By Paul Strack
Jan. 1996
The Penumbra
On the other side of the Gauntlet lies the Penumbra, the spiritual reflection of the Earth and the "nearest" part of the Umbra to the physical world. Geographically, the Penumbra is nearly an exact match to the physical world. Places in the Penumbra directly correspond to places in the Realm. If a mystic enters the Penumbra, moves through it to another place and returns to the physical world, they will reappear in the physical location corresponding to the place where she left the Penumbra. The basic lay of the land is the same, but the details may be different.
Many things in the physical world have a direct spiritual counterpart in the Penumbra. As a general rule of thumb, inanimate objects in the Realm have their counterpart in the Penumbra, while objects that change their location do not. Thus, buildings, plants and furniture will have their spiritual doubles, while cars, people and animals will not appear in the Penumbra. This is not to say the Penumbra is devoid of inhabitants. The Penumbra is full of spirits, but these spirits are not directly connected to a physical individual.
The mystic may travel within the Penumbra by all the means available in the physical world. He may open doors, walk down the street, climb a tree and so forth. He may see as he does in the physical world, from sun or moonlight, or the glow of Umbral streetlights. The physical laws of the Penumbra are nearly the same as the Realm, so the mystic will have relatively few surprises here, except from the spirits that inhabit the Penumbra.
Echoes of the Physical World
There are mystics who believe the Penumbra is a shadow of the physical world, and others believe that the physical world is a mere shadow of the Penumbra. Whatever the truth of the situation, objects in the Realm and their counterparts in the Penumbra are connected in some metaphysical fashion. Whichever comes first, changes in the Realm are echoed by changes in the Penumbra.
Most inanimate objects in the physical world have an Umbral "shadow". This shadow has roughly the same appearance and location as the physical object. Some mystics go so far as to say that the shadow is the spirit or soul of the physical object. The Umbral and physical objects are not "glued" together. If a mystic opens an Umbral door, its physical counterpart will remain shut. If you rearrange the objects on an Umbral desk, their physical doubles do not move immediately.
The physical and Umbral objects tend to gravitate to the same state, however. While the Umbral door is left open, it is more likely someone will forget to shut the physical door as well. If the physical door is kept shut, the Umbral door will eventually swing closed. If someone picks up an object on the physical desk, she will tend to set it down where the Umbral counterpart lies. Over time, the Umbral doubles will move back across the desk to match the location of the physical objects.
This is true of dramatic changes as well. If a building is torn down in the physical world, its Umbral counterpart will remain in place. Over time, however, the Umbral building will fade, to be replaced by the counterpart of the new building erected in its place. If an Umbral tree is cut down, the physical tree is initially unharmed. After a while, though, the physical tree will sicken and likely die.
The speed at which changes take place in Umbral shadows depends on the spiritual power of the changes on Earth. Events with strong emotional impact, violent destruction or magickal feats tend to cause rapid (even immediate) changes in the Penumbra. On the other hand, if a physical object of great spiritual power is removed, its Umbral shadow may remain for some time. If a popular church is torn down and replaced with a convenience store, the shadow of the church in the Penumbra may linger on for decades. The Penumbra can be a sort of record of sites of spiritual power long after they are gone in the physical world.
Sometimes changes in the Umbra will foreshadow changes in the physical world. If a great church is going to be built on a plot of land, it might appear in the Umbra before even the foundation of the physical building is laid down — long before anyone knows how important that church will be. Mystics can use the Penumbra as a barometer for important spiritual events in the near future. Changes in the Umbra can warn the mystic of great occurrences in the physical world.
Perception in the Penumbra
As described above, inanimate objects and places have shadows in the Umbra. The appearance of the Umbral shadow is roughly the same as that of the physical object, but there are differences. Umbral objects, being spiritual in nature, tend to reflect the "true" nature of an object, showing its emotional and metaphysical side. A well loved home will seem bright and cheerful in the Umbra, even if its physical counterpart is dingy and run-down. On the other hand, an Umbral slaughterhouse will be splattered with blood and gore, even if the physical building is kept spotless.
