1.2.04
The Ways of Elves
The Elves move long distances over and through Coera before there is any equipment to do it for them quickly. When they are "of Mind", it is easy to flit wherever they'd like, but when they are bound to their bodies, they are forced to follow more conventional means. To speed their journeys, elves follow lay lines, or "The Ways", convergences of spiritual fields. The Elves learn that the physical world creases at these lines, and it's possible to slip into the crease and move from place to place much more quickly.
The Ways were at first temporary and shifting, but continued use cements them in place - neglect allows them to dissipate.
Finding the crease by sight alone is impossible - even standing in the crease, if you are not looking down the crease, you will not see it. When looking down the crease, you see the right and the left a bit more blurry, and a wide, gently-curving path in front of you and directly behind. As long as you stay within the crease, it is typically wide enough for large parties to pass each other, but if you step outside of it, it's only a hair's breadth.
The creases can pass through mountains, rivers, over valleys, etc, with very muted effects - mild temperature changes, increased humidity, spongey firmament beneath, etc. - as long as you stay with it. Stepping outside the crease in a mountain will kill you.
The Elves can find the creases because of their sensitivity to spirit, though most who can feel a crease can only generally tell when one is nearby. As the Elves leave the world, the creases begin to fade with them.
The Ways were at first temporary and shifting, but continued use cements them in place - neglect allows them to dissipate.
Finding the crease by sight alone is impossible - even standing in the crease, if you are not looking down the crease, you will not see it. When looking down the crease, you see the right and the left a bit more blurry, and a wide, gently-curving path in front of you and directly behind. As long as you stay within the crease, it is typically wide enough for large parties to pass each other, but if you step outside of it, it's only a hair's breadth.
The creases can pass through mountains, rivers, over valleys, etc, with very muted effects - mild temperature changes, increased humidity, spongey firmament beneath, etc. - as long as you stay with it. Stepping outside the crease in a mountain will kill you.
The Elves can find the creases because of their sensitivity to spirit, though most who can feel a crease can only generally tell when one is nearby. As the Elves leave the world, the creases begin to fade with them.
// posted by Wray Davis @ 3:02 PM 
