Extra-Planar Tears

A portal to your nightmares.

Tears are locations where the fabric between the Material Plane of Oxum and other planes is torn open, creating a gateway between them.
Most commonly found within the Realm of Monsters after the events of the Breach, these temporary portals frequently spit out foreign materials from various Outer Planes into the material world. These connections between worlds can last from anything between only a few seconds to months or even years depending on the integrity of the local Space-Time-Fabric.
It is from these tears that the creatures known as Gate-Beings enter the world of Oxum, either succumbing to the alien atmosphere they find themselves in or thriving better than in their home world.

Creation

Tears occur at locations where the invisible fabric of space and time is weak enough that it may rupture and form a tear between both worlds. This can occur either completely at random as it is most often the case within the Realm of Monsters or by interference from certain factors on the material plane. The usage of a large amount of powerful magic spells may cause a tear to form, as well as certain magical items that can be used to form passages from one plane to the next.
Usage of these factors will rarely form tears if far enough away from the Realm, though certain magical artifacts may be able to open portals to one of the extra-planar realms.

These tears, once formed, may only last mere seconds before the fabric restores itself and seals the rift. But if formed in a location where the fabric is severely weakened, these tears may last several days, months and even weeks. All tears eventually close again once the fabric restores itself, or with the help of other magical means.

The Extra-Planar Dimensions

Once opened, the tears lead to a random extra-planar dimension. These worlds can be completely void of life and spew out nothing but dust, or lead to vast alien worlds where predators and hostile forms of life pass over to wreak havoc on the world of Oxum. As of now, it is impossible to predict where a tear may lead to once it is formed, nor do the scholars of the Breach Security Council know if one could be able to open tears to specific planes.
Why most of these rifts open up gateways to worlds not connected to the planes around Oxum is still a mystery, though many believe this might be due to the original purpose of The Gate of Monsters which caused these rifts to be able to form in the first place.

Manifestation

Once a tear opens, it can be observed as a crudely-formed portal with ragged edges floating in the air. They display blurry images of what's on the other end of the passage, although it is hard to make out any clear shapes from the other side.
When a tear closes by itself, it leaves behind a invisible "scar" on the fabric it formed on. When viewed through certain specialized equipment, these scars show up as jagged lines, showing faint colours of the realm it connected to earlier. Often, the fabric around the scars appears hazy, waving like the air above an extremely hot surface. These scars last for a few days depending on how long the tear was open before completely vanishing.

Type

Metaphysical, Supernatural