Planeshift
by Beatrix
“Nothing is as comforting in all the multiverse, my dear girl; nothing
is as comforting as seeing the constellations under which you were born, the
lights most familiar to your soul. I want you to remember this.” ~Mr.
Argyros, from “Starlight on a Dark City” in Planeshift
Take a look up into the sky at night and the planets and patterns of stars you
see exist in your universe. Is that universe all there is? In the novel
Planeshift, a nearly infinite spectrum of worlds fills the multiverse, each one
unique in its own way, but all connected to one another by the intricate and
expansive curtain that holds all things in place. Since the creation of the
multiverse, the Veil has formed a solid, yet invisible boundary, separating the
many worlds. Each night sky holds different constellations, each lighting the
way for different beings, and portraying scenes from alien mythologies.
Central to all stories in Planeshift is one constant location, and this is a
shop owned by a curious character named Zachus. An interdimensional place, this
shop allows planeswalkers to enter from any plane through a unique portal
disguised as a door. Zachus’s Shop, therefore, exists in many planes at once.
Though a planeswalker entering the shop from Norringrad, for example, can
interact with planeswalkers from other worlds within the shop, he or she can
only enter and exit through the Norringrad door. It’s quite ingenious! Of
course, no one is really sure how Zachus accomplished this feat. Chances are, if
one were to ask him, he would most likely give an answer more enigmatic than his
shop.
So, what are some of these worlds from which weary travelers enter Zachus’s
Shop? Currently, about twenty planes have been visited by characters in the
novel.
Norringrad plays heavily in the plot of several characters in the novel. A
massive city-world, Norringrad is a diverse and densely populated plane with a
rich and vibrant history. Once fertile plains and forests, it was gradually
civilized, until it was unified by Emperor Norrin Augustine VI. Within each
four-district 'square' of Norringrad, there is a park. Though these parks are
beautiful - the last remaining aspects of nature that exist - they are extremely
dangerous. They exist as the last bastion of natural growth in Norringrad, and
that nature has become violent with rage at how she has been treated by the
founders of the city. Humans dare not enter there.
The main law enforcement body is known as the Legion, a massive military force
with presence in all the major districts throughout Norringrad. They enforce all
Conclave laws, though never beyond the boundaries of the parks. As a result of
this overbearing and bureaucratic force, many people consider the Legion more
hindrance than help to the daily lives of the common folk. Conclave laws do
little to protect the safety of the less wealthy citizens, and non-human
citizens are purposefully neglected in the making of those laws. Prejudice and
injustice are rampant in this factory-riddled city-world on the cusp of
industrial revolution.
Goblins lurk in sewers, manual labor is best left to the heavy hands of
minotaurs, and countless millions of men, women, and children work in crowded
factories and sweatshops, hoping to make ends meet, while the disproportionate
amount of rich citizens live in luxury. Underneath it all, an organization has
stood in the shadows, protecting all those who are in need. A racially
integrated group, the Nightguard stands for what Norringrad could be. Perhaps
change is on the horizon. Discussion on this topic might be overheard among
planeswalkers in Zachus’s Shop.
Another plane familiar to many who pass through the shop is the home of the
Planes Keepers. In ages past, in a somewhat primitive plane, an organized group
of planeswalkers came across a large area so ripe with Veil energies it has been
theorized a very tear in reality must have occurred eons before in that very
spot. Using secret techniques as well as their knowledge of modern building from
multiple planes, these walkers constructed a mighty city, dubbed Arador. With
their main base established, this militant group set out to maintain peace
throughout the universe, and serve as knights of order and justice in all places
touched by the Veil. They are called the Planes Keepers, and they are in essence
the police force of the multiverse. The city of Arador stands out from the more
quaint countryside around it, a very symbol itself of the power and prestige of
those who call it home. These knights exist to preserve order across the
multiverse, and to keep the planes safe from threats from beyond the Veil.
Planes Keepers might be scarce around Zachus’s Shop, but that is because they
are obviously quite busy.
Visitors to Zachus’s Shop might include planeswalkers from Gaia, a
post-industrial earth-like planet in the throes of a world war, or the
devastated technological Yabaraxis currently suffering through a nuclear winter.
Apostates from the desolate and dusty ruins of Aera Cura are not usual customers
in the interdimensional shop, but someone has to keep the Planes Keepers busy.
Two-dimensional travelers might prefer stopping by LineLand, where citizens look
for their missing hero.
These are only a small sampling of vast cityscapes or celestial skies characters
might experience in the novel, but one thing is for certain—possibilities for
worlds in Planeshift are nearly unlimited. The term multiverse is
all-encompassing!
Lastly, remember that if one day you notice an old, run-down shop you have
overlooked before, it could be a portal into the center of a web of connected
universes. You might stop in and say hello to the friendly, albeit enigmatic
shopkeeper, but beware—adventure could await you. And though you might travel
into strange and unknown worlds outside your own, remember also that there is no
place like home.