Metaphysics

The unique nature of Grand Convergence provokes many questions, some of which even have answers. Many still do not, and tests are still being conducted even now. Here are some of the findings:

The Spiritual Plane

The currently accepted theory about the spiritual plane of Grand Convergence is the 'Artificial Threshold' theory. The plane is very thin, easy for ghosts and spiritual entities to cross back and forth. There isn't generally enough 'pressure' or 'weight' to allow for the development of spiritually charged areas with the exception of the temple complex, where divine energies from the minor pantheon and their priesthood congregate.

Without any weight, there is little distortion. Much of spiritual Grand Convergence is little different than the physical plane, though empathic tinges exist in places like Aurborea or synthetically created through other means. The Everen carefully shepherd their spiritual spaces to be as carefully curated as the rest of their environment, while places like the Lost Sectors or the depths of Charnel tend to have minor manifestations of despair or desperation.

The thin nature of the realm also means it is easily damaged or altered, by accident or intention. Damage often results in long-lasting spiritual 'resonance' that can influence emotions in a localized space or draw appropriate spirits to the area. This can be good or bad, and the priests of Anos often have their hands full untangling the knots Charnel creates.

There is no support for tears created within the Lost Sector, which has eventually contributed to it's unique state and environment. Be forewarned.

A second exception is the creation of a Dead Sector. The reality breaking forces that fray and twist the local rules of existence also twist the spiritual environment, often turning such spaces into a roiling cyst of agony and lingering malice. Spirits are not invulnerable to the attentions of the Unmade, and the lingering affects of such predation are neither pretty nor pleasant.

On Afterlives

With such a thin spiritual plane, many unanswered questions remain on the disposition of the afterlife. Mortality functions much as it does elsewhere, and discussions with spiritual entities have dredged up some few scraps of information. Those still with the will to speak indicate a 'calling' or a pull in a specific direction. Those who have dedicated themselves to a particular World are commonly drawn towards that afterlife as long as an active Spireway exists to take them. The local pantheon maintains afterlives for their adherents as well, the surety and stability another benefit that they bring to their worshippers.

Things are more complicated for those who have lost their connection or remain unbound to the local afterlife. They require more assistance, often in the form of a psychopomp or shikigami. Sometimes in a manifestation of 'Death' itself. Some call it the Reaper, others Charon. It does not answer those names. It simply works tirelessly to help spirits who have lost their way. This can take time however, and the spirits waiting for their journey often find themselves drawn deep within an otherwise inaccessible Spire within Grand Convergence. It functions as a waiting room for the wayward dead. Others who possess the power to conduct the dead can find themselves here, but the process is never simple or safe.

Each wayward soul has a journey, and being surrounded by the hungry reality-eating darkness of Gapspace makes that journey fraught with peril even in the best of times. Beware those who take up this duty, as noble as it is, for the stakes and consequences of failure are high.

On Resurrection

Resurrection is complicated. According to research, it is most easily completed before the spirit arrives at their final destination. If there is no connection and the spirit is not local to Grand Convergence, there is simply no way to revive them until such a connection is formed. Some ineffable material or piece of the cosmic puzzle is missing.

Even if the connection is handled correctly, the process remains fraught with complications. Those who have a domain over the spirit in question may take exception to someone tampering with their ‘property’ or adherants. Proper research and appeasement will likely make such things smoother, depending on the location. Likewise, disrespect or a hostile plane environment is likely to engender complications such as the minions of that angered divinity or even bringing back something other than the intended spirit.

No research has been performed on resurrections in the midst of Dead Sector space save a single incidence done in complete desperation. They did not like the results. Unless you are exceedingly skilled and fortunate, neither will you.

Summoning

Summoning spells, like any magical system that crosses the World boundaries, heavily depend on their connections between the caster and target. Under most conditions where an intact Spireway connection exists, the spell operates as normal.

Things get considerably more complicated if there is no connection or that connection is interrupted during the casting. The spell, maligned in such a fashion, will generally attempt to acquire something that is roughly equivalent out of the Worlds available. With the great multiverse at large, this can often get the caster something resembling what they expect.

However if there is no connection and nothing analogous, the results will be unpredictable at best. Chaotic summonings often overdraw from the caster, spawn random entities or simply fizzle out in quiet failure (often the best possible outcome).

The Unmade do not respond to the call of summoning (as far as anyone understands the spell architecture) and only the insane would attempt to craft something meant to bind something outside of the structure of reality itself.

Ley Lines

Grand Convergence has a wealth of magical sources and hence a network of leylines, though they have their own quirks. As it is not a 'World' in the traditional sense, it has few natural locations for leylines to form. The Snarl sits on a major fount of leyline energy that networks throughout Aurborea and the outer shell, with the local megafauna drawn on their migrations along the currents of the 'spirit rivers' that circle the plate. The natives of Aurborea know better than to settle on or anywhere near such places.

Everendel has a delicate and cultivated network of life energy that resembles a living irrigation system, feeding precise amounts of magical energy to each location in that area. 'Lifeweb Tenders' are specialists dedicated to ensuring that this web grows and nourishes all within Everendel properly.

The Midnight Sun of Delerath is inevitably a ley nexus in its own right, albeit an artificial one. It functions more along the lines of solar winds than water, and its energy is as dangerous and closely monitored as any other energy produced by the artifact.

Research is scarce on the Lost Sectors. The Godgraves are notable in being the most probable location for leylines, but few dare to try and map or interact with them.

Time

Time is complicated in regular space, let alone Grand Convergence. Thankfully, it also seems to generally be observed as a stabilizing force in the region. Any Worlds connected to Grand Convergence synchronize with it and continue at a matching temporal pace. This rate can fluctuate wildly on disconnect, or even go in reverse. There is more than one case study of a World skipping centuries after a momentary disconnection from GC. More commonly observed, 'Orphans' or those disconnected from their worlds find they have moved on significantly if those Worlds connect after their arrival.

Time manipulation is dicey, and even more so where the rules of reality break down. Playing with time within a Dead Sector can cause it to rapidly decay, degrading the entire area or creating dangerous pockets of warped time and environmental effects. Powerful Silhouettes have been known to abuse this fact in order to trap or destroy intruders.

==Space==

Spatial manipulation is fairly common in a region where space is at a premium. Bags of Holding and other similar devices are relatively pedestrian. Spires are many times larger on the inside than they appear on the exterior, though most buildings in GC do not share the same trait.

Teleportation works within normal parameters in GC, though teleporting into unknown areas has its own unique hazards. Several research teams have been lost by attempting to teleport into the depths of Grand Convergence itself, never to be heard from again. Actions such as planehopping or planeshifting follow the standard rules for World to World travel: As long as there remains an active, stable connection, such actions function as normal (with the caveat that such functions pass through the appropriate Spire and deposit them at the closest available Beacon) If such actions are attempted without a Spire connection, they simply fail.

Several more researcher teams have been lost attempting to teleport or planeshift through the dark abyss of Gapspace. Similarly, it is not recommended to use teleportation or space altering effects while within a Dead Sector. The encroaching unreality tends to cause these effects to destabilize rapidly, with extradimensional spaces often cannibalized into fractal nightmares and their contents spin into attendant horrors.

Within the grasp of Gapspace itself, extradimensional spaces simply fail to function. There is no Hammerspace there. The Bag of Holding in your hand has no opening. You have precisely what you have with you and no more. For as long as your personal reality holds.