Many mystics find that Umbral objects of technology and man reflect the power that the Garou call the Weaver. They are often filled with strands that look like webbing, and the interior might be crawling with small insect-like spirits. Alternately, the Umbral shadow may be more perfectly geometrical that its physical counterpart, with exact circles and perfect planes, looking more like a computer generated image than anything else. The air in the Umbral city is often dry and stale, and the wind rarely blows there. A feeling of stasis and entrapment covers the land.
Conversely, the Umbral wilderness seems more vibrant and alive. The air is richer than it could possibly be in the physical world and full of lush smells. Everything is bursting with life. The world is full of curves and subtle shadows and there is a mysterious depth and substance to all things. Colors seem more vivid and the mystic will find that he can see far in the unclogged Umbral air.
While Umbral shadows reflect the inner nature of an object, the beliefs and preconceptions of the viewer are almost as important. Technomantic mages, for example, will have a very different view of objects in the Umbra. Rather than seeing webs covering technological objects, they might see strands of pulsing energy. The city air will smell of ozone and seem electrical rather than stale, like just before a rain storm. The wilderness, on the other hand, will smell cloyingly sweet, damp, musty and unclean, and will be full of harsh shadows threatening dangers unseen.
Note that travelers in the Penumbra are not completely immune to alterations of appearance. A mystic may find that his visage in the Penumbra reflects his true nature, or perhaps his idealized self. His appearance can even vary, depending on the mystic's mood. Seasoned Umbral travelers are aware of this effect, and can usually keep their appearance "under control", especially if they wish to conceal some aspect of themselves.
The Three Worlds in the Penumbra
The distinction between the High and Middle Umbra is difficult to make in the Penumbra. Mystics heading for the Astral Plane or the Living Umbra seem to pass through the same physical reflection of Earth, filled with the same spiritual inhabitants.
This is not completely true, however. The High and Middle Umbras do make some difference in the Penumbra, but they are mostly perceptual. Mystics leaning toward the Astral Plane tend to see the mental or intellectual aspects of an object reflected in its appearance, while mystics leaning toward the Living Umbra see the fundamental natural aspects of an object.
The Low Umbra, the Underworld, is very distinct, though, in the Penumbra. The lands of the dead are completely separate from the rest of the Umbra, at the earliest stages. The Low Penumbra is different enough to have its own name: the Shadowlands.
The Shadowlands
The Shadowlands is the part of the Underworld nearest the physical world. It is similar to, but completely separate from, the Penumbra. Ghosts in the Shadowlands are incapable of seeing spirits in the Penumbra and vice versa. There is no simple way to move from the Land of the Dead to the rest of the Umbra.
The Shadowlands are separated from the Realm by a barrier known as the Shroud, similar to the Gauntlet. Unlike the Gauntlet, the Shroud is weakest in places and times that are touched by death. Graveyards and the night are weak points in the Shroud, while in places where life is in full bloom the Shroud is thicker. While the Shroud does vary in thickness, overall it is more difficult to penetrate than the Gauntlet.
Everything in the physical world, inanimate or otherwise, has a ghostly reflection in the Shadowlands. These shadows move as their physical counterpart moves. Thus buildings, people, cars and all other things in the physical world are perfectly visible to ghostly eyes. The shadows are insubstantial, however, and ghosts cannot interact with them directly. The shadows have only enough substance to be slightly dangerous. If the shadow of a physical object passes quickly or violently through a ghost, it can tear away a bit of the ghost's plasmic substance.
The appearance of the ghostly reflections of physical objects are always tainted by death. Wood seems rotten, metal rusted, people wan and diseased. Occasionally people that are particularly full of life will "shine through" into the Shadowlands with their normal appearance, but they are the exception rather than the rule.
Occasionally, objects destroyed in a particularly violent or magickal fashion can be pulled through the Shroud. The shadow of these objects will take on a complete plasmic existence and will be substantial to other ghostly objects. Wraiths can touch such objects, and each other, normally. These plasmic objects are the rare goods and people of the Shadowlands, all the time surrounded by insubstantial images of plenty from the living world.
Some mystics have an alternate view of the Shadowlands. These mystics claim that the Shadowlands are not a place at all. Ghosts reside instead in the world of the living. It is the wraiths that are insubstantial (except to each other) and the appearance of physical objects is skewed by ghostly eyes. Both explanations fit the facts, and it is really a question of one's point of view.