The Beach

**The Beach**, also known as the **Realm of Dreams**, the **Land of Souls** or the **Otherworld**, is a metaphysical realm between the lands of the living and the dead that linked to Draconis during the conjunction. Because of this link, all living creatures enter the Beach when they sleep, although only those with magical blood - i.e. wardens and mages - and beachwalkers are able to perceive the Beach and explore it. It is the source of alchemite, does not experience the flow of time and is home to its own ecosystem of entities, including spirits, nightmares and the monstrous anathema.

## History

### Formation

Little information exists as to how or why the Beach formed, although the work of scholars and dreamwalkers throughout history has provided some theories. The leading theory is that the Beach was created when the worlds of the living and the dead were momentarily joined and torn apart again during the conjunction, the catacylsm that destroyed the Old Kingdom and reshaped the world into its current form. As a result, a new metaphysical plane was created, the Beach, that acted as a "buffer" between the living world and the Void.

## Nature

The Beach acts as a sort of limbo, a place between the world of the living and what comes after it. It is a manifestation of the consciousness of all living things and their personal conception of death, and as such, the Beach is a phenomenon common and unique to all. Each person has an instance of the Beach that is personal to them, given form by a person's thoughts and set of beliefs. Because of this, the Beach is often described as a "multiverse", as all souls inhabit a personal Beach (in most cases), in contrast to the land of the living, where everyone's physical body inhabits the same universe.

The Beach lacks a flow of time, and the matter that originates from it, commonly known as alchemite, does not either. Most Beaches share common characteristics of a shore of dark sand and rock and a cloudy sky, but it is possible for a Beach to not resemble a literal beach at all. Most Beaches have stranded marine life, often along with viscera and human remains.

Many mages believe that the Beach acts as a buffer between the Void, the source of Power, and the mortal realm, hence why mages possess a stronger connection to the Beach than non-mages. When those without magical blood sleep and enter the Beach, their minds perceive the spirits and demons they encounter as dreams and nightmares respectively. Those with magical blood are able to perceive the Beach's true nature, explore and interact with it, and even communicate with spirits. Beachwalkers are rare individuals that are able to perceive the Beach despite possessing no magical blood; this talent makes them immortal repatriates, as they are incapable of passing through the Beach to the Void.

#### Veil

The metaphysical "barrier" between the mortal world and the Beach is known as the "Veil". It is not a physical object, but rather something similar to a magical "vibration" that repels the Beach. It is also a metaphor used by mortal scholars to explain the interactions between the two different realities. The Veil's "thickness" is not uniform across Draconis; in some places it is "thicker", while in others it is "thinner".

Areas where the Veil is thin have typically seen recent concentrated suffering and bloodshed - such as battlefields, plague-ridden villages and even exam halls - all of which weaken the Veil; as a result, Power is usually more concentrated in such areas, which can allow hostile spirits to break through to the mortal world. Some parts of the Veil are so weak that they become a "Place of Power" where magical energy can be drawn. Conversely, the Veil can also be "thick" in some places, preventing Power from affecting such locations; strengthening the Veil usually occurs by artificial means, such as using felsteel, but can also happen naturally such as in places where draconic magic is prevelant, e.g. the entire continent of Drekosgard.

### Endless Sea

The Endless Sea is a grey ocean that stretches on presumably forever and appears in all Beaches regardless of the landscape.

### Dauðstaður

> *Main Article: Dauðstaður*
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The Land Beyond Time, known in elvish as Dauðstaður, is a city said to lie somewhere on the Beach, and thus trapped between the lands of the living and the dead. The city's true nature and history is unknown; some scholars believe that it was once a city of the Old Kingdom that was dragged onto the Beach during the Conjunction. Legends say that the city remains on the Beach, its old magics lying in wait.

### Inhabitants

The Beach hosts a vast ecosystem of spirits that are either visitors or natives. All living souls enter the Beach when they sleep and travel it as spirits; many of these spirits, lacking magical blood, are unaware of the Beach's true nature and interpret it as dreams and nightmares.

When the body dies, the spirit moves onto the Beach, where they will remain until finding peace and passing on to the Void; many such spirits project themselves into the mortal world at ghosts, while others, usually due to the nature of their demise, can return as corrupted forms of themselves called wraiths.

Some spirits wander the Beach for so long that they forget their past selves and go mad entirely, thus becoming demons. Such creatures crave mortal souls and activity hunt them; when a demon possesses a dreaming soul it births a dangerous abomination. Some demons, however, choose to feast on suffering itself in areas where the Veil is weakened; this can create spectres, extraordinarily dangerous entities that embody sin and suffering.

Rarer still are nightmares, demons that have dwelt on the Beach for so long that their natures are indistinguishable from that of the Beach itself. Nightmares are primordial spirits and among the most powerful entites in Pydwell, while unfortunately being the most malicious.