Ah, magical portals. They come in all shapes, sizes, locations, you name it. Portals are the condensing of space through the use of a magic force, often a castor but not always, allowing an adventurer to travel from one point to another instantly. These mystical doorways can be one of two types: Ever-changing, or fixed. The ever changing portals are obvious. Since their destination isn’t set they appear to be swirling brightly colored circles floating in mid air. The fixed portals are the ones you really need to watch out for since their destination can be as clear as looking through a window.
The tricky thing about fixed portals is that some casters that create them will often attempt to keep their existence hidden. If you know anything about the Federal Portal Commission (FPC), then you’ll understand why. Most casters, especially the more well known and powerful wizards, are limited to a handful of portals at a time. This is mainly because most magic users and magical companies will profit off of the use of portals, and if one magical establishment gets too popular in the portal market then they could take business away from the smaller magical portal businesses. In fact, that exact situation is how the FPC was established in the first place. One wizarding tower had a monopoly on the portal market, so since they had no competition they thought they could rack up the prices so high that no one could afford portal travel anymore. Then steps in the local government, concerned about the impact this may have on the economy, and wam bam my man, rules get put in place.
So that explanation leads us to why a wizard would want to keep some of their portals hidden.
Enter you, a small time, newbie adventurer who may not know as much about portal travel. In fact, you may have unknowingly waltzed by several magical doorways without ever realizing it. How do experienced wizards and witches hide their illegal portals you may ask? Easy, smack a fancy frame on it and call it art!
Since single destination portals display clear pictures of where you’re going, many magic users will disguise their portals as works of art, some will have full galleries in their towers with their hidden passages scattered amongst the real masterpieces. Some will get even more crafty and add a magical barrier in front of their “art” to give the illusion that it’s painted parchment and not real. Crazy huh?
So, next time you see a painting that looks a little too real, keep in mind that it could be an adventure waiting to start.
