror Gate was opened in Aqila in 3,495 before the founding of the Council. The technique was developed by Kabeya Ziye, a Layid engineer, and Tylax Mímtash, a Tèshán magician. Little by little, the continents of the four elements were linked together through the portals.

It wasn't until about 60 years later that gates were created on Idaka, the human continent. At that time, people had little or no knowledge of magic and had previously had little contact with the other Elaqitanians.

As the Homo Elaqitanii ascended, many people suffered under the new influence of their increasing power, leading to the founding of the Mirror Rebellion and the Mirror Battles, ultimately culminating in the primal catastrophe of the entire world.

How it works & looks

Portals can be found throughout Elaqitan. They were built in open fields, in the middle of or near larger cities or picturesquely inserted into the landscape and consist of stone materials that were previously melted down and cast to form the portal. Depending on the importance of the portal for the users or often for reasons of prestige for the founder, there are many gates that have been decorated with artistic sculptures. But there are also simple, inconspicuous gates that are not always or easy to recognize at first glance.

In principle, any rock material can be used for the "frame" of the gate, but when pouring, a few drops of the flower elixirs of the elemental flowers of the Aqi Talúsix, spores of the Idakian mycelium and different colored crystals must always be added, otherwise the journey will not work or, in the worst case, you will end up in an unplanned place.

Before the Cataclysm, the Elaqitanians had to use a control panel where they entered the continent and the name of the gate if they wanted to travel through one. Today, gates can only be passed using a gatekeeper - a Portal Key - unless the traveler has magical abilities to activate the crystals through their elemental powers.

Antique gem key by Blue Fairy 74 via Midjourney

Wendelin rose from his stone and flew to the gate, where the magicians of the Elaqitan Council were already waiting for him to transform him before his journey and to hand him his luggage...

It felt strange to be human, and it would probably take Wendelin quite a while to be able to walk on the stilts the humanoids called legs. The portal was already activated and Wendelin was enveloped in an aura of rainbow tones triggered by the sharp-edged crystals poking out of the stone. The passage, which before activation had been a simple gate to the other side of the rocks, now revealed a place behind a silvery mirror that lay in snow and darkness...

Unactivated gates only reveal a view of the surrounding nature and could also be seen as a simple means of landscaping if one does not know their usefulness. If the portals are activated, a liquid mirror surface is created starting from the edge - which led to the name - which allows the destination of the journey to shine through as a dark shadow. At the same time, the traveler is enveloped in a colorful light. As soon as you pass the gate, the silvery veil at this point dissolves and changes to an orange, shimmering liquid consistency, which is streaked with narrow lightning bolts. The traveler is drawn in and completely absorbed. Traveling on horseback, in a cart or other vehicles is of course possible.

Travel through a portal

When touched the gate, Wendelin was pulled inside. He had traveled through portals many times before, but now that the gate had closed behind him, the clouds behind him disappeared and he could no longer see the gate. Even if he wanted to, there was no going back.

A world of purple puffy clouds spread out before him, shrouded in a shimmering glow. Here and there some fairy hair grass grew between the clouds and a few glowing stars danced in the sky. A feeling of tiredness slowly spread through him. Oh he had to hurry or he would never reach the exit.

He had a lot of trouble getting around with his new legs. He tried to run and when the gate with an orange shimmering edge in front of him finally opened again and grew larger, he jumped through and disappeared into the dark alleys of a dreamy baroque city.

After opening the gate, the traveler finds himself on a path between golden grass covered with pink cotton clouds. For the traveler, the journey can feel like a few hours or even several days, depending on the distance. However, at the end of the journey you have not aged an hour because you complete the journey within a few seconds.
A journey through the portal is not pleasant for everyone. Some vomit once they get through the other side. Some complain of headaches, feel dizzy or eerily attracted to the cotton clouds and tired. Unfortunately, these complaints have not been remedied in 4,000 years of use, but there are remedies such as the cloud walking elixir or the nightmare tonic to prevent or overcome such motion sicknesses.
The longer the journey feels like it's taking, the more dangerous the journey can become. You can die if you succumb to the feeling of wanting to sleep and dream in the clouds. The path can be extremely long due to the expansion affliction, or the portal can be haunted by creatures such as illusionary ghosts, cloud demons, or will-o'-the-wisps, from whose clutches you can hardly escape.

Between Portals by Blue Fairy 74 via Midjourney