Hinterland

## "Never mess with spatio-temporal anomalies - it never ends well" -Dr. Jason van Hellsing

The term "Hinterland" is used by the JPCU to refer to spatial, temporal, and/or spatio-temporal anomalies that exist across the Realms. Most mages refer to Hinterlands as "pocket dimensions," "pocket Realms," "demiplanes," etc., but all of these terms are synonymous with one another. Other organizations like the CBPA/UIU and SCP Foundation have various other terms for such anomalies. Hinterlands are relatively common in K2, and are actively created by groups like the JPCU as a means of sealing away great threats or providing safe haven for anomalous or magical groups that would otherwise be dangerous or unsafe in the normal world.

Hinterlands can be purely spatial in nature - a building or room that is bigger than it should be when viewed from the outside - or temporal - an area with a passage of time that differs from the standard - or a combination of both in a spatio-temporal occurrence - a large enough spatial anomaly that temporal changes occur as a result. For instance, the Continent of Pilbo is classified as a spatio-temporal Hinterland not because time moves differently in Pilbo, but because the Hinterland is so large that the time required to cross the Continent of Pilbo is equivalent to more than one (>1) circumnavigation of Earth's surface.

Hinterlands vary in size, shape, habitability, geography, composition, gravity (and other alterations to the normal functioning of physics), etc. Some Hinterlands are more dangerous than others or were created as a result of powerful anomalous/magical cataclysms, while most are stable pocket Realms designed intelligently by someone many years prior; the aforementioned aspects of a Hinterland are set at the anomaly's creation, but can be retroactively changed or altered by the Hinterland's creator, a sufficiently powerful inhabitant, or a knowledgeable mage with access to the anomaly's *Hutton Algorithm*, or the Hinterland's sealing/binding/stabilizing ritual circle and its components. Accessing Hinterlands varies on a case-by-case basis, with each Hinterland being very different from the last; the JPCU has specialized technologies designed to forcibly create or open entrances to Hinterlands, but this process is often considered a last result due to their destabilizing effects on the localized reality within the Hinterland (*see: Leavitt Hammers*).

### List of Hinterland Category:

Gaining access to a Hinterland is often incredibly difficult, and depends on the presented type of Hinterland. The list of Hinterland types, arranged by general characteristics, is provided below according to trends in their *Hutton Algorithms*; Hinterlands may incorporate more than one (1) of the following:

1. Anchored: An Anchored Hinterland refers to a Hinterland that is tied to a specific corresponding location/region in the Hinterland's contained Realm; entrances/exits can be Anchored but the entire Hinterland may not be, and the opposite - a Hinterland being anchored to a corresponding metaphysical location without consistent entrances/exits - is also possible (*see: almost all known Hinterlands*).
2. Detached: A Detached Hinterland refers to a Hinterland that has no entrances/exits that correspond to physical locations within the Hinterland's containing Realm; instead, Detached Hinterlands require specialized teleportation (Conjuration) Magic to or special Key items to reach; the opposite of an Anchored Hinterland (*see: Meat Market*).
3. Locked: A Locked Hinterland refers to a Hinterland with entrances closed to normal access, requiring a Key of some sort in order for an individual to gain access (*see: Continent of Pilbo*).
4. Sealed: A Sealed Hinterland refers to a Hinterland with no known entrances, or entrances that were destroyed or permanently removed as a means of locking away whatever - or whoever - is trapped inside (*see: Garden of Eden*).
5. Open: An Open Hinterland refers to a Hinterland with three (3) or more known entrances, all of which must be open to public access and require neither a Key or password.
6. Binary: A Binary Hinterland refers to a Hinterland with exactly one (1) entrance and one (1) exit; the locked/open status of this entrance and exit does not matter, but should be noted carefully (*see: El Dorado, Garden of Eden*).
7. Invisible: An Invisible Hinterland refers to a Hinterland that may not occupy a separate mini-Realm of existence, but one that is still on the main Material Realm just hidden from detection; these Hinterlands may only be invisible or immune to means of normal detection, or may have some other anomalous affect like memory manipulation.
8. Veiled: A Veiled Hinterland refers to a Hinterland that has few or no set entrances and can be entered via any corresponding anchor point, but that actively combats attempts to notice, interact with, change, or enter it (*see: Continent of Pilbo, Atlantis, Bermuda Triangle, El Dorado*).
9. Hostile: A Hostile Hinterland refers to a Hinterland similar to Veiled Hinterlands; unlike Veiled Hinterlands, however, Hostile Hinterlands take more deadly and anomalous action towards attempts at gaining access and will seek to harm, remove, expunge, or eliminate any unwanted intruders that the Hinterland detects within itself, changing its internal conditions or spontaneously spawning entrances/exits to forcibly kick out the interloper; the most complex and "intelligent" Hinterland.
10. Unstable: An Unstable Hinterland refers to a Hinterland with one (1) or more entrances that changes location and Locked/Open status with either a patterned or random frequency; the number of entrances and exits also changes at either a regular or random frequency.
11. Blinking: A Blinking Hinterland refers to a Hinterland that phases in and out of normal reality, either at random or at certain scheduled times or under specific conditions; the frequency, conditions, times, and number of entrance will all vary considerably (*see: Lost City of Nula, El Dorado, Atlantis*).
12. Fractured: A Fractured Hinterland refers to a Hinterland that exists in pieces scattered around a target region or across a planet or larger cosmic area; these pieces are assembled in random places with random shapes and sizes but with consistent internal conditions and set entrance accessibility/availability; while Fractured externally, the Hinterland's interior will not reflect its fractured nature.
13. Parallel: A Parallel Hinterland refers to a Hinterland that is a mirrored, identical, near-identical, or otherwise "parallel" version of a real location or region of space; often, Parallel Hinterlands are anchored in or near the location they parallel (*see: Three Portlands, Other Orleans*).

### Hinterland Anchors:

The anchors and/or anchor-points of a Hinterland and its entrances/exits can exist in a large variety of forms, from specific Magic-laced geographical locations to runic/ritual circles to fixed points in space to moving points in space to specific objects, creatures, or people. Hinterland anchors are deeply Magic in nature and will put off powerful arcane energies when scanned for such, usually registering in the Raw Magic spectrum.

Destroying a Hinterland anchor has devastating consequences for the Hinterland's interior, often resulting in drastic changes to the Hinterland's internal conditions and the stability of its internal reality. Destroying or otherwise nullifying all of a Hinterland's anchors will result in it becoming either a Detached, Unstable, or Fractured Hinterland; destroying all anchors, entrances, exits, and other means of entrance will cause the Hinterland to collapse entirely, resulting in the obliteration of the Hinterland's internal reality and all energy and matter contained therein. If a Hinterland's destruction is brought about by destroying its final anchor, then the Hinterland's collapse will also produce an incredible amount of Magic backlash that will present in the Hinterland's containing Realm as either a catastrophic explosion, permanent or temporary alterations/destabilizations to the local reality, or a surge of Raw Magic.