Mist Storm

A natural phenomenon that occurs at irregular intervals in Rheiknor. The temperature sinks to freezing, the air grows still as the pressure drops, and a thick, nearly opaque fog saturates the landscape. Sound becomes dampened and travels only short distances. Visibility is reduced to barely 5ft as the rest of one's surroundings is covered in an impenetrable mist. The mist itself is problem enough, but it is what lurks within the mist that inflicts horror upon the denizens of Rheiknor. In the scholarly world, Mist Storms are called the Thinning of the Veil. They call it this due to the supernatural properties that the mist carries with it and what it does to the world at large. During a Mist Storm, the veil between the outer planes and the material becomes very thin and almost conjoins the two worlds. This allows for all sorts of nightmarish creatures to simply shift from the Immaterium, to the material. This also allows for creatures trapped within The Rim to Mistwalk across the ocean barrier into the continent. These storms can cause a once safe area of Rheiknor to become one of the most dangerous places due to a monster Mistwalking across the continent into said area. Mist Storms also have a chaotic effect on magic, completely altering the laws of magic when a storm rolls through. Spells begin to have unintended effects from a light spell causing the shadows it casts to come alive or simply a fireball spell turning into a frostball spell. The effects range so drastically that every wizard knows it best to never cast during a storm. Not all abide by this but those that don't soon live or don't live to regret it.
Mistwalking is the act of moving through the interplanar mists during a Mist Storm and walking between worlds. This is not the same as walking through the mists physically during a Mist Storm. This act is magical and allows the walker to move through physical objects and bypass normal obstacles that would prevent their movement such as a body of water or a large boulder. Not much is understood of Mistwalking but it is known to be done by magical creatures and monsters depending on their abilities. These creatures are only capable of doing so during a Mist Storm however. For instance, if a Hell Hound was in the Infernal Steppes and a mist storm arose and if the Hell Hound was powerful enough, it could Mist Walk across the Sulfur Sea and journey to the Zlaatan Jungles or beyond. Now this Hell Hound would only be able to get that far if the storm lasted long enough. Mistwalking during storms does not accelerate a creatures movement in any way. The speed at which a creature moves normally is how they would move if they Mistwalk. So if the Hell Hound can move 3mph normally, it would travel at that same speed while Mistwalking. While Mistwalking, a creature is considered between worlds and in the Immaterium, similarly to the Ethereal Plane but it is separate from the Ethereal Plane. When Mistwalking, a creature can willingly, if strong enough, phase back into the Material Plane and then phase back at will as long as a Mist Storm is active.
The Immaterium is present at all times but it is only accessible for longer periods during Mist Storms. This allows for some creatures and even people to Mistwalk without an active Mist Storm. Although the distance is never further than 100ft and it is for very short periods, between 1-10 seconds. These people are referred to as Mist Walkers and the only known organization that trains and harbors these gifted individuals is the Mistreavers.

Type

Metaphysical, Supernatural