The Void

The void is a phenomenon observed centuries ago but it has never been well understood and has, at times, been given different names. "The Void" is a singular point in space which connects all others in The multiverse. In some ways it seems to be a physical space, because practitioners of magic pass through it on a regular basis when casting spells such as Misty Step, Teleport, and Plane shift. In other ways, however, it cannot possibly be a physical space because it has no dimensions, no mass, no weight, and no time. Many attempts have been made to "stop" inside of the void , but none have succeeded. Those who try either find themselves in some other plane (usually the Far Realms) or are never heard from again.
Passage through The Void for short distances highly reliable, but long distance travel is fraught with danger and unpredictability. This is why spells such as misty step "just work" well the Teleport spill requires considerable skill on the part of the caster to reach their intended destination. Travel is easier if the destination is prepared for it, such as by having a magic circle prepared to receive the travelers, but even then it is by no means guaranteed that the journey will be successful. Strangely, travel to alternate planes of existence can sometimes be more reliable than long distance teleportation within the same plane. Many scholars have debated exactly why that is, but there is as of yet no concrete confirmation that supports any one theory over another. Research into The Void is a highly competitive field, but the mortality rate for practical experimentation is exceedingly high, and so progress is very slow.
Communication through the void, on the other hand, is remarkably straight forward. This method is used for most scrying rituals as well as the sending spell and similar effects. The most recent innovation in this field are the Sending Stations, large facilities the size of a house that are capable of quickly sending large volumes of information between each other. There are only a few such stations in the world, but others are being built and soon every nation will have at least one. In addition there is considerable research being done to minimize the technology further in the hopes of creating a more portable and accessible means of enabling communication between politicians and their armies.
The technology is not without its flaws, however, and sometimes messages are intercepted by other entities from the the outer planes, the Far Realms, or even one of the Forms. These entities will respond to questions they receive, but the answers are often vague and obtuse. In addition receiving a response from such an entity will sometimes overwhelm the equipment, causing physical or mental harm to the operator.  Because of this, The Void is sometimes theorized to be where the Forms themselves reside.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane