Sunpassages

Ether cannot be entered through ordinary travel. Its entrances are hidden within flames, and only those recognised by the realm may pass through them.

A Sunpassage can appear within nearly any naturally burning flame: a fireplace, a bonfire, a burning hearth, even a large ceremonial candle.

The Passage of Flames

When a recognised traveller approaches, the fire briefly changes colour, turning white and gold. Instead of producing heat, it becomes pleasantly warm.

Stepping into the flames feels like walking through sunlight.

For a moment the traveller hears nothing but a faint rustling of leaves. When they open their eyes, they are standing beneath the enormous branches of the Burning Tree in Ayrith.

The flames do not burn those who are welcomed. Those without permission encounter only ordinary fire.

The Gift of Passage

There are two ways in.

• Through a Zephyrian. A Zephyrian may guide someone through an entrance, and the flames recognise the visitor as someone under their protection.
• Through a gift. An outsider may enter carrying an object willingly gifted to them by a Zephyrian. The object acts as a key, and the flames recognise the bearer's connection to Ether.

The gift can be something as simple as a bracelet, a carved wooden charm, or a personal belonging. Its value does not matter. What matters is the intention behind it.

An object stolen from a Zephyrian will never work. Neither will one taken through threats or manipulation.

The Law of Invitation

Being granted entry to Ether is considered a great honour. A Zephyrian who gifts someone passage is personally responsible for introducing that person to their homeland.

An invitation is not permanent. If a visitor deliberately harms Ether, its inhabitants, or the Burning Tree, their passage can be revoked. The Tree itself may reject them, and every entrance becomes inaccessible to them.

This has happened only a handful of times in Ether's history.

Before the gates closed

Passage was not always this narrow. The gift-and-escort rule is the restriction the Circle of Roots placed on the Sunpassages at the Closing of the Gates; before it, access was far less guarded.

The key works on intention, not on the object — the same rule as the Gift's willing giver. A gifted key is the craft in its gentlest form: something given, received, and recognised by the root.

Strahd "knew the way" to the sealed barrier. Under this law, an outsider only knows the way if a Zephyrian showed him or gave him something.