Serpent's coil

he Serpent's Coil (or simply The Coil) is a region of Pal Tahrenor that is heavily influenced by the Astral Realm due to a thinning of The Seal. It encompasses the southern tip of what would be South America on Earth. The center of the coil is a place of overlap between the Astral and physical realms.

The Serpent's Coil is notorious across Pal Tahrenor as a place of great power, mystery and danger. Among most cultures it is given strongly negative connotations and common languages may use "the coil" as a colloquialism meaning the equivalent of "hell". Negative connotations of The Coil are particularly strong in Puradynic religions that abhor magic (such is the case in Thar Shaddin).

Humans or other creatures who are capable of magic but not particularly adept at controlling it are vulnerable to the strange effects of The Coil. These effects vary between individuals but invariably get stronger as they approach the center. Most individuals describe feelings of being in a daze, a trance, or lucid dreaming when they are near the perimeter of The Coil. Events are described as being "not right" and may also be compared to taking mild doses of hallucinogenic drugs.

Closer to the center of The Coil these effects grow stronger until a completely dreamlike state is entered and the individual experiences reality in the astral realm. The transition between realms is unique for everyone, but often consist of subtle cues such as a gradual changing of scenery and morphing objects that cease to obey standard physical laws until reality appears to change completely into a dream world.