Transportation Between Realms - thoughts?

[The_Everlasting]

I'm currently working on a novel that has to do with different realms; mainly the human realm and the demon realm. I'm having trouble coming up with a believeable scenario as to how the transportation between realms occours. Here's the ideas I've had so far:

A: the main character (a female demon) has a magic stone that she wears around her neck that gives her the ability, when within the portal area, to travel between realms.

B: Insinuate that there is a type of teleportation that happens but avoid the actual description leaving it to the reader to imagine. Such as the character falls asleep as they travel (presumeably to the portal location) then awakens in the other realm.

I kinda feel like 'B' is my best bet seeing that the transfer is nessessary and the traveling would only occour once in the early stages of the story. Thoughts?

 

[Ireth]

I personally like the first option better, as it's more concrete. Having the character fall asleep and teleport offscreen feels kinda like a cop-out.

 

[The_Everlasting]

I can understand that as well- My problem is with a full on description of the actualy teleportation or traveling bewteen realms I don't know how to describe it really. A flash of light? color? sound? Maybe a more fluid easy transition?

I'd love some opinions on this as well.

 

[Phin Scardaw]

I have dealt with this exact same issue in a previous work, and it's really tricky. Obviously, you want the transition to seem realistic, but not at all cheesy. Unless you like the cheese, in which case I would recommend an Elevator, preferably one of those old-fashioned ones with the sliding grate, and maybe a little demon in a uniform to push the buttons and announce the different things one can find on the various levels of Hell: "Third Floor: Flaying, Hot Oil Torture, Kitchen Appliances..."

In the end, my characters moved from one Realm to another in a very natural way, but they did enter an altered state, in which they sometimes received visions.

In your case, you have a lot of options. If your characters go to a demon realm, it's possible that they don't "move" at all, but as they enter the other realm, it manifests around them: buildings burn, and lava explodes, and everything withers and dies. Kind of like what they did in the film Constantine. Or there's always the Stargate portal that one can travel through - a wormhole in space and time. Opening and closing such portals would naturally take a lot of power and maybe can only be performed under certain conditions.

If there's a stone, this emits a certain signature pattern of energy. It's possible that it can transmit matter along certain wavelengths of energy - like a human body. In which case, you'd have to think about what is it that receives the signal on the other end, in the other Realm, and also what a human would experience if their body were being converted into energy (like being beamed onboard the Enterprise I suppose) in which case one could experience all kinds of sensory weirdness. Flashes of light, intense sounds, visions, nausea, fear, or even a great interconnectedness with the great All.

Or if you like the idea of keeping the body intact, the magic stone can create a force field, a sort of vehicle, that can protect the user as it hurtles through a wormhole or some other conduit into another realm. That's a pretty image: a wizard standing in a sphere of magic light passing through a void toward some demonic destination.

There are many other ideas. The sky isn't the limit - it's only the beginning!

 

[Jon_Chong]

It could just be a door, opened with a key and the sensation is not unlike passing through a door. Have it so that only those with said keys may notice these doorways and operate them. Those without said keys instinctively know to avoid these door - it could be a bad feeling, a mental compulsion, etc. It goes without saying that these doors are rare - they can only be erected by great magic and at specific spots where the worlds connect - and as such are highly regulated. There are a few 'free' doors, doors that are used by smugglers, runaways, etc.

Hope this helps.

 

[Penpilot]

One word... TARDIS... hahha. But seriously, since it only appears once, and I am assuming it doesn't play into the plot, I'd say keep it simple. What ever this transport method is kind of depends on the setting a little and what kind of story it is. I think option A works just fine, either that or an old VW bug, a trap door, a fountain, a wardrobe, or like Jon said above a simple door.

 

[ThinkerX]

Option 1, except that the stone is a 'key' to a portal. Said portal is the classic 'pentagram', etched into the floors of both the sending and recieiving areas, and ringed with complex arcane symbols and objects. The Demon World and the Human World presumably operate on very different physical principles. This transition causes disorientation in the minds and senses of those passing through, at least for a few moments. The disorientation applies to both humans and demons.

 

[shangrila]

Yeah, the first option is the most believable or "realistic". But if its not going to be a main part of your story I wouldn't stress about it. Just go with whatever you like for now and change it if you find yourself with something better down the line.

 

[Butterfly]

I'd say, don't avoid the description just because that's the easiest thing to do, usually, the best way is generally the hard way, and no one ever said that writing is easy. But look at how other authors have dealt with it.

C.S Lewis, had a pulling sensation in Prince Caspian.

Doom, had a nauseous jump through a portal.

Stargate, depicted a roller-coaster ride through the galaxy.

Bill and Ted's trip into hell involved a long fall to a bumpy bottom.

Perhaps your teleportation takes a lot energy so there may be an electrocution type of sensation or static shocks. Or the feeling as if she's rising from the bottom of a swimming pool to surface, the noise bubbling in around her...

Whatever you choose, I think you will need to focus on those physical sensations, as well as the feeling of any movement that takes place. Unless you go with Phin's suggestion of the realm manifesting where she stands.

Good luck anyway.

 

[morfiction]

Only thing I can think of is The Talisman where Jack drank some alcohol to jump from his world to The Territories. Later on he learned how to do it without the booze.

 

[Queshire]

I vote just saying how it's impossible to describe the experience then write down some bullshit in a futile attempt on your character's behalf to explain it. Kinda like how things go all weird on TV shows when they're trying to portray a bad drug trip.

 

[The Dark One]

Why not have two stones (or other objects) that only work to open the portal when brought into contact? Then as soon as they open the portal they disappear and remanifest anywhere in the new realm and have to be located and brought back together in order to get back.

You must describe the transition. Readers love these sorts of stories and will be disappointed if you don't describe the trip in all its tactile, visual and gustatory glory.