Author: Justin Love

Gateway magic is the art of understanding and controlling passage through all manner of gateways, from a front door to a sphere gate. Several practitioners of the art have become infamous thieves, while others have found employ protecting valuables against thieves in general, and other practitioners of the art in particular.

Gateway magic is based on Water, as it deals with understanding and controlling flows.

In an attempt to avoid confusion, the following terminology was used:

Gate/Gateway:
Any clearly defined thing though which things pass. It could be a doorway, a ring, the point on a road where it enters a town, or the space between two trees. Gate in this description always refers to this definition and not the sphere gates, which are always referred to as such.
Doorway:
A gateway that can normally be either open or closed, it could be a literal doorway, a cabinet, or as insidious mages will note, an eye or a mouth.
Passage:
A magically created gateway through a solid object. This could be a hole in a wall through which people could pass, a hole in a glass to make it's contents drain out, or a peep-hole for spying on a room (though the special affects associated with magically created gates tends to make this ineffective for spying on non-empty rooms). The object passed through suffers no-ill effects. (A passage through a person won't harm them at all - closing the passage while something is in it will have decidedly bad results, however.)
Portal:
A magically created gateway from one place to another place. Sphere gates are portals from one sphere to another.

Though the appearance and feel of the magic could change with each practitioner, magically created gates generally have a thin line of blue flame demarcating their edges.

As with most magics, difficulty and casting times are reduced as the mage increases in level beyond the first where they gain a power. Alternately the number of gateways a mage can affect at once with full concentration also doubles with each level, so a level three practitioner can hold one doorway, a level four can hold two, and so on.

