Moving planes

by Luke Thomas

Dear Diary,

We are packing up an entire village to move it into another dimension. If I write it down, it doesn't sound any less insane.

I spent the week buried in whatever research I could salvage or recall about shifting large, physical landmasses into the Feywild. The texts were not encouraging. There is a cosmic friction—a strange, violent interference from the universe trying to stop you when you break the rules of reality on this scale. I found numerous historical reports of arrogant mages attempting similar feats, only for them and their followers to simply vanish into nothingness. Erased.

It's the Summer Solstice. Normally, Tarn would be celebrating with bonfires and wine, but the streets are mostly quiet. A few people put up modest decorations, but the looming dread of the planar shift has swallowed the holiday.

And then, Gael broke the world.

We were meeting with Myrrdin to finalize the logistics when Gael started stressing about the preparations needed to keep his girlfriend, Dynia, safe. Myrrdin was confused—why would a simple elven servant girl need such specific, high-level wards?
And Gael, our stoic, tight-lipped ranger, simply let the greatest secret in Keralon slip from his tongue.
Dynia isn't just a random servant we rescued from the Feywild. Her memories and identity were magically sealed away. She is the daughter of Titania. The Heir to Immerglade.

The moment he spoke the words aloud, a massive, physical shockwave of raw magic rushed over Tarn. The seal was broken. The universe recognized her.

Gael sprinted for his keep with Liliana right behind him. We followed as fast as we could. When we arrived, Dynia had fainted, and Gael had already teleported inside to revive her. But waiting at the threshold was Vivienne. The cruel fey who had enslaved Liliana for five years.

Vivienne was furious, accusing us of keeping secrets, though she surprisingly gave Liliana a pass, realizing she had been kept in the dark too. When we rushed into the room, Vivienne was shocked to see Gael had already awoken Dynia with a restorative spell.
Then, Hayley sighed that she had known Dynia's true identity since our time in Immerglade. Typical Hayley. Terrifying, brilliant, secretive Hayley.

Vivienne didn't attack us. The politics have shifted. She coldly informed us that because of the magical shockwave, High King Ulther now knows exactly where - and more importantly who Dynia is. The full, combined force of Keralon and Neverhold is going to come crashing down on Tarn.
Hayley immediately cast *Nondetection* on Dynia, which Vivienne begrudgingly praised as smart. "We are on the same side now," the fey snapped, "but I wish you had been more subtle."
"I wished for the same," Hayley shot back, pointing out she had kept the secret perfectly fine until Gael opened his mouth.
(As a side note: I thought *my* infatuation with a captive fey was complicated. Gael is dating the heir to a lost fey kingdom. We really need to stop falling in love with these people.)

We had to move. Now.
We dragged Myrrdin to the village square to start the ritual immediately. As he stepped into the center of the massive, chalked circles, he leveled a dead-serious glare at me. "Do *not* let your magic intersect the ritual lines. No fireballs." I felt personally attacked with that last statement.

He began the incantation. The world immediately started to shift. The air dropped to freezing, carrying a cold, unnatural wind that made my skin crawl. It felt intrinsically wrong, like we were tearing the fabric of a painting.
Myrrdin’s magic was triggering the interference I read about. Ileas, Hayley, and Gael gasped, clutching their heads. They heard voices echoing from the ether—wardens of the planar boundaries. A young voice claimed the old rules didn't apply anymore. An older one argued that they still remembered, and they still guarded. A woman's voice whispered that others had tried this and failed.

Then, the wardens materialized around the circle. Undead.

They rushed the ritual lines to stop Myrrdin. Gael drew first blood, putting an arrow into a rotting, leathery undead witch. Liliana charged a flaming skeleton, striking it hard, but the creature violently burst apart, coating her and Rhyme in clinging, dark, necrotic flames.

I aimed a *Firebolt* at another skeleton, but the flames just washed over its bones without leaving a scorch mark. Immune.
Adjusting tactics, I slammed my hands down and summoned a massive Earth Elemental, ordering it to pound the skeleton into dust. It worked beautifully for about three seconds, until a towering, cloaked undead raised a skeletal hand, cast a high-level *Dispel Magic*, and unraveled my elemental back into the dirt.

The leathery witch raised her arms, and a thick, dark fog billowed across the square, blinding us. The sounds of Alistan’s sword ringing against bone were terrifying when I couldn't see him. Gael reacted instantly, casting *Gust of Wind* to tear the fog away.

With the witch back in my sights, her tattered robes whipping in the wind, I didn't bother with fire. I reached out with my magic and violently assaulted her psyche, boring into her ancient, rotted mind and ripping at whatever consciousness remained. The psychic trauma made her stagger wildly, dropping her guard just long enough for Alistan to step in and decapitate her with a clean strike.

An ancient elven archer was pinning Alistan and Rhyme down with deadly, armor-piercing arrows. I focused my magic, targeting her form, and cast *Polymorph*. The undead archer shrank, twisted, and fluttered into the air as a harmless, delicate butterfly.
Without missing a beat, Hayley snatched the butterfly out of the air and cast *Flesh to Stone*. The petrified insect hit the cobblestones with a heavy *clink*. (My sister is a terrifying woman, and I am so glad she is on my side).

The cloaked spellcaster was locked in a brutal melee with Liliana and Alistan, holding its own against their combined divine might. I found an opening between their swinging blades and unleashed a high-level barrage of *Magic Missiles*. The unerring bolts of pure force slammed into the undead caster, ripping its physical form to shreds.

We mopped up the stragglers, panting and bleeding. The wardens were dead.

But as I looked at Myrrdin's ritual circle, my stomach dropped. The chalk lines were glowing with sickly, corrupted colors. The dark flames, the toxic fog, the chilling winds of the wardens—the ritual had absorbed their essence.

It is tainted. Saturated with necrotic, poison, and cold energy. The reality is moving, but it's warped. If we don't balance the arcane equation and purge the corruption right this second, Tarn isn't going to teleport to Immerglade. We are going to be thrown into a dead dimension, or the Abyss, or somewhere far, far worse.

We need to fix the math.
That’s always fun to do when the spell is already activating.

— Luke

Continue reading...

A test of magic
24th of Aran, Y126 Year of the Tree

Trades and Punishments
1st of Edon, 126 Year of the Tree

Homecoming
15th of Edon, 126 Year of the Tree

The price of a ring
16th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree

A Festival of Foxes and Frolics
30th of Dagda, Year 121, Era of the tree

Elsa

Adventure Ahead!
1st of Lug, Year 121 of the Tree

Rosebloom's Bookworm
4th of Lugh, Year 121 of the Tree

What to do when your hostess has a Secret Society Membership
5th of Lugh, 121 Year of the Tree

The most useful kind of magic
6th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

A Betrayal of Satyrs
7th of Lugh, 121 Year of the Tree

Maladies of the Mist
8-11th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

The Hunter
11th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

A Hidden Path to Logvale and Beyond
12th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

A Master of Fire
13th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

Too Many Goodbyes
20th of Lug, 121 Year of the Tree

Letter to Hayley I
1st of Ogan, 122 Year of the Tree

Letter to Hayley II
3rd of Solstice, 122 Year of the Tree

Letter to Hayley III
24th of Edon, 123 Year of the Tree

Letter to Hayley IV
17th of Gobu, 124 Year of the Tree

Letter to Hayley V
7th of Daga, 125 Year of the Tree

Letter to Hayley VI
14th of Mannan, 125 Year of the Tree

The Reunion
14th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

The Emissaries of the Fenhunter
15th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

The Fall of Cairn Fussil
4th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree

Festival Frenzy
10th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree

The Terror of Ravensfield
13th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree

Dragon Bones in the Dark
15th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree

The Determination of an Undead Kobold
16th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree

Battle at the Burning Village
17th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree

A Reminder to Take Action
18th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree

