Places

Infinity is too big to wrap your head around. Like God, it needs a face. The Tapestry is that face – a metaphor for that which exists. Whereas the Tellurian is potential, the Tapestry is form. All woven together like some artistic curtain, the strands of interconnected existence create a shimmering whole.

Beyond the obvious pun about tying everything together, the Tapestry metaphor also makes a subtle nod to an ancient magical principle: the idea of interconnectedness. Sometimes known as contagion, this principle asserts that you can affect a thing – say, your landlord – by using something that’s connected with it… in this case, perhaps your lease. And if this sounds like an outmoded idea, look up the quantum physics concept of superstring theory… an idea that also echoes the Tapestry metaphor.

Like I said, mages speak a language of poetics. Even the Technocrats resort to arcane acronyms and cumbersome yet Oh-So-Impressive titles. If you want to truly understand the magickal realm, much less the Otherworlds, it helps a lot if you can wrap your head around the idea of symbols that reveal a deeper truth.

When speaking to Umbral travelers, you’ll hear a lot of talk about the Three Worlds. Briefly put, those are…

• The High Umbra, astral realm of ideas;

• The Middle Umbra, elemental realm of Nature; and…

• The Low Umbra, mortal realm of death.

I’ve mentioned all of them earlier, but here’s where those distinctions really become important. See, when you move beyond the Penumbra, you head toward one of those three destinations… unless, of course, you wind up wandering around the Penumbra or choose to remain there in order to reach another earthly destination. Lots of creatures, especially werewolves, use the Penumbra as a sort of secret door for moving around the mortal realm. Mages can do that too, simply by intending to stick close to the human world.

If and when you want to move beyond there, though, you’ll employ different methods, depending on your intended destination.