Category:Planeswalker

Planeswalker is the title given to those mortals chosen by a planar leader or Author to represent their plane or realm. They are gifted with the ability to cross dimensions in the Clouded Horizons series.

History

The gift of planar travel was first established by the Authors, granting the ability to their personal messengers in the days when they took direct control over the events of their burgeoning Realms. In more recent times, however, the Authors and their lesser counterparts took to making mortals their Chosen, and eventually took to making a game of the deal.

Beings eternal such as the Ancients had a wide variety of reasons for choosing mortals in this fashion; most often, expanding their influence in the mortal realm through their actions was their motivation, but occasionally less altruistic intentions would move their hand.

The Chosen eventually took to calling themselves Planeswalkers, in reference to how often they would travel between planes of existence. In time, as the Planeswalkers became more accustomed to the nuances of the deities, it too became more of a game to them, akin to chess, where each sought to outmaneuver the others and earn favor with their patron. This would promote the growth of various personal abilities and traits that would be taken into account and passed down to other Planeswalkers.

Recently, however, reports indicate that the patrons may have a larger plan in mind. The increasing number of Planeswalkers gathering in the Eighth Realm, particularly in the Trabia region, has been of great concern. Recent events, as of March 2152, point toward a "fated confrontation," perhaps organized by the patrons themselves.

One suggested theory is that the Ancients are preparing for a confrontation and require "specialists," likely for the purposes of fighting some perceived threat. One wonders why they'd look to mortals and not amongst their own ranks, but after the Harrowing within the Ethereal Plane, mistrust, subterfuge, and isolation have run their course; the damage is likely too deeply felt to be resolved in the near future, mortal or otherwise.

"Emissary" is also used as a slang term to describe Planeswalkers, in reference to their role as a representative of their deity.

Unchampioned Planeswalkers

A special category exists for those who move between planes yet are not controlled by a planar leader or Author - they are considered unchampioned Planeswalkers by all planar leaders and championed Planeswalkers. Unchampioned can encompass both those who have left the agreement with their former champion as well as those who have received the gift of planar travel from an entity other than a planar leader and have not been chosen by one such leader to serve. Usually, unchampioned are more dangerous than their championed counterparts because of this lack of control, but some are benevolent in their actions. Unless an unchampioned Planeswalker's actions have serious consequences, such as the murder of another being or causing instabilities in the fabric of reality with their Planeswalking, realm leaders usually leave these unchampioned to their own devices.

Representation in Written Text

Planeswalkers are made mention of in the annals of each realm's history with a distinct format applied to their titles. For example, the full title may be seen as "Liam Jacob Bayloh, First Ethereal Planeswalker of Gaia's Nineteenth Order." In shorthand, they may be referred to as the "19th's first chosen."

Abilities

Planeswalkers possess a number of different abilities, owing to their specific station as emissaries of Ancient beings. When a being is chosen to be a Planeswalker, a number of innate benefits are conferred on that being, as Ancients choose their Planeswalkers for the long-term. Among these benefits are the ability to Planeswalk by utilizing the Crystal Path, an extended lifespan, heightened natural healing, increased control of spiritual power, and a number of magical skills only usable by such chosen.

• Planeswalking: The core of what makes a Planeswalker is their ability to cross planes and realms. Planeswalkers utilize an intermediary plane known as the Crystal Path to jump between these planar spaces, rendering them capable of moving between different points in the same plane, different planes, and different realms altogether. Normally, it takes a Planeswalker several seconds to channel the energy needed to correctly move onto the Path, though more experienced Planeswalkers are capable of performing the feat in vastly shorter periods of time. Truly skilled Planeswalkers can even learn to manipulate energy in such a way so as to attack with magic from the Crystal Path, though this skill is exceedingly rare and only a handful of Planeswalkers have been confirmed to be able to do so.

• Extended Lifespan: Planeswalkers are chosen for life, and all Ancients see them as valuable assets under their command, seeking to use those assets for as long as possible. As such, Planeswalkers typically live twice as long as the expected life span of their race, and remain in peak physical health for far longer, usually decades, irregardless of their age.

• Heightened Healing: For similar reasons as why they are given extended lifespans, Planeswalkers are gifted with a slightly-enhanced ability to heal from physical harm, decreasing the time it takes for them to recover from injury. This also gives them a small enhanced resistance to toxins, poisons, and other debilitating drugs.

• Increased Magical Control: Planeswalkers, by virtue of necessity in order to properly use the Crystal Path, possess an enhanced ability to control the magical power that they possess, and are able to channel this energy to a finer degree than a normal being of their race would. This extends to normal magic as well, not just Planeswalking.

• Planar Lockout: An ability that erects a wide field of energy that prevents all forms of extra-dimensional travel within its area of impact, including by the user, as well as preventing such movement into or out of it except by the user.

• Home Point: An ability that lets the Planeswalker gain the attributes, both positive and negative, of the current plane of residence. This keeps the Planeswalker from being harmed by environments that would normally be toxic or damaging to their physiology, for instance, as well as giving them the ability to utilize their innate spiritual skills no matter the plane they currently reside upon. It can only be used roughly once every three months because of the vast amount of power it draws from the user to facilitate the change.

• Blink: An ability that lets the Planeswalker instantly teleport themselves short distances without entering the Crystal Path. It requires line-of-sight to the destination, which limits it far more than normal Planeswalking, but is generally faster for more inexperienced Planeswalkers to use in combat.

• Fade: An ability that partially phases the Planeswalker's body out of the dimension of residence, making their form intangible and giving their physical strikes the ability to siphon Mana from their target. Once the enchantment ends, however, the user is afflicted with a brief period of weakness from the strain.

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