Intertemporal Waters

The Intertemporal Waters are an area within The River Without End which allow for travel between distinct and typically distant regions of space-time. Watercraft which make it successfully into the channel are able to travel anywhere and anywhen they choose by following a simple set of instructions.

Assuming, that is, that they’re not first overtaken by one of the six-hundred and sixty-seven time-displaced copies of the pirate ship known as The Antagonist—each of which is captained by its own version of the bitter, angry, and lovelorn Bethiah Silver.

If they can outrun that mass of pirate ships, however, it’s smooth sailing from there—provided you can count and you have a decent grip on your bearings.

Geography

The Intertemporal Waters are a channel within the River Without End which sit just off the coast of Eden. They are considered, by some, to be one of the so-called Filters—a series of supernatural forces, created by the goddess from whom Eden takes its name, which act as a protective barrier between that purgatorial paradise and the rest of existence. This is not altogether accurate, however.

The Intertemporal Waters are in fact a creation of Eden’s sister River, and they were never meant to be a particularly dangerous place. The currents are typically quite easy and subdued, the waters are typically free of sea monsters, and the rules for getting where you want to go are deliberately simple (see below). It’s only really the plethora of pirate ships that make travel along the Intertemporal Waters a dicey proposition at all.

Localized Phenomena

Upon entering the Intertemporal Waters, travel from one point in space-time to another is as simple as counting how many times your vessel has circled the land of Eden—and in which direction.

Each time you make a full circuit around Eden, one year of Earth-time passes. If you sail in a clockwise direction, you travel forward in time. If you sail counterclockwise, you travel backward.

In order to exit the Intertemporal Waters, one simply keeps an eye out on the horizon for the point in space (always a river or stream) where one wants to exit. That part takes some practice, but specialized equipment or a carefully annotated ship’s log can help.

Type

Wormhole

Location under

The River Without End