The Worldchain of
THE WORLD GATES Novels

In the worldbuilding of Memory of Fire and Closer to Chaos, the first two books of the WORLD GATES series, countless universes nest together, with accessible realities designated as being "upworld" or "downworld" of Earth, or lying to the sides, front, or back. The truly useful universes are those in what is called the "worldchain" or the worlds running up and down a single reality like a single strand of beads.

The illustration to the right is a sneak peek at our worldchain, which is in trouble. All the worlds above us -- at least as far as Unna, are dead by various horrific forms of self-immolation. Those inhabitants of the dead worlds who could, scattered down the worldchain ahead of following disasters. These travelers spent time on Earth, but now have mostly moved on, because Earth is on the brink of being the next domino to fall.

The green worlds, starting with Earth, are habitable and those named are inhabited. They grow increasingly more primitive the farther down the worldchain one goes.

Beyond the last trailing bits of green, the worlds are too primitive to support most life comfortably, and become more hellish and less amenable with every downworld step.

The humans who create roads between these realities and travel the worldchain are gateweavers, elite members of the Sentinels, who have been guarding the roads for thousands of years. The stories in THE WORLD GATES novels are about these people.

The Maps of Matrin >>