Ethereal Plane

The Ethereal Plane is the name given to the realm that coexists alongside the Material Plane.

## Geography

The Ethereal Plane shares the same geography as the material plane, however swirling mists and fog cover the lands. This plane exists as an immaterial equivalent of its material counterpart. Oryn, as a material planet, is remade in its entirety, in the ethereal plane. It shares the same forests, mountains, rivers, and oceans, but everything is an ethereal version of it. The fog that shrouds the realm makes it hard to navigate, and everything has a translucent, bluish-purple tint to it.

All materials and resources, including beings, are converted to their ethereal equivalent when entering this realm. The difference being that only ethereal matter has any influence on the ethereal plane, and only material matter has influence on the material plane. An ethereal sword for example, would be incapable of cutting something on the material plane.

As this place is a copy of the material plane, some cities exist there also, but not all. Often, when peering into the ethereal plane it is noticed that some infrastructures are missing and they instead see into the countryside somewhere. The cities are built by the phasewalkers within them using the ethereal materials they can find. Whilst this plane is completely coexistent with the material plane, it is not a mirror dimension. Everything within the plane acts independently of the material plane, it is just a copy of the world itself.

The ethereal plane always has vision over the material plane, but looking into it is similar to looking through fogged glass. It is however completely invisible to the material plane, only being visible by magical means.

### Border Ethereal

The border ethereal is the closest part of the ethereal to the material plane. This is where immediate travel between the planes lie, and where magic spells take you upon entering. This is also where the ethereal plane looks onto the material plane. The border ethereal is what most lore texts and recounts talk about, being an almost perfect replica of the material plane. It is much further into the ethereal plane that the deep ethereal is encountered.

### Deep Ethereal

The deep ethereal, unlike the border ethereal, is not a replica of any plane at all. Here, time is slowed, and there are no distinct landmarks at all. The only thing here is swirling matter that possesses the ability to create a brand new plane of existence. It can be weaved to expand the ethereal plane over other realms, making a completely new copy of an already existing inner plane. These demiplanes share the same traits as the border ethereal, acting as a gateway between this realm and the inner plane it now mimics. It is not uncommon for these demiplanes to collapse on themselves, and rather be destroyed in the process, they instead merge into the non-ethereal equivalent.

## Passage

Entering the ethereal plane is something that various mages can do at will, in fact some non-mages have the ability to transverse the planes also. Phasewalkers are born with the innate gift to travel between the material and ethereal planes at will. The most common form of entering the ethereal plane is through the invisibility spell. When someone becomes invisible they remain bound to the material plane and the ethereal plane is still invisible to them, but they can be seen clearly by someone stood in the ethereal plane. This explains how the see invisibility spell works. For a brief moment the caster can see into the ethereal plane, revealing invisible or otherwise hidden individuals.

Actually entering the ethereal plane is not always a difficult task. It comes down to force of will, as does most things within the realm. It is only phasewalkers that have perfected the art of planar travel, so many material beings find the act much more difficult, requiring spells more often than not. The lack of gravity within the ethereal plane does not mean that everything floats vertically, but rather that everything can be moved at will. Beings still walk the paths, but through sheer willpower and thought can begin to move in any direction they choose. Dropping an object in the ethereal plane will place it wherever it is let go of, usually hovering a few feet off the floor.

## Flora and Fauna

The geography of the plane may be a copy of the material one, but that does not mean that unique flora and fauna don't grow or live there. There are many unique flowers and trees that grow, none of which can be found on the material plane. Of course, when picking a flower in this realm, an ethereal rose for example, entering the material plane would turn it into an ordinary rose. This is true of all plants (and items), but some do exist that have no material equivalent:

* Ghostthorn
* Phase Rose
* Deathlily
* Glass Lily

As well as plants, there are many unique types of fauna that roam the plane. These include:

* Ethereal Dragons
* Ethereal Marauders
* Medusae
* Phase Spiders