  1. Bond With Gate:
    The mage may, by concentrating for about an hour, and touching the gate if possible (depending on the type of gate), form a temporary bond with a gate, allowing her to be aware anytime something passes through it. The bond lasts for about a day, but if the mage returns each day to reinforce the bond, only a few minutes are required to refresh it. A permanent bond may be formed with a week long ritual, wherein the mage takes a piece of the gate (or it's immediate surroundings) and keeps it with her, and places a piece of herself (or something strongly associated with her) at the gate. The mage may break the bond at any time from any place with a few minutes concentration. Any bond currently operating counts as a spell the mage is maintaining - thus she will become exhausted faster casting other spells. Additionally, the mage may treat any gate to which she is bonded as if she were present, thus she can cast any other spell in this school at any time on a bonded gate, no matter where she is in relation to it.
    Sense Gateway Magic:
    The mage can detect the presence of magical enchantments on a gateway, (including enchantments of concealment, thereby finding the concealed gate), or the presence of portals, but only if actively attempting to do so, and she may not determine the purpose of either.
  2. Hear the Tale of Passing:
    The mage may, by touching a gate (if possible; being bonded also counts) and concentrating, gain some information about those whom have passed through it recently, or if a particular, known person or thing has ever passed through it, and approximately how long ago they last did. The mage may also determine the nature of an enchantment upon a gateway, or tell if a portal connects to a familiar place, and if so, which place. She also detects gateway related magic or portals without actively trying.
  3. Hold/Open Doorway:
    The mage may cause any normally close-able gate to remain closed against any force, though if it's door is broken, passage may still be gained. Likewise, the mage may cause any closed doorway to open, and if it is locked, become unlocked. In either case, the mage's full concentration is required, (though once a door is open, it will remain open until something closes it, and so on) and if there is magic opposing the mage, it will be difficult if not impossible (depending on the strength of the opposing magic and perhaps the mage's elements) to perform the actions. Additionally, the mage may cause a closed doorway to be unnoticed, effectively invisible so long as she concentrates.
    Sense Destination:
    The mage may now gain a mental picture of a portal's destination, even if she has never been there before, by concentrating on the portal.
  4. Create Minor Passage:
    The mage may create small holes in solid objects, about large enough for someone to reach an arm through. The passage remains open only so long as the mage concentrates, and it is very exhausting. The difficulty also increases with the depth of the material being passed through.
    Enchant Doorway:
    The mage may enchant doorways to be open, closed, or hidden, either always, or under certain conditions. She could for instance create a door that automatically opens whenever someone approaches, or perhaps speaks the correct password, one that will not allow undead to pass (but as above, they could still break the door down,) or one that was only visible on Tuesdays when the moon is full and the chosen one of legend comes forth and holds high the lost sword of High Crown, the great ruler of the ancient empire. Creating such an enchantment takes a lengthy ritual. Most enchantments take from a day to a week depending on the duration and complexity of the spell (a long list of who can or can't pass though will take a while, and the aforementioned concealment will take quite a while longer.)
  5. Create Medium Passage:
    The mage may now create a hole in a sold object large enough for a person to crawl through, and smaller holes with somewhat less effort than previously.
    Command Gate:
    The mage may make any gateway, whether or not it has any form of door, unpassable, either to anyone or to a specific person or thing, or a class thereof. This requires their full concentration. She may also attempt to force a magically held gateway open, or conceal a gateway from notice.
  6. Create Major Passage:
    The mage may make holes in solid objects large enough for two people to walk abreast through without difficutly. This requires her full concentration, but of course smaller holes are easier still. The mage may make larger holes, and holes of the same sizes easier, as her level increases. The mage may also begin to make permanent passages, with a week's long ritual.
    Enchant Gate:
    The mage may lay enchantments on gates, as she can with doorways. The times for rituals are the same, though of course the time to enchant doorways has decreased by now.
    Command Entrance and Exit:
    With concentration, the mage may control (prevent or allow) all entrance and exit from a small, clearly defined area (a room, a clearing in the woods, and so on), as per Command Gate. The size of the area that may be commanded increases with the level of the mage, but must always be clearly defined, regardless of level.
  7. Enchant Area:
    The mage may now create enchantments that control all entrance and exit from an area, as per Command Entrance and Exit.
    Create Minor Portal:
    The mage may create a portal - a magical gateway that connects any two points on a realm - the one the mage is at, and one she is familiar with. The portals that may be created at this level are small - about large enough to reach an arm through. This requires great concentration.
    The Gates of Morning and the Doors of Night:
    The mage may, with a year-long ritual, change the rising and the setting of the sun and the moon within a realm. It should not be necessary to enumerate the problems with either too much night or too much day...
  8. Create Major Portal:
    The mage may create a portal to any point (same restrictions as with minor portals) on the same realm, large enough for a person to walk though, with her full concentration. She may also, with a month long ritual, create a permanent portal across the same sphere, or destroy such a portal.
    Command the Gateways of the Heart:
    The mage may exert control over emotions - closing one off or opening it. She could calm an angry person by closing off their anger, or incite someone to rage by opening it up. She could cheer a depressed person by releasing a happy emotion, or by cutting off the sadness that is disturbing them. This can of course neither create or destroy emotions - only bring them to the surface or repress them, so results may vary with each person.
  9. Tread the Paths of the Gods:
    The mage may, with a week-long ritual create a sphere gate to a place the mage is familiar with, which remains open for a few minutes (at either end - the times it is open at each end will be separated by the 'lag time' of the gate.) With a year-long ritual, she may create a permanent sphere gate to a place she is familiar with, or destroy a sphere gate she has traveled.
    Command the Gateways of the Soul:
    The mage may command the gateway that holds a soul in a body - either releasing it prematurely, effectively killing a person, or holding it in, making someone immortal. This immortality will not, however, affect aging or damage to the body, and by itself is really only longer life. The mage may also, however, force a soul through a gateway, thus creating an undead servant (assuming the spirt found is agreeable), breathing life into a normally inanimate object, or body-hoping her own soul in an attempt to live forever.
  10. The mage may move herself and others within a realm at the speed of thought, within a sphere in a few minutes, and may spherewalk at will, leaving behind a permanent sphere gate each time she does ('lag time' still applies.) A mage of this level could be the Walker of legend. The mage is also effectively bonded with all gates in the realm she currently occupies, and thus knows of all passing within the realm, which she may prevent or allow at her whim. It would be very easy for such a person to impersonate a god in a realm (or to perhaps even be a godling.)

This is the magic of Sharza-Zara, the archmage of Underlight.

See Also:

  • The Great Spells of Underlight

    • See Also: