Travel platform
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*It's likely that the gadget that Sarine [http://www.errantstory.com/comic.php?date=2003-11-21 uses] to (unknowingly) summon [[Toren]] and his military unit is one of those "temporary platforms" that she talks about. | *It's likely that the gadget that Sarine [http://www.errantstory.com/comic.php?date=2003-11-21 uses] to (unknowingly) summon [[Toren]] and his military unit is one of those "temporary platforms" that she talks about. | ||
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Revision as of 15:39, 9 October 2008
Travel platform | |
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Description
A means of instantaneous transportation unique to elves, dating back to their glory days and equivalent in function if not design to the modern, human Warp gate. We apparently see one here and here (maybe the same one, maybe not). It has a vaguely druidic/Stonehengeish look to it.
For a long time it was thought that the elven travel platforms and human warp gates might be connected, or even the same network (just unbeknown to the humans). However, Sarine says they're not connected even though the (magical) technologies of the two look similar. Some improvisation might be possible to connect the two, but she says it's beyond her own considerable skills as a mage to do it, which is why she, Jon and Sara have to travel to the elf-henge setup to try to get to Praenubilus Astu and rescue Meji.
Also according to Sarine, the modern travel platform isn't as run down as the standing stones might suggest. The original platforms may not work any more, but when the elves started sending rangers out into the rest of the world, some of the platforms were refurbished to give the rangers a way to get around. She also says that there now exist "temporary" travel platforms that can be erected by a couple of rangers, allowing elves to pop into places that have human warp gates that they use for additional travel. Presumably this is the way Rarune and his party got to Tsuirakushiti, 18 years ago so that he could impregnate Miyo Hinadori, then more recently so he and his goons could grab the resulting Meji. Also how Toren and his doomed goons got to Saus via Sarine.
Interestingly, the Veracian Church doesn't seem aware of the temporary travel platforms, despite their long history of interacting with the elves. When Ian confronts Jeramel to find out where the elves are, Jeramel tells him that "no one ever manages to see where (the elves) came from or where they go." Probably they pop in via temporary platforms set up outside Emerylon. The existence of elven travel platforms isn't well known to other humans either, although Ian surmises that something warp-gate-like existed at the time of the Lorenzel Excavations, but wasn't recognized as such by the archaeologists. Sarine says they may be dismantled soon, since "it won't be long before someone figures out what they are", giving evidence that even Tsuirakuans haven't figured out what or where the elven platforms are.
Where Used
- Interestingly, when Sarine uses it to pop back into Praenubilus Astu to report on what's happened with Anilis, she says (in one of those little bits of internal dialogue that people have with themselves for purposes of plot advancement) that she arrives at a warp gate, not a travel platform. Needless to say, she has all sorts of negative comments about elven paranoia that causes such a thing to be stationed out in the boonies, but that's just Sarine being Sarine.
- On the other hand, she refers to "the travel platforms Tsuiraku uses", implying that to her they're essentially the same thing, and the difference in names is just linguistic. She says the elven ones are way beyond Tsuiraku's, implying that the half-elf city didn't steal or preserve all the elven magical knowledge when it disappeared. One obvious difference is that Tsuiraku uses portal mages, while the elven ones are automated.
- Whether the weird construct that transports our heroes off to their encounter with Nookie, Kawaii and Anilis is a standard travel platform is unclear, but Sarine doesn't think so, and she should know. Instead she thinks it's some kind of "portal," whatever that is.
- According to the Elven Council, some of the platforms were on a "separate, private network that was made for travel between a few secure, hidden locations." It was the construction of one of these that tipped the elves off to the existence of the Giant Magic Potato, which they call the "bubble" for some inscrutable elvish reason. We don't know what any of the other platforms on the "private network" do, but hey, Senilis hasn't put in an appearance yet...
- It's likely that the gadget that Sarine uses to (unknowingly) summon Toren and his military unit is one of those "temporary platforms" that she talks about.