Each of the nine suns shines down upon a different version of the world. These nine aspects are sometimes referred to as realms, but there are other realms as well (the Leech Worlds clinging to the Nightside of Green, the half-worlds in Indigo, and so on). More often than not, the world is described by its sun. So one might say that they are traveling to the Red Sun to speak to the Sodality of Vryn. Or they might just say they’re traveling to Red. Either way, they mean that they’re going to the version of the world that the Red Sun illuminates.

GATES AND GUARDIANS

Magical power and potential flows like water rushing in a river from the Invisible Sun through the other suns, with different currents of magic following different paths. (Although the main current follows the Path of Suns, not all do.) Each sun has a pair of gateways through which the magical energy flows no matter what path it follows. Because of the nature of the path, the first time one travels to a sun, they must pass through the gate. The truly advanced vislae learn to master these currents to better hone their spells, but to do so, they must parley with the guardians of these gates, which are called wardens.

Each sun has a warden, and since each sun occupies a position on two different paths, most actually possess two wardens: one that monitors the traditional path and another that oversees the Nightside Path aspect of the realm. Wardens are guardians, gatekeepers, protectors, and in some cases rulers. Their presence within the realm varies greatly. Although there are exceptions, in most cases the warden is not a godlike monarch of their realm. Most have a subtler existence—more a distant, hidden, disembodied caretaker than a prominent corporeal figure.

Passing through a gate always involves a confrontation with the warden that guards it, if they are present. This is often perfunctory, but sometimes it involves a substantive conversation, or even a demand of payment from the guardian in the form of goods, magic, or performance of a task.

THE NIGHTSIDE PATH

All vislae understand the basic concepts of the Path of Suns and its importance to magic. There are some, however, who follow the Nightside Path, which is the Path of Suns in reverse. In the Nightside Path, each sun has an altered, often darker, aspect. It would be far too simple—and in fact quite erroneous—to call the Path of Suns “good” and the Nightside Path “evil,” but some do.

Further, it would be a tremendous mistake to believe that the Nightside of a sun is the opposite of that sun. That’s never true. The Nightside of Red certainly isn’t about creation. Instead, the Nightside version of each sun is a somewhat darker version of that sun. But “darkness” can take many forms.

Likewise, it would be a mistake to think too much about the different suns as dichotomies. Thinking that Red and Green are opposites is to greatly oversimplify both. The Actuality’s foundation is built of nuance, not opposing forces. Shadow philosophy and religion might be based around “equal but opposite forces,” but the truth is much more complex.

TRAVELING THE PATH

Emelia finished the spell and stepped into the blue light. A high-ceilinged chamber around her stretched in all directions, presenting a dizzying array of exits, each leading into what appeared to be a maze of corridors. She knew that this chamber was the Blue Gate. She’d prepared for this moment.

Not far away, a woman reclined on a large couch, her blue tresses cascading down onto the floor. Her stillness and pale skin made her appear dead, but Emelia knew better. She took a few tentative steps toward her.

Do not disturb her, a voice said in Emelia’s mind. A voice not her own, but almost as familiar.

“I wish to pass into the Blue,” Emelia said aloud.

I said, the mental voice repeated, do not disturb her.

“Please,” Emelia whispered.

Out of the corner of her eye, Emelia saw movement through one of the exits. The incorporeal form of a sleeping man floated down the passage, as if adrift on an invisible sea. Then she saw another, and through another exit, still another—an old sleeping woman that time.

Then pass, the voice stated flatly in her mind, but when you do, find the man named Taraquin. He has dreamed too long. Wake him and send him on his way. That task is your toll. Ignore it, and Marra, the warden, will exact her revenge.

Emelia knew that to cross a warden was as foolish a choice as a vislae could make.

“I will do it,” she said quietly.

Then pass into the fading but never-changing Blue, she heard in her mind. Find yourself at the heart of nothing.

With that, the chamber with all its exits and its reclining inhabitant disappeared like the closing of a sleepy eye. She found herself floating in the blue sky. There was no ground, only sky, forever. In the distance, a blue sun shined upon the infinite nothing.

The very word “path” suggests traveling from one place to another, and that’s entirely appropriate. People—mostly vislae—travel from sun to sun following the Path of Suns to gain knowledge and wisdom, to find secret treasures, and to explore.

The first time traveling to a particular sun, the traveler must pass through the sun’s gate and confront its guardian. This is less a physical exercise and more a metaphorical one. (In the Actuality, the differences between the two are negligible.)

There are two common ways to traverse the Path of Suns. The first is a spell, Pathwalker. It allows a vislae (and possibly their companions) to travel along the Path of Suns or the Nightside Path. Other spells and effects allow vislae to travel from one sun to another, often without even following the Path. However, some believe that moving to a new sun without following the Path causes a slow process of soul corruption.

For non-vislae or those who don’t want to travel under their own power—so to speak—there are the sunships. Sunships are old, sentient, and very wise. They are also far too arrogant to speak to humans, so we don’t know much about them, except for the following:

✦✦ They resemble a strange cross between a whale and an airship, with a humanlike face at the front.

✦✦ They are almost entirely immune to the effects of mortal magic.

✦✦ They follow a very strict schedule, departing at sunrise, moving across a portion of their current realm, and then fading into the next sun on the Path.

✦✦ Every nine days, they rest for one day (however, they are not all on the same schedule, so they don’t all rest on the same day).

✦✦ Their daily journey takes about five hours.

✦✦ Sunships always stop at the gate of the destination sun, where they disgorge those who are new to the sun so the travelers can speak to the warden. Then the sunship and any remaining passengers continue on into the realm itself.

✦✦ They can carry up to a hundred passengers or a similar amount of cargo.

✦✦When near other sunships, they talk to each other in a language no scholar or spell has yet deciphered.

✦✦Most are farsighted and wear enormous spectacles.