Islands in the Mist: The Demiplanes (GEP)

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Planar boundaries slide through the Ethereal Plane like icebergs in glacial seas. Though the curtain of vaporous color only manifests in the Deep Ethereal, its infinite areas lead to planes of almost any size. It doesn't take a body long to tumble to the idea that such vast physical interactions create tension and strain when planar boundaries shift and flow within the ethereal medium-at least according to the graybeards. These experts claim that planar stresses sometimes create large globs of solid ether. When enough of this material accumulates, the solid ether starts to pull away from the fabric of the Deep, forming a demiplane once the protomatter reaches a stable state. Generally, the larger demiplanes-such as the Demiplanes of Shadow and Time-form this way.
Demiplanes can also form as a result of a power's intervention. In addition, spellslingers with enough magic can create their own pocket dimensions. These smaller demiplanes take many centuries to grow near the size of the power-created ones, but a body still needs to watch her back when exploring one, because mages are very protective of their hard-won territory.
Demiplanes are incomplete areas that continually undergo formation and evolution. As such, they don't always have a set place in the cosmology of the multiverse. Fact is, some demiplanes exhibit characteristics similar to those of the Elemental Planes, even though they're not a part of the Inner Planes. Likewise, other demiplanes possess environments indistinguishable from that of the Prime, yet they're quite separate. See, demiplanes are phenomena complete unto themselves. They're islands of possibility, pocket dimensions that follow their own unique laws, and a body who chooses to ignore this fact risks becoming an anecdote in some blood's tale. It's possible that these demiplanes'll one day form into true planes, but no one's exactly sure when (or if) such a thing'll actually occur.
On occasion, a "young" demiplane stumbles in its formation and begins to decay, venting portions of itself back into the ethereal mists. Such decay could happen naturally or as a result of a spellslinger with the right magic. Decaying demiplanes are dangerous, as ether cyclones and ether gaps have a tendency to form around them. Other demiplanes sometimes draw too near a portion of the Prime or an Inner Plane that demonstrates similar characteristics; these areas are engulfed by the larger plane.
When a demiplane merges with a larger plane, it's immediately subject to all the laws that govern that plane. Some graybeards believe that a demi plane of sufficient size could envelop a large portion of the Prime. Of course, this might be only so much screed, as no one's been able to round up enough evidence to support such a thought.
Finding a demiplane isn't as easy as it might seem. A body who wanders aimlessly through the Deep in hopes of bumping into a demiplane will have a long wait. Although generally referred to as islands, most demiplanes don't simply float idly in the ethereal mists. A cutter actually has to find the specific area of the color curtain associated with a demiplane. 'Course, the area of the Border Ethereal surrounding these pocket dimensions might pose some problems to the traveler. A planewalker could head through the curtain toward a specific demiplane only to find that the Border around the area is hostile to life. Worse yet, the Border Ethereal might not even surround a demiplane; a body could leap right onto the demiplane itself without warning.