The Sentinel Gate is an ancient magical device that allows Imperial heroes to travel to specific locations around the Empire to intervene in events at propitious moments.

Overview

The Sentinel Gate is the massive archway that stands at one side of Anvil. It is used by Imperial citizens to teleport to battle-grounds to fight the barbarians - as well as to go on quests throughout the Empire.

Conjunctions

The power of the stars creates connections between times and places - referred to by Imperial magicians as conjunctions. By using the Gate to access a conjunction a character can travel from Anvil to the site linked through the conjunction. The device is powerful and expensive, but not so powerful that it could not be replicated. However the Gate does not create conjunctions - it only provides the means to access them, so creating an additional Gate would not generate any additional conjunctions.

The Sentinel Gate at Anvil was bonded to the Empire centuries ago by Urizen magicians using a powerful Autumn ritual. Because of this, only Imperial citizens can use the Gate. Autumn magic can be used to create a link between the Empire and a barbarian or a foreigner to allow them to use the Gate - and Night magic can transform or disguise a target in such a way that they can pass through. In both cases, it requires that those using the Gate are accompanied by a greater number of Imperial citizens. In the opinion of Imperial magicians, the Gate is secure from intrusion - a belief supported by the last four centuries of use.

Partly as a result of this bond, the Gate can only be used to travel to places the Empire is connected to - either inside the Empire, on the borders or to locations where significant numbers of Imperial troops are present. In theory, the bond could be broken but it would then need bonding to a new nation or power to be usable at all.