Originally posted to Livejournal as a placeholder on 9.25.05.
Eventually, I'd very occasionally put together little shorts surrounding ideas and characters I created while playing dnd and dnd-adjacent ttrpgs. These "ampersand adventures" as I'd come to later call the collection of them aren't actual plays but rather simple fictionalizations of the materials. Some are older, some are newer, some have a lot of issues, some have only a few. This first one actually didn't start as a ttrpg idea but rather as my extremely awkward attempt to blend a personal fictional cosmology called the Grey Cosmology with my love of games.
The pathways of the Eldarin Mind are not easily mapped containing, as they do, vast psionic potential and an almost mercurial synaptic response time. Standard Stream of Conciousness techniques do not readily apply here and newer, more innovative procedures must be allowed to develop. The Elven Body contains an extraordinary chemical which links their central nervous system to the spirit realms. (Author's Note: It is important to note that certain sub-races manifest this differently in a physical sense. The Wylde, for example, seem only to be able to channel and communicate with Spirits of Nature. The Avendriel, however, seem to connect to some arcane force which boosts their magical potential. The Avendriel are an oddity amongst the Eldarin race. Their natural Psionic ability seems morphed from birth to reflect a more Eldritch connection. Perhaps The Avendriel are connected to a different realm? No evidence supports this and The Avendriel themselves remain frustratingly close-mouthed about it. Do they even know?) This chemical acts as a sort of mystical lubricant between realms. It flows throughout the body but concentrates in the prosencephalon, the most anterior portion of the Elven Brain. Interestingly, one of the Psionic Power Centers is found in the same place consistently throughout the various species. The same is true of most Elves, barring discrepancy for individual Avatars, and the Power Center here can be found to intertwine with the Chemical Center in a symbiotic relationship. This concentration is sometimes referred to as the "Third Eye."
This relationship sends a great deal of power to the rest of the body. As is common knowledge, the prosencephalon is the part of the brain which controls direct sense impulses throughout the body, equilibrium, eye movement, hearing, intelligence, memory, personality, respiration, smell, and taste amongst others which are not relevant to this discussion. This Third Eye is believed to be the direct cause for the Eldarin's heightened senses, extraordinary dexterity, and notably long memories and vast repositories of knowledge.
To the best of my knowledge, no Elves remain today who retain the ability to "Shift." Shifting is the process by which the individual conciously accesses her Third Eye and psionically controls the chemical therein. (Author's Note: Most Elven cultures use the pronoun "her" to represent an individual whose gender is unspecified. I have kept to this convention for clarity.) The Elf then uses the chemical in a violent fashion to tear open a gateway between the realms large enough and real enough for the individual to step though, removing herself entirely into the other plane of existence. The process is poorly described, I have found, within the Eldarin records I have been admitted to. Many flowery, metaphorical, and completely ancillary passages have been attached to the ability in an attempt to present a glorified description. (Author's Note: I suspect the Elves have too much Bardic blood in them and not enough of them are of a scientific disposition. This is part of the reason why gathering information merely on their physiology has been so difficult.)
In any case, the modern Eldar seems to maintain that connection only subconciously. The properties of this biological make-up remain and continue to function as intended but the secret of concious manipulation of this semi-material seems, by all accounts, to have been lost.
My research will continue into completing the map of the Elven Brain. Further research into the DNA structure is needed to complete this research and despite the myriad distractions I have faced in the pursuit of this, I will continue forth.
--from the records of Dr. Anaxamandre Pharion
5th Moon, 3rd Cycle, Year of Courage
Andarian Realm