On the Nature of Everything

The Rifts

The first Rift was opened from Darraknoir into the Badlands by a Veilguard named Lysa as a way to escape the strife within the lands. She used the ancient magics of her order and effectively tore a hole through the fabric of their reality and into our own.

Though this was an act of great sacrifice on the caster’s behalf, it was also a reckless action that rend the natural fabrics of the magic within Darraknoir and created an unstable connection between the lands of Darraknoir and the world as a whole. Since the first Rift opening unstable rifts have continued to open and close during the nights within the Badlands, creating tears in the fabric of reality that allow for creatures from beyond to enter through into the Badlands, bringing chaos and darkness into the Badlands.

Although the rifts mainly open during the nighttime, it is also possible for the magic in Darraknoir to build up to a point where the rifts are forced open during other times of the day. These moments of overflowing magical energies are often referred to as the Blood Moon Rifts. The Blood Moon is when the rifts into this world cause the very sky to turn red as the rifts open wider than usual and allow more creatures to spill out into the lands beyond.

Riftwalkers / The Undead

Within the lands of Darraknoir the dead roam like a blot on the landscape. The numbers are numerous and never ending, the magics seeping into their very bones keeping them in the state of undeath forever to roam the lands mindlessly. It is uncertain what caused them to appear in the first place; maybe it was the sorceries of the first vampire lords that roamed the lands, or the madness of the vampire Baron who first caused the wars, or perhaps other sorcerous means that have yet to be learned.

These undead are driven by a mindless force that causes them to surge towards anything that resembles intelligent life. It is quite unsure what drives them, but their focus seems unmatched. They seek out the living and become aggressive towards it, attacking relentlessly to end that spark of life that they see within them.

There are several types of riftwalker that have been categories thus far; the normal ones that shamble and stumble, those that seem to have a little more intelligence about them that have learned how to use simple weapons such as knives as well as the rare few that have learned how to point and shoot a gun. There is one other type that causes much trouble within the Badlands; the invisible riftwalkers that seldom make a sound and walk unseen to attack from the shadowed veil, leaving chaos in their wake.

When the rifts close they draw the energies back within, causing the riftwalkers to dissipate as the energies that keep them there are withdrawn back through the rifts. Once back on the other side of the rift they have time to reconsolidate and reform; those riftwalkers that had been destroyed within the Badlands slowly reform within Darraknoir, only to travel through the rifts once more when they reopen.

On the Matters of Time

The magic that flows through the rifts and into Darraknoir has become a part of everyday life within the Badlands. It has been over forty years since the rifts first opened and during this time the magic that comes through them has become a part of everything; the grass, the plants, even the very air that is inhaled by those living there. No creature or being that lives for any length of time within the Badlands is truly unaffected by the magic that resides there.

Whilst beings of a non-magical nature living within the Badlands will not physically change over time, they will have absorbed some of the magic from the lands around them.

The concentration of magical energies within the Badlands has caused some changes to occur within the Badlands. The primary of these changes being something that is rapidly apparent to anyone travelling into the Badlands for the first time; the fact that time moves much faster within these lands, whereas time still moves at its normal pace outside of the Badlands. The effect is not noticed in the outside lands beyond the boundaries of the Badlands, but the effect within the land can be quite startling for those experiencing it for the first time.

Residents of the Badlands still tend to refer to the cycle of day and night as they would do in the outside world, deciding that they would not try and adopt a new calendar and time system to track the passage of time. Instead, they tend to merge the multiple day and night cycles into a singular “day”, yet might still describe the rift openings as happening “last night”, only if it were no more than an hour ago and it has gone from night, to day, to night once more.

The magic has another effect within the Badlands; it causes the plant life and animal life to grow faster than would otherwise be possible. Herbs that have been picked one day easily recover and regrow the next. Trees that yield lumber and saps regenerate quickly as well, as well as any other natural resource that can regenerate due to the magics in the area.

This has caused many farmers to set up shop within the Badlands, even though the lands themselves are fraught with dangers; the benefits of the rapid growth makes their risks more than worthwhile in their eyes.

The Borders of the Badlands

The magic that has seeped into the Badlands since the rifts first opened have caused numerous interesting effects to the lands. Particularly interesting are the borders of the Badlands; whilst marked on maps as invisible borders that mark out which territories belong to which areas, the borders of the Badlands have taken on a slightly different role.

The world as a whole, outside of the Badlands, still sees the landscape as it should be: a place where time moves normally and there are no strange and mythical things that roam the earth on a regular basis. Their perception of the lands within is a warped and twisted reality of what the place should be, not what it is.

Those standing within the Badlands and looking out see a distorted reality reflected back at them. They see both time moving at its generally agreed upon pace as well as a mirror image of what the landscape would look like if it were to keep up with the movement of the Badlands. For some this is a maddening image, driving most away from the borders, whilst some find themselves drawn to the chaotic image and become enamoured with it to the point of being unable to pull themselves away from the sight of it.

This strange magical effect benefits the Badlands in a way, allowing the lands to stay hidden and safe from the prying eyes of the outside world. Many would find themselves drawn to the strangeness and wonder that the lands portrayed, likely bringing with it those that would try to exploit the lands and the magical beings within. This does not mean that the Badlands are safe from these kinds of folk, but it is less likely that it would draw too much attention.

The downside to this magical barrier is that it can be quite difficult for people to pass through, from either direction. Those drawn to the Badlands seem to have a slightly easier time passing through the borders. Those already within the Badlands can have trouble leaving, some completely unable to do so. This is not to say that those living within the lands are unable to leave, visit family and take vacations so to speak, but those that are able to leave find themselves muddled and confused about the Badlands. The information about the Badlands and what happens within becomes something akin to a dream upon waking; the information is there but fades fast.

Due to the difficulties traveling through the barrier, the researchers and magic users within the Historic Society have devised a workaround with the ships that travel into the Badlands: they have managed to fix a route to bring people into the Badlands, ferrying into the docks at Saint Denis before packaging them onto a train headed to Rhodes as a kind of ‘decompression’ trip to ease them into this strange and wonderful land.