Tír

A tír is an alternate world, distinct from the one that Reign of the Seven Spellblades normally takes place in, which operates by its own physical and natural laws.

Background
A tír is an alien world, with its own rules, environments, and ecosystems, frequently intelligent life, and often its own god.

Normally tírs are only perceptible as the stars of the night sky. However, in rare instances, they pass close enough to each other for passages to open between them and allow travel. Some are natural migrations: many magical creatures of our world originated on other tírs. However, others are attempts by the god of that tír to seize control of the destination, often through the use of agents known as apostles or seraphs. Our world, as an atheosphere whose god is long dead, is a particularly enticing target.

Known tírs
Eight tírs consistently come into conflict with our world on a regular basis.
 * Marcurius, the Fragrant Water's Shore.
 * Venasgorn, the Brooding Golden Mountains.
 * Luftmarz, the Ravaging Inferno's Kiln.
 * Hadiaiupitre, the Imperious Green Garden.
 * Ganosatun, the Beast’s Terrain.
 * Uranischegar, the Judgmental/Regimented Heavens.
 * Ayrioneptu, the Rotting Sea’s Shoals.
 * Vanato, the Chthonic Retreat.

Mage experiments
Mages have attempted various experiments to reach or harness the properties of other tírs, with mixed results.
 * In 1531, during a close passage by Luftmarz, Clifton Morgan opened a portal to the tír in an attempt to capture a sample of its flames. The experiment went disastrously awry: Morgan became infected by the flames and spent the next two years hiding in the labyrinth as he gradually burned alive.
 * In 1532, a Kimberly Magic Academy student became consumed by the spell after opening a portal to an unidentified tír from their laboratory in the labyrinth. Darius Grenville and Oliver Horn traveled into the laboratory to close the portal to prevent a potential outbreak.

Trivia

 * "Tír" is a Gaelic (Irish and Scots) word that literally translates as "land", "nation", or "realm".