Otherwhere

The Otherwhere is the void between the Dreaming and the Umbrae, where the unfortunate fall when walking between the trods. This place is not as empty as it might seem, and sometimes what falls in comes back.

Overview

Some changelings believe they understand the cosmos in all its glory. They believe that the universe and all its dimensions are laid out in ways that don't quite mesh with what other supernaturals believe is accurate. In truth, all the supernaturals are partially right, and they are all partially ignorant of the greater truths and mysteries of the universe.

More than merely to separate the Mythic from the Flesh, the Shattering actually broke the Mythic into countless pieces. Some of these fragments are little more than wisps of dream that flicker and fade. Other fragments are far more stable, and large enough to hold entire continents. Each moves at its own pace, gradually flowing across the face of the spirit realms, which the other supernaturals call the Umbrae. This constant shifting motion is one of the main causes of the Firchlis, and it is something that few changelings understand.

The Dreaming exists in a place that is beyond standard space and time, where it floats like islands of reality or bubbles of creation. Where these bubbles drift, the Dreaming is as real and solid as it needs to be. But there are dangers beyond the chimerical in the Dreaming.

The Dreaming appears whole. Seen from above, from the vantage of the clouds, the Dreaming seems to stretch forever. In fact, it does stretch for eternity, but eternity doesn't notice the great holes in the Dreaming's patterns. The spaces between the "bubbles" that form the whole Dreaming are painted over, and seem as real and solid as the rest of the Mythic Realm, because a tension exists that stops the Dreaming from spilling apart and fragmenting even more. That tension is created by the trods. Trods truly are the arteries of the Dreaming. Without them, the Dreaming would drift apart further and further, and each island of Dreamstuff would break into tinier fragments until there was nothing left.

The Dreaming was wounded by the Shattering, but it nevertheless remains a vital entity. The trods connect every fragment of the Dreaming, no matter how small, and protect changelings who walk along the Silver Path from stepping into the spaces between islands of Dreamstuff. These great holes in the Dreaming are filled with tinier islands of Dreamstuff, and are solid enough for most chimera to travel without fear of injury. But changelings and mortals who walk the Dreaming and ignore the trods face a terrifying threat. They risk stepping into the Otherwhere, the place between the Dreamstuff bubbles. The Otherwhere is a place that exists between the Flesh, the Mythic, and the Umbrae. Here, no one can control what happens and truly anything is possible. Changelings and chimera alike who have fallen into this great void between worlds, and few ever return.

In the strange area of the Otherwhere, there is enough residue of the Dreaming to survive, but there are taints from the Other Places as well. Great devouring things move through the colorless landscape, where they battle against giant spider-like entities the size of the moon. Wild storms of raw, primal power rampage across the Otherwhere, crate random wonders and destroy the webs of the spider-things, even as the great devourers come to feed on them. The cycle is endless and frantic, and this ceaseless war recreates the shape of the Otherwhere constantly. Nothing remains for long. The Dreamstuff that falls here is an anchor for the chimera and changelings, but it's not enough to protect their sanity, either.

From time to time, things come back from the Otherwhere, things resembling the Kithain and chimera who have fallen into the great void, but they are things changed, reverted into something more primordial. Some resemble the fomorians of old, some bring to mind the legends of the Tuatha de Danaan. All are either too hideous to bear or so incredibly beautiful that merely looking at them blinds the viewer. Although these primal beings can walk across the surface of the Dreaming, they seem unable to truly touch the Mythic Realm. The Dreaming protects itself and immediately surrounds these oddities with the Mists, thus shielding from the mind of anyone unfortunate enough to see them any memory of such creatures. The things that crawl from the Otherwhere are sometimes seen but are never recalled as more than a flickering memory of something incredible.

No one is quite certain just what these creatures do, or where they go, or even why they exist. Some claim that these powerful beings come into existence as an effort by the universe to right itself, that they are part of a healing process slowly mending what the Shattering sundered. others believe they are a continuing part of the Shattering, of a gradual slipping away of the universe that heralds Winter's approach. In the end, all the guesses and theories are for naught. Whatever their purpose, if indeed they serve any purpose, it is beyond the minds of Kithain or mortals to comprehend.

References

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