White Wells

## The White Wells

The White Wells, the metaplane

**The White Wells** is the metaplane of the Otherworld, and one that can only be accessed by the living through either powerful magic or through one's dreams. It is almost universally believed to be the realm of the dead, where souls go once a person dies

The White Wells has a consistent appearance and behaves in predictable ways. The White Wells is a vast desert of soft white sand, with intermittent and seemingly random sandstone structures that have the appearance of dry wells. Impressions such as footprints disappear every night due to the Abyssal Wind, meaning that any unusual characteristics of the dunes, such as intelligently made mounds or drawings, are at most one day old.

## Terminology

The terminology for the White Wells themselves, however, has differed among religions since time Preliturgy, and is still distinguished by cults today. While the phrase "White Wells" is considered to be the most neutered of the names for the specific metaplane, mystery cults around the world have referred to it as Venia, Aduras, Jehenna, The Great Desert, Vindenal, and the Land of Infinite Winds.

## Composition

The White Wells has 31 hour days and 37 hour nights, with three hours of dawn and seven hours of dusk. In addition, cloud-like formations can be seen forming in the sky over periods of thirteen days, though rather than rain, these black-and-blue cloud formations are related to the severity of Abyssal Wind events.

###  Characteristics of the dry wells

The eponymous wells have no clear purpose nor organization, as wells have been found one hundred yards to ten miles to the next closest construction. However, their distance measured in cubits will generally approximate to a star prime.

The dry wells have no consistent construction; though they are all made of sandstone, they can be up to four feet high or flush with the sand, even buried. They also differ in their state, as some are dilapidated and mostly destroyed, while others are cleanly laid bricks that cannot be tampered with or removed.

These so-called wells are the subject of massive speculation. The prevailing theory in the past has been that the wells represented demiplanes, making the metaplane a literal "over-world" for traveling between demiplanes. However, this has recently been shown to be unlikely. The vast number of wells outnumber known demiplanes almost infinitely. In theory, if this were true, the wells would serve as a portal to these demiplanes as well. However, no individual alive or dead that has descended into the dry wells has ever returned, even those capable of returning through powerful magic.

Modern academic analysis is in disagreement over what the purpose or nature of these dry wells is. Most speculation is centered around the theory that these are fonts of magic and are the conduits between this world and the next, though this has little evidence to support it. Some have also considered that these may be the homes of demons or even the spirits who now reside here, yet this has even less evidence than the former.

### Planar Effects

There are multiple unique attributes of the White Wells that are not found or rarely found in other planes. The following effects have been well documented for anyone traveling in the White Wells, regardless if a person is physically there, visiting in a dream, or projecting their form.

#### Immaterial Decay

While the dead do not experience this process, the bodies of the living break down and fatigue the longer it remains in the White Wells. The number of hours will vary widely; it is usually expected that more experienced or distinguished individuals can expect to spend longer periods of time in the White Wells before their body begins the process of breaking down. An unlearned acolyte may be able to project for approximately five hours before they begin to rapidly deteriorate. The elders who study this metaplane have been able to spend their entire restful sleep traveling in the White Wells without encountering the Immaterial Decay, and it's possible they could spend even greater amounts of time there if they so chose. The number of hours can be approximated using superprimes.

The Immaterial Decay usually incurs severe exhaustion and fatigue, with pangs of pain throughout the body, discoloration, jaundice, and necrosis of the outer limbs until the individual finally begins to bloat and decay, becoming an undead creature referred to as a mane, sometimes categorized as a lesser demon.

#### Living Despair

Another of the effects on the living is extreme nihilism and despair. Without temperance and moderated study, an individual may become consumed with study of the White Wells and all of their dreams and living hours will reflect this perverse interest. The more time spent in the White Wells, the greater risk there is of an individual displaying apathy and despair while traveling, to the point where they are at higher risk of suicide and reckless behavior.

This effect is usually attributed to the fact that this place is a land of the dead, and an obsession with death necessarily breeds nihilism in living people. Uninterrupted study and repeated travel in a short period of time has been shown to increase this risk.

