ANDERS MAGE PAGE 2.0

According to Mage First Edition, the shard realms were originally parts of Earth that broke free and became a kind of gateways to the outer realms. Perhaps they were mythical lands which disappeared (Atlantis as the Shard Realm of Matter or Forces?). Perhaps they were actual places which fitted their Spheres extremely well and when the Spheric realms moved away from Earth they were ripped loose. After that, they began to become more alien as they were influenced by their Spheres but not as much by the normal world. However, they are still the links between the physical world and the abstract realms of the Spheres, a mix between the real world and the Umbra. Here are some ideas.

Correspondence

A great plain covered with crossroads which lead to all places in the universe. Highways, paths, channels, streets and roads criss-cross the landscape. Stairs lead down into the Labyrinth beneath. Here and there oddly built houses contain doors into every other building. In the air swallows fly among airplanes and other flying beings. By moving just a bit you can get anywhere. Resonance make people want to move, to explore or make them get lost in the vastness.

Entropy

Partially described in the Book of Chantries. Described as a great wasteland covered with bones. Decay is everywhere. I would think it also involves infinite plains of gravel, desert and badlands. There is no life anywhere, decay and hopelessness is everywhere. Resonance spreads corruption and apathy.

Forces

Partially described in Book of Chantries. Mountainous with volcanoes, storms, lightening and earthquakes. Power is everywhere and resonance makes people seek power, both physical, political and spiritual.

Life

A great jungle, filled with life from every possible period of time. Life is everywhere, everything is alive and struggling for survival. Resonance make people cast off the illusions of civilization and reason and indulge in the pure pleasure of living. Take a close look at Gaia in the Kult supplement Legions of Darkness for an idea of how this realm works.

Matter

A subterranean kingdom where the inhabitants build vast cities out of rock, metals and wood. Great chasms are bridged by ingenious bridges, walls are covered with strange crystals and unknown minerals. Lakes of strangely colored water are inhabited by weird fish encrusted with salt. Glowing rocks light up the passages and metallic mushrooms grow in the cracks in the walls.

Mind

A great city where philosophers, artists and mages in togas wander beneath great marble temples to different emotions, thoughts, ideas or states of mind. People are everywhere, all filled with emotions and ideas and also representing them. The calm philosophers discuss with the expressive artists, while the hateful traitors eternally plot and the passionate lovers seek their lost love. Resonance tries to make visitors behave like an archetype fitting them.

Prime

An ocean dotted with small islands. Everything is translucent, as if the underlying structures are revealed. In the sea, shining beings hunt the currents of energy and in the air glowing fields of power sometimes form intense lines of light. The beaches are filled with sparkling sand, as if they were made of diamonds. Everything is changeable and by simply forming something out of something else it can be brought into existence.

Spirit

A misty moor where old oaks and monoliths dot the landscape. The mists seem to dance between the ancient stone circles and still pools, and unheard voices whisper secrets in the wind. Sometimes vague outlines of creatures can be seen through the mists, or strange sounds are heard. Resonance makes visitors start to whisper and move stealthily, carefully observing the secret signs and portents around them.

Time

An old forest, covering ancient ruins. The roots of great trees burrow into the ground, uncovering entrances to a subterranean labyrinth below. Inside the crumbling ruins are faded paintings and engravings depicting historical events, both past and future. Eroded statues of unknown people guard the doorways into the dark and dusty tunnels under the ruins, where strange inscriptions and crumbling scrolls describe distant times. Resonance fills visitors with respect and a feeling of age.