Gateway

A gateway the name given for a small pocket dimension that has been created through the use of primal power and is located within the dominion of the Shadow Realms. In most cases primal power (Divine and Infernal) is destructive to the dominions within the Shadow Realms; however, when a being possessing primal power is able to draw upon the power of mortals within the dominion they can create a gateway, or bridge, between the two realms safely.

The strength and reach of any gateway is dependent upon the spiritual power of the mortals used to fashion it. The more spiritual power gained from mortals, the more primal power that any deity can invest into their gateway. In many cases several deities work together to create a single gateway that they can share so that no single deity is vulnerable to the destruction of the gateway.

Most of the other dimensions that mortals talk about are in fact gateways created long ago - sometimes they have even been abandoned by their creators. As long as mortals continue to believe in such places the gateway will continue to exist. Even those gateways that are only remembered as legends still exist because the legend exists.