Black Gates

The ten Black Gates were created by the Sha’rek’ta during the Age of the Ancients for the purpose of drawing more power from Miranda than already existed in the world. When the Sha’rek’ta warred with each other for supremacy they commanded the magi to maintain control over the gates.

It is believed that the Sha’rek’ta created the Black Gates using knowledge they gained from the Well of Life. It is unknown if the Black Gates contain the same corruption as the Well or if the design used for the gates functions as the Well when the world was created.

During the Age of Legends the Black Gates opened fully for the first time and the full force of Miranda's power flooded into the world. This occurred because the Magi who were tasked by the Sha’rek’ta to maintain the gates could no longer do so do to the agreement between them and the gods.

This was a time when magic reach such concentrations that the world itself was poisoned with power. Nothing upon this world was spared its hand.

In time each of the gates were closed and the world slowly returned to normalcy. Those beings changed by the power that wracked the world could not survive in a world with so little power remaining. The vast majority of these creatures died; although a few of them, or their offspring, survive in a greatly diminished fashioned to this day.

None of these gates can be completely destroyed without destroying the world itself by awakening Miranda. Instead, each of the gates were closed as completely as possible so that its unchecked power could no longer whipsaw across the world.

Main Article: Chrysalis

The exception to this was the seventh (|| || || |) gate, which was never fully sealed. As the centuries wore on power slowly began to once again flow into this world faster than the world was created to handle. This gave rise to a small reflection of the Age of Legend upon the world during the Age of Empires and Age of Heroes. It is said that when the Age of Heroes comes to an end the seventh gate will either be destroyed or opened completely.

The Sha’rek’ta built a total of ten gates upon the world. Each gate, with the exception of the fifth gate, each of the gates draw upon the power of Miranda. Using this power hastens the day when Miranda's power will be exhausted and she will cease to exist.

The gate of waves was located at the bottom of the deepest trench in the oceans. It is so deep beneath the waves that not even the light of the sun reaches the gate. Life, unlike any found anywhere else, lives within the trench constantly feeding upon the power leeching from the gate. The power from this gate is constant and strong. It was the first gate constructed and set the pattern for all other gates. Upon completion of this gate the Sha’rek’ta were able to greatly expand their power over the world around them

The gate of fire was built inside of a thin glass chamber located in the magma core of a large volcano. This was the gate of passion and lust, the creatures who drank deeply from this gate's power were figures unbridled by control or compassion. The first gate represented slow and cautious approach, while the second matched it by providing insight and drive to overcome any obstacles.

The gate of storms was composed of four smaller gates that rotate over the world in the ionosphere, one circles each pole while the remaining two circle the equator equidistant of each other. This is the gate of anger, rage, and blind destruction and was one of the most fiercely contested gates as its children fought without quarter to the last drop of their own power. Three of the gates were utterly destroyed, leaving only a single closed gate erratically circling the world with no direction or control.

The gate of stone was the largest gate, each side of the gate was one of the massive peaks in the Stoneheart Mountains called Macht and Stärke. The two arms of the massive gate remain intact, but the gate itself has been closed. This was the gate of strength and raw physical power. Many of the strongest creates of legend feasted upon its power. Given the potentially destructive nature of the first gates, this gate achieved the control over these unbridled forces. This gate stood as a bulwark against power that even the Sha’rek’ta struggled to control.

The gate of life is located on the Tomon Island in the middle of Seimei Noyurikago Umi. This gate was never closed because of the Sha’rek’ta never fully opened it. This gate was made from a single mote of the spark of creation that the Sha’rek’ta found. Using just a small portion of the power of this gate the Sha’rek’ta were able to create many different races (see Human, Kithkin, Brund). Even in the midst of their madness the Sha’rek’ta instinctively understood that using more of this gate's power was too dangerous.

The gate of intellect was fashioned from some unknown metal that seems to be both liquid and solid (see quicksilver). In its native form it is a viscous silvery liquid, but when handled by a sentient being it responds to the strength and direction of their psyche. There was never any single gate, instead there were dozens of smaller gates each held by a Sha’rek’ta. It is believed to be impossible to destroy one of these gates, so they still occasionally appear in the world.

If the holder of a gate has a strong enough mind they can plumb the depths of knowledge held within the gate as the gate holds all of the information gained from everyone that has ever possessed it. The Sha’rek’ta regularly passed the gates between each other so that any single gate contains the depth of knowledge of the entire Sha’rek’ta.

The gate of wisdom (мудрость) is located beneath Chrysalis in an obsidian labyrinth. At the center of this labyrinth was said to be a single room of pure white where all questions would be answered. This is the gate of wisdom and resolve where the very laws of the world could be warped and changed by a strong enough personality. Many people would pilgrimage to this gate in to hope of gaining understanding, but none have ever returned from the labyrinth.

The gate of death's true shape is unknown and was never found when the other gates were closed. The gate is said to appear just before a being of immense power dies. It appears in the shape of the true nature of the being, which is not always its outward appearance. When the being dies all physical remains of the it is pulled into the gate and then the gate itself disappears. Countless people have tried to find the gate, but nobody has yet discovered where it is located. Legends say those who have see the gate are too mesmerized by its sheer power to take control of the gate.

This was the gate of eternity that allowed the Sha’rek’ta access to all of the Shadow Realms. The gate itself was fashioned from shadows and could be summoned to any location within the realms. Its power stretches beyond the world of Miranda. Using the power of this gate there was no location to far that the Sha’rek’ta could not reach in between the blink of moments. With the power of this gate the Sha’rek’ta explored the realm and claimed many lands as their own. As they were no longer bound to Miranda they gained access to other powerful forces.

It proved to be impossible to either close or destroy this gate without killing Miranda and all life upon this world. Instead it was sent into the far reaches of the Shadow Realms where none would ever find it.

The gate of time was the most powerful of the gates and directly led to the war that destroyed all of the Sha’rek’ta. Using its power the Sha’rek’ta could pierce the veil of time and travel to anywhen in the Shadow Realms. The gate was fashioned from Miranda's body and draws directly upon her power. The gate cannot be destroyed by anyone besides the Titans or Krynan; however it has been sealed so that none may harness its terrible power again.

Using both gates nine and ten together the entirety of the Shadow Realms was open to exploration and exploitation. In the end the Sha’rek’ta were using the temporal power of the gate to kill any other Sha’rek’ta that opposed them. This in turn led to other Sha’rek’ta using time to kill the first Sha’rek’ta before they made a decision to kill the second. This complication fractured the Sha’rek’ta psyche beyond repair and drove to to kill each other.