RELATED WORLDS
AS ANYONE READING these five e-books knows by now, there are hundreds of different worlds, and some are nicer than others. A new world is formed when there is a big event in History, like a battle or an earthquake, when the outcome can be two or more quite different things. Different things can happen but they cannot exist together, so the world splits into worlds and History goes its separate ways.
Chrestomanci and his team know about other worlds and a number of them have been visited. There are twelve known Related Worlds and each of these worlds is divided into sets, called Series (there are usually nine of these), which are categorised according to the events in History that were the same in them. The numbering of the Related Worlds goes from twelve to one. The numbers go backwards because it’s thought that Series One is the original world of the twelve, and the great Mages of One who first discovered the other worlds did the numbering.
Although each world is different, the worlds may contain some elements that are the same. For example, you might have a number of counterparts in the Related Worlds, but while you and your counterpart may be exact doubles, the chances are your characters will be quite different. If you wanted to find out more about Related Worlds, a book like Other-World Studies, Series III would come in handy.
If you didn’t know about Related Worlds or Series, then you might call them the Anywheres or Almost Anywheres. But if you have studied the Related Worlds you would know how different each Series can be: you may not want to visit Series Eight, a bleak and stony world, or Series Six, where the worlds are covered in ice. And don’t be fooled by Series Eleven, as it’s not a Series at all, but just one world. But you may like Series Five, with its islands and mermaids. And if you’re looking for a good cup of hot chocolate, Series Nine is the place for you.
Janet Chant’s world is the one that most resembles our own, with its machinery and science and signs to Tufnell Park. And the Angela Brazil books that Christopher sees in The Lives of Christopher Chant are considered to be Rare Books, imported from her world, Twelve B. Like Cat Chant, Janet’s world is in Series Twelve, but whereas World A (Cat’s world) is oriented to magic, Janet’s world split off in the Fourteenth Century and turned to science and machinery.
If you find yourself suddenly transported from your own world to another you could get by, as all the Related Worlds speak the same language (hence their name), but not knowing the history of that particular world could make life very tricky. However, you could always fall back on a good game of conkers, the rules for which seem to be the same in a number of different worlds.
How do you get from one world to another? If you are Chrestomanci, a call for help is enough to transport you there. It’s not that easy for everyone else, but there are a number of ways: you can move in body (i.e., move your physical body from one world to the next), and you can also move in spirit — on what is known as a “spirit trip” or “spirit traveling.” The difference between the two is that the person who is spirit travelling needs another medium to anchor him to his own world. This might take the form of a pretty young lady playing a musical instrument. Note that it is not usually possible for a spirit traveller to bring back solid objects from another world. If you are able to spirit-travel without a medium and you are able to bring back solid objects, you are obviously very special.
So how do you physically travel from one world to another? Well, for this you will need a gateway, an opening between worlds. You may be living very near a way through to another world, but unless you know how to look at something in a different way, you may never find it. It does help if you have witch-sight, as this enables you to see through magical disguises. It is also possible to set up a gateway to another world. This is rather effectively done within a pentangle in The Lives of Christopher Chant, but it takes very strong magic.
When you travel from one world to the next, you usually have to leave a part of yourself behind. Unless, of course, you wish to move more permanently. By using very strong magic it is possible to relocate yourself to another world, but be warned — this will set up a chain reaction whereby your counterparts will be dragged through after you, replacing the gaps left behind in each world!
Before you get to another world, you may have to travel through The World Edge, which, if you didn’t know any better, you might call The Place Between. Not all travellers can actually see The World Edge, but it’s always like a leftover piece of world. At its worst, The World Edge can be shapeless and empty, which may be enough to put the most hardened traveller off going any farther, but it also functions as the mechanism that draws you back to your own world, and this can help prevent you from getting lost.
Once you’ve made it into another world, it’s a good idea to proceed with caution, as you never know when you might stumble across something unpleasant — like a dragon, for example. You should also be careful what you do in other worlds, for your actions may affect the natural laws in your own world. One thing is certain: Related Worlds and parallel universes are not to be toyed with!