#### Desecrated Ground

All of the sand and ground in the White Wells is considered desecrated, meaning that the undead, demons, and souls who are native to the White Wells are more integral and noted to be much more adept in their own environment.

#### Abyssal Wind

Perhaps the most chaotic and notable phenomenon of the White Wells is the Abyssal Wind, a weather-like event that takes place during the "night" that grows in severity until it begins anew after thirteen days. This wind is a harrowing, deafening wind that carves the dunes into different shapes and erases impressions on the landscape made by the living, the dead, or otherwise. Magic becomes difficult if not impossible to use, it becomes difficult to see and much less navigate, and the horrific winds can even drive one into madness.

After the eighth day, the abyssal winds are somewhat constant, and even during the day, there is a consistent wind that only grows more severe during the extended nights.

The thirteen-day period is called the Wagstaff Cycle, named for team of scholars from Wagstaff-and-Buford, who are credited for its articulation. It is divided into the following "days":

1. **Artus,** no ill effects
2. **Charus,** the first of the petrifying winds
3. **Dedicus,** first of the divine winds, and winds become maddening
4. **Innocus,** the winds become necrotic, withering living things and increasing in severity with the days
5. **Mehacus,** first of the mortal winds, the winds raise in pitch and volume
6. **Medalus,** second of the divine winds, increasing in severity with the days
7. **Anacharus,** the second of the petrifying winds
8. **Lamentus,** third of the divine winds, the winds decrease in pitch and volume
9. **Zerus,** the winds occur during the day with the effects of Charus, the winds raise in pitch and volume
10. **Jaticus**, daily winds become like Dedicus, third of the divine winds, winds raise in pitch and volume
11. **Junitus,** daily winds become like Innocus, fourth of the divine winds
12. **Titanacharus,** daily winds become like Mehacus, third of the petrifying winds, fifth of the divine winds
13. **Nelamehacus,** daily winds become like Medalus, second of the mortal winds, sixth of the divine winds

Note that several of these days are noted with a particular class of wind. The effects noted do not occur exclusively on those days; rather, these are days that the winds increase in this respect. For instance, when the White Wells are in the Medalus stage, it is technically on its first petrifying wind, the second divine wind, and the first mortal wind. As the days continue towards the end of the cycle, the severity of each one increases.

A **petrifying wind** represents an increase in the possibility that the Abyssal Wind will stun an individual. A person who is stunned by these winds will slowly begin to petrify unless they continue to struggle or they are assisted in some way, including if they are awakened in the material world.

A **mortal wind** describes a massive increase in the potential for complete and utter erasure of one's soul from the Otherworld, and thus the material world as well. The name is a misnomer, as this refers to the disintegration of a *mortal* soul, and is not exclusive to the living. A mortal wind will cause a mortal soul to slowly fade and eventually disappear to an unknown and unknowable fate.

A **divine wind** is a special class that refers to a host of magical effects that occur starting with the particular day in the Wagstaff Cycle until it is once again Artus. New effects are introduced with each divine wind, and each existing effect becomes more severe with every instance until the sixth one. The effects are as follows:

* **First**, the winds makes magic more likely to fail for no discernable reason
* **Second**, the increase in the likelihood that one will "fall" through the Otherworld into the material
* **Third**, living mortal souls will glow brightly, increasing in radius as the stages increase
* **Fourth**, the anti-magic effects now apply to enchanted magical artifacts
* **Fifth**, the emergence of the *aswangwraiths* ("Song Wraiths" or "Swan Wraiths") that hunt mortal souls
* **Sixth**, all magic becomes impossible to use

These fixtures of the Abyssal Winds make the White Wells among the most unforgiving planes known to modern academia.

### Inhabitants

The most obvious inhabitant of the White Wells are the mortal souls of the dead. These souls exist in a variety of forms, depending on both how a person died, their religion in life, and how distinguished they were in history and in power. The spirits of the dead can be come across infrequently, and are often unaccompanied and ambivalent to the living.