Musing: The Planes, Part IV: The Ethereal Plane

The Ethereal Plane is a bit of a mystery among those who study planar lore. From the most curious scholar on Deminar to the god's themselves, no one is quite sure what to make of it.

The Ethereal Plane exists in the same planar location as the Prime Material, just on a different level. It even looks much like Deminar, only everything is muted in color with more grays and browns prominent then any other. Where there is a floating island in Demiar, there's probably one on the Ethereal Plane, where there's a twisted canyon on the broken earth below, a copy exists in the same spot on the Ethereal. It's not an exact "echo," there are some places that don't exist on the Ethereal that have a place in Deminar and, more strangely, there are parts in the Ethereal that look how places in Deminar did millennium before, rather then how they do now.

However, there are "echoes" of living things in the Ethereal, every deer doesn't have a copy waiting for it, and you won't run into your twin if you pop over for a visit. Even trees and plants don't echo themselves on the plane, though they still exist there, a sickly rubbery version that barely soaks up nutrients form a muted dull sun.

There are creatures that exist, or, due to the shared location nature between it and the Prime Material, partially exist on the Ethereal Plane. Mostly these are unintelligent creatures, though the Phase Tiger exists partially on that plane. The biggest "population" that interacts with the Prime Material plane however are the incorporeal undead. Ghosts and Wraiths exist there and, on occasion and through a strong sense of will, can project themselves into Deminar.

The moniker of echo also applies to some of the structures that appear in the Ethereal. It seems anything with a strong emotional resonance with a large group of people will appear as a slightly twisted reflection in the Ethereal. Towns that were brutally razed and burned down may appear as ever burning buildings, a castle that is home to a benevolent and much loved noble may appear, taller and more opulent, upon the Plane. Even natural places, like an elven wood, may appear, though often the "trees" that show up on the Ethereal aren't real trees, just unliving reflections of them. These places can stand long after their originals are gone in Deminar, depending how strongly they meant to people and how many people were affected by them. As time wears on, however, and people forget about such places, they will simply disappear off the Ethereal.

Mortals from Deminar can enter the Ethereal if they choose to, through planar portals and gates. Also, due to the Planes sharing space, there are places where the thin gossamer veil that separates the two grows weak and one can invertible stumble into the Ethereal without meaning to. And, unfortunately, it is not always a two way street. Many have become trapped in the Ethereal, prey to the beings that inhabit it or constantly looking for a way back to Deminar. Those who visit would find the Plane slightly cold, but holding a consistent temperature no matter where they go, even in the presence of fire or lava (though those things would still burn flesh). The dull gray sky and surroundings often bring a sense of melancholy and depression to those that walk among it, but these are not supernatural factors, just a general morose that all beings get when deprived of color and sunlight.

The Plane is confounding and aggravating to the Gods for it is the one plane they cannot interact with. No God may visit the plane, not emissaries from the god of Death may retrieve the souls that exist there as ghosts, no Outsider of any kind, formed of soulstuff can enter the Ethereal and the Gods haven't a clue why and the fact that mortals can do it, angers them to no end.