The Shadelands

The Shadelands are an Ethereal Plane, the link between the Underworld and the Tellurian plane. The name Shadelands is derived from the fact that the plane is filled with ghosts, as well as the fact that they are a faded and dim mirror of the physical world (called the Brightlands by ghosts).

The Shadelands are a completely psychic realm, and as such, are completely bereft of physical matter, and cannot be directly influenced through physical means. Instead, the Shadelands are filled with oneiros, a substance composed of pure psychic matter, and composes all the "material" found within the plane, including the "bodies" of ghosts.

## Landscape and Features

Oneiros is the substance of the Shadelands. For every object that exists in the Brightlands, there exists its oneiric mirror beyond the Veil. Every building, toy, tree, ocean, or even fire is represented in the Shadelands. That said, the landscape of the plane is a pale reflection of the living world. Color is faded, sounds muffled, smells muted, and the feel of an object indistinct.

Unlike some of the other regions of the Ether, distance in the Shadelands is perfectly matched with distance in the physical world. A mile in the Brightlands is a mile in the Shadelands. However, the corporeality of the substances within the Shadelands is nowhere near as consistent as that within the Brightlands. Oneiros is not governed by the laws of physics, as the atoms of the physical world are. Instead, oneiric substance within the Shadelands becomes more substantial the more psychic energy is directed towards them. When an item is thought of, or even better, directly perceived, by one of the Bright (the living), its oneiric substance is strengthened. This phenomenon is known as Consecration.

Things which are constantly infused with oneiros by the Bright are known as Consecrated. The more Consecrated something is, the more substantial its presence within the Shadelands. Its form becomes more solid and easy to perceive, allowing the spirits within the Shadelands to more easily interact with them. For instance, a rocking chair that has been recently machine-manufactured and is as yet unused would likely appear as a hazy, indistinct smudge. Were a ghost to attempt to grasp it, they would feel as though they were touching a cloud. Conversely, a rocking chair that an old woman has ever sat in for the last fifty years would appear more detailed, and might even have some semblance of color. Were a ghost to sit on it, they could likely feel, although faintly, its worn wood, and run their hands across its bumps and grooves. It should be noted though, that while a ghost can experience the sensations associated with a very Consecrated object, they cannot normally move it around, as they are incapable of affecting its mirror in the Brightlands. However, sufficiently powerful ghosts are able to employ their powers to interact with the Brightlands, and heavily Consecrated objects are also easier for them to manipulate in this manner.

### The Brightening

The Brightening is an occurrence brought about within the Shadelands by the presence of one of the Bright. The Bright actively perceiving their surroundings causes them to become saturated with oneiros, to the point they become almost as substantial as their mirrors in the Brightlands. Color and feeling returns with the presence of the Bright (though never completely), allowing nearby ghosts to share whatever they are perceiving, enabling to experience an approximation of what it feels like to be alive. It is because of this phenomenon that so many ghosts are attracted to the living, and why they are called the Bright; they literally Brighten the Shadelands wherever they are.

After one of the Bright leaves an area, its mirror in the Shadelands steadily dims, usually in conjunction with the fading of it from the Bright's thoughts and memory. If the Bright was left with a strong impression of an object or place, the effect of the Brightening usually lasts longer.

It should also be noted that the Bright themselves function to ghosts much like a highly Consecrated object does. All of the Bright can be seen, heard, and felt by ghosts, though unless the ghost is employing one of their powers or the Bright possesses some some sort of supernatural awareness, the ghost cannot effect the Bright or even be perceived by them.

### The Dimming

When a physical object is destroyed or a landscape altered, it does not immediately disappear within the Shadelands. Instead, it leaves behind an Echo, a Plasmic form which steadily fades from the Shadelands in a process known as the Dimming, and eventually reappears within the Underworld. Once something is destroyed in the Brightlands, its Dimming is certain, as without a direct presence there to be repeatedly perceived by the Bright, it cannot persist. However, that which lingers long in the memories of the Bright Dims more slowly. While a hamburger wrapper might Dim in a matter of minutes, certain things might steadily Dim over the course of weeks, months, sometimes even years or decades, and for that which truly holds a powerful place within the minds of the Bright, centuries.

## Accessing the Shadelands

As a purely psychic realm, the Shadelands are firmly separated from the Brightlands, or the physical world. While occupants of the Shadelands can see the physical world, thanks to the psychic residue of people there, most individuals in the Brightlands cannot perceive the Shadelands, unless possessed of the necessary supernatural senses. Given the lack of any sort of corporeal substance, physical matter cannot enter the Shadelands. In order to enter, the spirit must be detached from the body.

Primarily, this entry occurs when a living human dies, their consciousness instantly passing from their body. Most linger in the Shadelands for but a brief instant, before passing through the the realms beyond. Some, however, are tethered too strongly to the mortal coil, for whatever reason, and their desire to remain sees them anchored to the Shadelands by the formation of a Tether. This is how ghosts are created.

Numerous supernatural beings possess mystical powers that make them psychically sensitive, and these powers can be honed to allow them to peer into the Shadelands. Other abilities enable them to interact with the Shadelands through an expulsion of will, shaping the oneiros of the Shadelands through the sheer force of their consciousness.

The act of astral projection, separating ones spirit from their body, can also allow some supernatural entities to project their consciousness into the Shadelands, wherein it takes on a oneiric form, similar to that of a ghosts. Those who project themselves into the Shadelands in this manner also become vulnerable to being effected by the ghosts who reside there.