“We live in a prison. Most people know it, but it’s so large with so many resources people just don’t care. We’re born into this place and are trapped here because of that …thing…in Franner. But you know what makes things worse? What gets stuck in my gullet? There are worlds out there beyond ours, an infinity of universes, realms and planes. And if….IF…we ever have the chance to escape this hell hole we’re dragged back here no matter what. And you wonder why I spit at the church and those that believe in Halen….”

– Guard report on the desceration of a temple

Introduction

The fact that Easthalen is part of a multiverse, a place of multiple-planes, dimensions and realms of reality is not something that is hidden to the inhabitants of this place. Granted, most people are not familiar with the concept and as only those with the skills and power to leave are capable of doing so, it doesn’t matter to most inhabitants. They see it in much the same way that those on other worlds might when they find out about other countries; curiosity, but with an acknowledgement that they will never get the chance to go there, so they stop thinking too much about it. For those that can leave, or that do care, it is a different matter.  

The Reality Prison

Practically everyone in Eatshalen knows about the basic nature of the world, how it is a prison, designed to keep a god inside, how a massive area of the Halenic content was sealed off under a sphere, Great Barrier  that can warp and shred apart anything that crosses it, that reacts harsher the more powerful you are.  What most don’t know is that leaving *is* possible. That you can have a respite from this realm and temporarily escape this so-called reality-prison, but, no matter how far you go, to whatever far-flung realm or plane you travel to, one must always return to Easthalen.  A few theologian philosophers believe this was a loop-hole, put in by the gods to allow the mortals trapped in this self-imposed prison some relief, some way of experience the multiverse. Sadly, there are still restrictions on travelling the realms beyond for any native or someone who has spent the majority of their life here. 

The Restrictions

The rules, known to the travellers of the multiverse as “the restrictions” are all things considered, fair. Yet trying to circumnavigate them can result in harsh penalties. Reality here it seems does like it when mortals try to take advantage of the few loop-holes it does allow them on dimensional travel. These restrictions are broken down into several rules, known as the “Laws of Travel”, with the term citizen applying to those who are naturally born in Easthalen or have spent more time there than they have not.

1. The Law of Return – No matter what plane or realm one travels to, a citizen MUST return to Easthalen when leaving another realm. If you go to say, the Realm of Light, you cannot then go from there to the Astral Plane, you are forced to return to Easthalen.
2. The Law of Power – The more powerful you are, the harder it will be to travel the realms. The Great Barrier reacts strongly to those with power, and the more potent you are, the more it fights back.
3. The Law of Uncertainty – A citizen, when returning to Easthalen, cannot guarantee the exact location to which they do return. if, in a metaphorical sense, the realm a citizen is returning from is a far-away place, the greater the deviation. You can roughly aim in the general area, but a precise return is not possible. The Law of Power also applies here and the more powerful the traveller, the more the deviation on the citizens return.

The Known Worlds

 Easthalen, like other worlds, is a part of the multiverse. Even if travel to the rest of the planet on which it resides is now impossible, travel to other realities can be done, as mentioned above. These locations, these planes, these dimensions and worlds beyond are not attached to Easthalen in a normal sense, but more of a metaphysical way. A few people, following the laws mentioned above, have been able to explore and discovered what lies beyond this dimension. These places came to be called the “Known Worlds”, even though strictly speaking the term world is a bit misleading – As with many things, the name was a placeholder and it just stayed that way. 

• Westhalen – A mirror universe to this world, where the same people exist, the same places, except that this world, this version embraced technology. Often used in children morality tales in much the same way as planes of fire and brimstone are used in others; a place of suffering and horrible inhabitants. Strictly speaking, this world is also called Easthalen, but the opposite nature of it led to those who found out about it to create the name, to show it is different from the “correct” one.
• The Astral Ocean – the Void, the place between the world, the “sea” in which all other island-realms float. Distances here are mere guidelines and many teleportation spells use this place as a shortcut.
• The Eternal Forest – There are many afterlifes attached to Easthalen, each in some way overseen in some fashion by a deity or greater spirit. The Eternal Forest is probably the most well known and was one of the first to be discovered. A place once believed to be controlled by some trickster aligned fey-like creature, it turned out to be a realm where some souls go to rest and yet others use as a passage to their own ever-after.