Folklore 009: The Gate Kept by the Realm Master

At Harmonium stood a gate to fire.

The Realm Master guarded its rhythm. At appointed times the Nether breach opened for forty-eight hours, and settlers crossed for materials, danger, and answers. When the interval ended, the gate closed again. No private ambition could command it.

Expeditions returned with blaze rods, scorched armor, rare stone, and stories that improved with every telling. Some accused the keeper of hoarding power. Others understood that an always-open wound would eventually bleed into the city.

The gate taught Elarion that access could be a civic instrument. A portal was not only a doorway; it was a schedule, a risk, a shared cost, and a promise that someone would still be guarding the return.