The Arcane Rifts of Anuheim

Arcane Rifts are fractures in reality, places where raw, uncontrolled magic leaks into the world. Some shimmer like frozen lightning, others pulse with a quiet hum, their presence felt in the bones before they are seen with the eyes.

No two rifts are exactly alike. Some are temporary, appearing as brief flickers of unreality before vanishing. Others are stable, forming wounds that do not heal, their magic spilling out like blood from an open vein. The strongest rifts seem to grow, feeding on the energy around them, as if seeking to consume the world itself.

Magic is unpredictable near a Rift. It does not behave as it should. Spells warp in unexpected ways—some unravel before they can be completed, others do not end, their energy trapped in an endless loop. Even those without magical talent can feel the weight of the air near a Rift, like standing on the precipice of something vast and unknowable.

Effects of the Arcane Rifts

The Rifts do not simply exist—they change the world around them.

Arcane Infusion

Those exposed to a Rift may become infused with its energies, their bodies absorbing raw magic.

This infusion is not a blessing—it is a slow, creeping shift in their nature. Their veins begin to glow, their bodies radiating an unnatural hum.

For the untrained, this is a death sentence—their bodies unable to contain the energy, they are eventually frozen in space and time, their forms crystallized into arcane statues, forever locked between moments.

The only ones who can survive this transformation are those with training, control, and knowledge—mages who willingly embrace the Arcane, those known as the Aetherforged.

Riftspawn & Sentient Masses

Some Rifts do not just leak energy—they produce something.

These are not creatures in the traditional sense—they are diffusely defined masses of arcane energy, shifting in form, never truly whole.

To stand near them is to feel a presence, a weight in the air, a sense of something watching.

Whether these beings have purpose, or whether they are simply the echoes of a magic gone wrong, is unknown.

Temporal & Spatial Distortion

The flow of time bends near the Rifts—travelers report losing hours, days, or even years, only to return unchanged.

Some Rifts lead elsewhere, places not of this world but also not fully separate from it, a space between realities.

Some Rifts whisper, their energy carrying the impressions of past events, playing them over and over like an echo trapped in stone.

Notable Arcane Rifts

The existence of Rifts is recorded by scholars and Arcane Mages, though locals often refer to them as cursed places, warning travelers to stay away.

The Weeping Scar

A massive Rift carved into the side of the Everreaching mountain range, its edges dripping with liquid light.

Any who step too close find themselves shifting between versions of the same moment, trapped in fractured time.

The Maw of Mirrors

A Rift hidden deep within an abandoned ruin, where reflections do not match reality.

To look too long is to see yourself step forward, and what happens after that... no one knows.

The Singing Rift

A fracture in the roots of an ancient, petrified tree, its presence felt through a haunting melody that lingers in the mind.

Those who enter find themselves in a world of pure sound, where silence is death and movement is a song.

The Fractured Spire

A Rift that formed within a once-great mage’s tower, its top shattered and now floating midair, locked in its own arcane gravity—a magical failure, a fracture where power ran unchecked.

Those who enter find themselves split—not physically, but mentally, fragments of their thoughts playing out in different timelines.

The Veilbreak Covenant

Where there is power, there are those who seek to claim it.

The Veilbreak Covenant is an order of mages, scholars, and seekers who dedicate their lives to studying, harvesting, and controlling the Arcane Rifts. They exist in pursuit of knowledge, but in doing so, they have become something dangerous.

Their motivations are layered:

1. They extract magic from the Rifts to power magical objects, weapons, and experiments.

2. They sell infused magical objects, funding their operations through a thriving market of arcane goods.

3. They are addicted to the energy of the Rifts, unable to walk away, their minds twisting with each exposure.

4. They do not simply seek to close the Rifts—they wish to control them, to bend them to their will.

Structure of the Veilbreak Covenant

The covenant has a simple hierarchy. There are the arcane mages that make decision and manage the operations and the collection of scholars, mercenaries, and laborers that do the work.

The Riftseers

The highest-ranking arcane mages, those who have studied the Rifts for decades. They are rarely seen, preferring to work in secrecy, crafting plans that few outside their inner circle understand.

Those who have survived direct exposure to Arcane energy become known as the Aetherforged, their bodies forever changed. They are stronger, faster, and more attuned to the Rifts, but they walk a fine line between power and destruction.

The Aethermarked

The footsoldiers, explorers, and seekers. Many join for wealth, others for knowledge, and some simply to be close to the magic.

Though the Covenant presents itself as scholars, researchers, and problem-solvers, in truth, they are obsessive. They do not fear the Rifts—they crave them.

They will close them—but only after draining every last trace of power. And even then, it is not because they wish to seal the fractures in reality. It is because they do not yet know how to keep them open and stable.

Why Do People Join the Veilbreak Covenant?

Not everyone in the Covenant understands what they are truly a part of. Some believe they are working for the good of the world, while others see opportunity, power, or purpose.

Scholars and Mages

Seek to understand the Arcane Rifts, believing they hold the key to something greater.

Mercenaries and Treasure Hunters

Are drawn by the profit—the Covenant pays well for those who can protect their magical artifacts and operations.

Those Who Have Nothing Left

Some who are exposed to the Arcane and survive only through constant exposure find no place among normal people. The Covenant welcomes them, offering purpose in a world that no longer makes sense.

Some still believe the Rifts are dangerous, wounds that must be sealed before they unravel reality. Others see the Rifts as weapons, tools that, if controlled, could reshape the world.

Then there are those who wish to become something more, who see the Rifts as a doorway to something greater, a way to transcend the mortal world and touch a force beyond comprehension.

Final Thoughts

The Arcane Rifts are not just holes in reality—they are temptation, opportunity, and danger in equal measure.

And the Veilbreak Covenant?

They are the ones pulling at the strings, watching the Rifts, studying them, feeding their obsession.

They will never stop searching, never stop experimenting, never stop pushing the boundaries of what magic can do.

And if, one day, the Rifts no longer fade or collapse—if one remains open, stable, controlled—it will not be a mistake.

It will be by their design.