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The Traveler's Guide to the Veil
Inhabitants: Varied and impossible to perfectly recount.
Government: Varied and mostly nonexistent.
When one speaks of the realm commonly called the Veil, one might be talking about a number of specific sub-realms within the Veil proper.1 To be frank, most vanilla mortals show an astonishingly inaccurate knowledge of the place: in fact, the only truism I have heard in my travels which has shown itself to be actually true is the fact that faeries originated there. So, to set the record straight once and for all, I will define this realm as specifically as I am able in such a limited space.
The Veil is what is known as a transitive plane. Its broad mists overlay the common reality of this world in every place at once- for the capable traveler, those mists are the merest side-step away at all times. The main function of the Veil, as mortal mages see it, is in its ubiquitous nature: for not only does it overlay this world, but also a hundred others at once. Thus, many other worlds are exactly two side-steps away, though some travel through the Veil itself may be required in order to reach the more esoteric ones.2
Other, less savory uses of the Veil involve the premise of this side-step as a bypass. Very powerful mages and other native creatures of the Veil can step into it briefly in order to avoid certain secular wards and traps. Due to this problem, some more informed mages with these particular enemies have researched ways to close their territory off from the Veil completely, negating any sort of travel to and from that realm.3
Travel within the Veil, of course, has its own dangers- because of this, its use should not be taken lightly. Many an excited mage has breached the barrier between realms and decided to go on a relatively simple journey from which he never returns. These dangers vary wildly from sub-realm to sub-realm, naturally, which means that I cannot possibly enumerate them all in this space; certain sub-realms are mentioned in other entries of my Traveler's Guide in greater detail. In some ways, travel through the Veil can actually be considered more dangerous than travel through one's own reality: at least in one's own world, one can be relatively certain of the physics and laws of magic from one mile marker to the next. Similarly, it is terribly easy to get oneself lost within the Veil, to the point of no return; there are not always friendly locals willing to lend a hand to the world-confused traveler. In general, it is simply best to find an experienced guide, preferably of native origin.4
The most distant locales of the Veil are almost entirely without the range of mortal comprehension: these are the places where dead gods are theorized to leave their giant, rotting bodies, and where infinite cities spiral into a sky that looks down upon another world. Even native guides generally refrain from travel to these areas due to the danger inherent in the simplest acts: walking, breathing, even thinking in a coherent fashion. I do not suggest visiting these areas at all unless you have terribly pressing reason to part with your sanity.5
1 Many mages, who should know better, have done little to correct these misassumptions. Every hack wizard who's found his way to a sub-realm of the Veil seems to think he's found the one and only realm by that name- hence the wild and conflicting rumors that the Veil is ruled, variously, by a lady of brilliant fire, an unoccupied and whispering throne, a talking bird, and a demonic undead duck. Of these stories, each is true in its own way and realm- except for the duck. I do not know precisely where that rumor came from.
2 A few of this world's most prominent figures have found their way here from worlds beyond the Veil. My associate, the very esteemed mage Gordon Dexter, is one of them. Contrary to most mages, Gordon is, in fact, the premier mortal authority on the Veil and its realms; I do believe he has visited quite a few of them himself.
3 Some mages speculate that the spell Phase-Out is, in fact, a temporary relocation of self halfway between this reality and the Veil itself. More study is certainly needed.
4 I am, of course, an experienced guide to the Veil myself; not only have I traveled multiple of its worlds personally, but my heritage is derived from one of the native faerie races that yet live there. Be reassured, dear reader, that you are yet in capable hands.
5 And possibly your soul.
~Jysae, Official Bard-Traveler of the Gates
