Lady's
Grace! My name is Darcmikel and Voilá!'s garnished
me very well indeed to give you the chant on Yggdrasil,
fellow planeswalkers.
Am
I qualified? Listen cutter, I've slept with the Seelie
Court, climbed in its branches, and dug 'twixt its roots.
Even walked through a portal or few. And, as I've
travelled the World Ash for over two centuries, I've
found more than a few ways to traverse its
expanse.
As
any Guvner will tell you, "Everything, at some level,
conforms to the Rule of Threes." And the World Ash is
no different. You see there's three different parts to
the tree: the roots, trunk, and the
crown. Each area has different methods that can be
used to get around.
The
roots, more often than not, lead to the Lower Planes.
Pandemonium, The Abyss, and The Gray Waste. Travelling
here can sometimes be the hardest. Well, no harder than
travellin' The Dismal Delve in Earth. Though many
of the more commonly used paths are not so difficult to
follow, they're also used by more 'walkers, thus, more
encounters. The climate here is perpetually winter, and
Yggdrasil's leaves are often withered, rotting, or the
branches are bare. Don't be fooled by appearances though,
cutter, the World Ash is still very much alive!
Watch
out for Nidhogg, too, if you're tromping around the
roots. Chant goes it's a massive dragon that gnaws at the
roots of the World Ash, and has been forever. When it
finally bites all the way through, Yggdrasil will come
crashing down, bringing half the planes with it. I
imagine Nidhogg gets sick of the taste of wood, and the
occasional traveller would spice up his menu no
end...
On
the other hand, the trunk can be one of the easiest to
cross. I say cross; because, sometimes, you have to climb
the trunk and it seems like days go by. Other times, it's
a few scarce miles and hours.
For
the most part, colour pools in the trunk region lead to
Asgard, with its direct connection with the ground, and
Arborea, as it grows up to stretch out its first
branches. The odd (and I mean odd) connection to
Limbo also can be found here, typically through cavities
and caves at the base of the tree.
Branches
can be easy to navigate in the Beastlands, but in parts
of Elysium a fall can be treacherous. Luckily, many of
Elysium's inhabitants have made catches and placed nets
under the more travelled branches. And I've even heard of
paths in the air and on clusters of leaves that lead to
Bytopia or even Mount Celestia. Branches can sometimes
force you to travel down the tree in order to get on
another trunk division.
As
any Guvner worth his salt would also tell you, "There's
almost always a loophole." In this case, two. Portals to
the Prime seems to sprout up anywhere on the tree as do
those to the Outlands.
It
would be prudent to note that when travelling on
Yggdrasil, it's not always necessary to go through a
portal or gate. Though there are plenty of those, most
assuredly, and they can be found under and through
branches, in crevices and knotholes, and under roots.
Most often, though, one finds certain areas of the tree
connected to areas of a plane, manifesting as a
tremendous ash tree in one place or perhaps a grove of
young ashes somewhere else. You can step through one of
these connections and off the Great Tree without even
realising it, cutter.
Lastly,
though the Seelie Court moves throughout the planes of
its own free will, it members often move about Yggdrasil
in quite a different manner. See there are enchanted
places, root-covered banks, ash groves, and pools with
great trees over them, that the World Ash touches. If you
sleep or even pass out in these places you could find
yourself someplace else when you come to. Waking up in
Pandemonium is not the best cure for a hang over.
Unless
you don't care where your going, I suggest you find a
guide. The ratatosk, stags and birds can often help, but
there are many others that know the routes as well. And,
if you can befriend one of the faerie they can often show
you an enchanted area to sleep at, if they're not pulling
a prank.
I
think that will help you find your way in Yggdrasil's
shadow and through all it touches.
