Portals

It was as if the vast oceans had been made vertical, contained within the space of a door frame. The edges ebb and flow like the tides, and the surface ripples with celestial waves. And the colours! As though The Mother Herself had painted the air with Her grace, shimmering more intensely than the starriest sky!

— Duchess Arlis of Sinofis, 237 AC

Portals were a form of Planar Magic which, if utilised correctly, could connect the plane of humans to that of the elves. Despite their extremely high value, there are no longer any portals in operation, as they were all destroyed in The Separation.

History

The existence of planes outside of the one humans lived on was discovered only after The Collision violently brought the planes of human and elf together. In their melding and mixture arose a knowledge of the vast space that existed between worlds, and the barrier it posed. As soon as the dust had settled, esteemed magicians were hard at work trying to investigate the cause of the Collision, and how best to harness this discovery.
The ability to travel between worlds was theorised as early at 1 AC, owing to the fact elves and humans had clearly traded places across the divide. Significant developments on this were not made until the 3rd century AC, however, when researchers in Waal Paisheim successfully 'poked a hole' in the Planar Sea. The first 'proper' portal, which was barely the size of a hand mirror, was made in 221 AC, though few outside the research team believed it presented a meaningful step forward in magic technology.
This public perception changed with the first to-scale portal being successfully tested in 236 AC, with the researcher Tera Maazije safely going through the portal and returning with extensive notes on what he saw. Interest in the project became international not long afterwards, when the researchers encountered and conversed with locals from the elven plane. For safety reasons these portals were used solely in Waal Zaimyatl for many years, though important figures from across Abravost travelled to see them in action and to go through, setting the stage for inter-planar cooperation.
The first portals were installed outside the country in the mid 3rd century, and spread quickly once locals learnt the methods of creation. More than simply connecting the human plane to the elven one, and allowing the elven and human diaspora to return 'home' if they so chose, it also served to lessen the gap between Abravost and the island of Skarhu, allowing citizens from both to meet in the middle on the elven plane instead of taking lengthy sailing trips.
All active portals were destroyed in The Separation in 326 AC, which made the gap between the planes too large to overcome and caused the connections to 'snap', destroying numerous buildings and injuring many people in their vicinity at the time. Researchers are trying to recreate them, but there has been little progress.

Construction

While the specifics of portal manufacture were not widely publicised, in order to prevent them being used for nefarious purposes, some general things are known. All public portals were attached to sturdy frames, often reinforced with Planar Iron, which was said to make the magic more potent. Some private portals were known to also embed volcanic glass into the frames for a similar effect. A spell would then be written on the inside edge of the frame using magically infused ink, typically in Elven. In order to actually activate the portal, a second spell would be recited. This latter spell was known only by a handful of magicians at any given time, even once the spell had been translated from Elven to Vostan.

Mechanics

They did it. The bastards actually did it! A hole in the planar sea, that we can walk through! A portal to a world none of us have ever seen!

A portal created on one plane will create an exit point on the other, in an equivalent location. For example, the 'Prime Portal' will connect to the same on the elven plane, and a human portal a kilometre due south will create a portal in the same location on the elven side. There are exceptions to this. The height at which a portal will appear does not seem to directly correspond to its source, and one made high in the mountains will often have its exit shift downwards to connect to a portal in the plains. There is also evidence that places with high concentrations of portals, such as the city of Waal Zaimyatl, will emit a sort of gravitational pull, distorting the exit points of portals made on the other plane.

Severed Connection

In The Collision, the worlds of humans and elves were brought crashing together, with many landmarks and people being exchanged on both sides. While tragic, this event lead to booms in cultural and magical development, and changed the face of Abravost forever. When the portals were developed to connect the two realms, many believed it was the beginning of a new era of peace and prosperity.
When these ties were severed by the gods in 326 AC, much was lost. Many were stranded on either side, and buildings collapsed under the magical strain. The era of Abravosti-wide peace was over.

The Separation by Isaac Thompson

Iron Arch

The most common portal frames were made from Planar Iron, due to its unique property of reacting to the presence of Planar Magic. This caused many frames to glow faintly and sparkle, which some found quite attractive and others found deeply annoying.
Many of these arches still remain out in the wild, twisted by their portals collapse. They stand as sad reminders of an era long gone.

Iron Gate by PIRO4D

Prime Meridian

When calculating where a portal should hypothetically take you, it is prudent to determine your location relative to the prime meridian. The coordinates of this were derived from the first successful portal test in Waal Paisheim, in the eastern shores of Abravost.