A Grand Ball of Intrigue
20th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree

The Search for Norgar
20th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree

Why you can never trust a bard
20th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree

A Royal Reward and a Challenge
28th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree

An apple a day...
29th of Nuan, 126 Year of the Tree

Dealing with the fey
30th of Nuan, 126 Era of the Tree

Aunty's Wrath
3rd of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree

Best served cold
9th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree

Venturing into dangerous waters
11th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree

The Fury of the Marsh
11th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree

The young stag and the undead wolf
20th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree

Anaya's Prison
21st of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree

Tales of Immerglade
22nd of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree

The festival of Wolf's Rest
26th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree

Battle of the Bards
26th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree

Undead at the Cathedral
30th of Aran, 126 Year of the Tree

Elves and worms
4th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree

How we got Sixteen Cows
8th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree

Descent into Acid
9th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree

Sorry we stole your hoard
10th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree

Strange Dreams of the Northern Wetlands
12th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree

Latebra Velora
15th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree

The Tragedy of Alistan De la Roost
17th of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree

From Keralon into the Feywild
22nd of Brigan, 126 Year of the Tree

A Feywild Festival
??, 126 Year of the Tree

Into the Jaws of the Warg King
??, 126 Year of the Tree

The birds have wings
??, 126 Year of the Tree

Sneaking into Whitewail
??, 126 Year of the Tree

Arrival at Nimmerburg
29th of Gobu, 126 Year of the Tree

The Fey Tournament
1st of Madan, 126 Year of the Tree

Lumiria
1st of Madan, 126 Year of the Tree

Homecoming
2nd of Madan, 126 Year of the Tree

The dinner party
4th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

The Mausoleum
11th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

Chain of Souls
11th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

Sister Willow's Story
15th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

The Briar's Ritual
15th of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

The Water Temple
22nd of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

An unexpected journey
22nd of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

Temples of Sand and Air
22nd of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

Haggayn
22nd of Mannan, 126 Year of the Tree

The beginning of the end
30th Mannan 126 Year of the Tree

Ashes of Wolf's Rest
30th Mannan 126 Year of the Tree

Exiles of the Silver City
10th of Edon, 126 Year of the Tree

The Prison of Rosebloom
15th of Edon, 126 Year of the Tree

The Darkness around Hillfield
16th of Edon, 126 Year of the Tree

Setting the stage
16th of Edon, 126 Year of the Tree

Why is it always spiders?
9th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree

The Ethereal Bard
9th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree

Trimming the Greenery
10th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree

The road to Ghenna
10th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree

Back to a changed Keralon
15th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree

The bitter taste of defeat
15th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree

A Hard Choice
16th of Duna, 126 Year of the Tree

Dragons and Elves
2nd of Hagan, 126 Year of the Tree

The Primordial Storm inside
7th of Hagan, 126 Year of the Tree

Rumours of my death are somewhat exaggerated
11th of Dagda, 126 Year of the Tree

The Beast of Butchery
12th of Dagda, 126 Year of the Tree

Stalked in the Maze
12th of Dagda, 126 Year of the Tree

The dangers of trying to steal from hags
13th of Dagda, 126 Year of the Tree

Moving planes
17th of Dagda, 126 Year of the Tree

The Queen of Immerglade
17th of Dagda, 126 Year of the Tree

All Hail the Ice Queen
3rd of Solstace, 126 year of the tree

Wibbly-wobbly, Timey-Snowmeny
4th of Solstace, 126 year of the tree

A Wizard's Torment
4th of Solstace, 126 year of the tree

Giants in the Dark
5th of Solstace, 126 year of the tree

A Maze of Devils
5th of Solstace, 126 year of the tree

A Duel of Fireballs
5th of Solstace, 126 year of the tree

Moving planes

Continue reading...

Find your way!

Resources

WHO WE ARE

LEGAL

Get the news

Worldbuilding Academy

Listen to our Podcast