Lost Bridge

The Lost Bridge

The Ditch, Lower Ward / Hive Ward

Only one “natural” water source exists in the Cage, and most people stay as far away from it as possible. The Ditch, as it is called, separates the Hive from the Lower Ward and is a noxious combination of putrid water, slime and garbage rolled into one. But amidst this aquatic eye sore, there lie a number of bridges that cross over its vile depths. These bridges range from a few feet wide to large enough to accommodate four carts crossing at once.

The second-most famous bridge that—occasionally—expands over the Ditch (after the Bridge that Spans Worlds) is simply known as “The Lost Bridge”. This anomaly is sought after by all sorts, from the most learned of sages to the vilest fiends. The bridge only appears for a short time in random areas along the Ditch’s path at very infrequent intervals.

Those few berks lucky enough to catch a glimpse of the bridge have described it in many different ways. Some saw the bridge for but a moment and it appeared as a radiant structure with beautiful statues along is surface. Others have seen a huge pitch coloured stone bridge with spike covered hand rails that appeared for nearly five minutes. All sightings of the bridge have varied in there description except for one aspect, there is always an arch in the middle of the bridge. The arch is always grand and covered with etched writings and runes that are impossible to read from the “shore”.

The best-know story behind the bridge is that it was once the closest bridge to Aoskar’s temple and when the Lady of Pain “cast” him out of Sigil, the bridge disappeared. Sages have speculated that the bridge is an open gate to some unknown plane outside the Great Ring that Aoskar had opened. Great power is said to lie beyond the gate because after the bridge’s construction was complete and the gate opened, Aoskar was “cast” out of Sigil not long after. Those seeking power beyond belief had tried for centuries to find the bridge and cross it. If any have, they are never heard of again.

The Dark: “The Lost Bridge” is a gate to another plane. Actually, it is a gate to all the Planes. Each time the bridge appears, its gate opens to the Prime, Astral, Ethereal, Outlands, any Inner or Outer Plane. The destination plane, duration of the bridges’ appearance and its current location over “The Ditch” all appear random. The most interesting aspect of the bridge is that there is no gate key required for its use. All a berk needs to do is pass through the arch from the Lower Ward end of the brodge, and they appear in a location on the destination plane. There is no way back to Sigil from the other side and those that do travel across the bridge from the Hive Ward end cross over to the Lower Ward without incident.

The only constant aspect of the location on the destination plane is that it is usually in a dangerous place. One thing that has been observed by a few scholars is that the bridge crosses near the Athar headquarters, the Shattered Temple most often. The style, colour and demeanour of the bridge gives a clue to the destination plane of the gate and chant goes the dabus Fell seems to sense its comings and goings. Fell will never speak of this matter with anyone but he doesn’t deny any rumours that are told to him either.

Source: Jachyras