Foreword:
It was a gold flecked, white marble highway, that wound and wove and drove straight through to infinity. Its beginning was an end, and its end was a beginning. In its middle was opportunity, for along its way were the steppingstones to a multitude of worlds.
It hung among the stars, thin line, cut sharp and weaving against their glittering mass. It was called the "Road of the Gods" by the lesser beings that traveled it. The gods just smiled and took the credit but when no one else was looking they argued its origins amongst themselves.
Nobody knew who built it. No one had ever known, some thought. It just was. An eternal constant. The eternal constant.
TLM 1975
Bridgeworld isn't a true bridge as my imagination originally dictated. Instead, it is an actual planet which is the nexus point of quite a large number of portals that connect to other worlds in the omnipresent Multiverse. Some of these are stationary portals and some are nomadic. Some are permanent and some are not. Because of the nature of Bridgeworld there are sentient species from all over the multiverse congregating there. Most of the population is confined to the one Major metropolitan area on the planet called Primus.
Primus is divided up into neighborhoods and townships not unlike those that were formed in cities around Earth like New York and San Francisco. Neighborhoods such as Frenchtown, Germantown and Chinatown, where those nationalities and ethnic groups tended to congregate. In Primus' case the neighborhoods are more likely to be named Elf town or Earth town.
The governmental structure of the planet is maintained by a race indigenous to the planet. They are called Keepers, named so by Tom o' Bedlam himself. The Keepers provide civil services, medical services and police services. They maintain the overall structure to the diversity that is Primus.
While some very rare and temporary Portals seem to let through anything, most Portals can only be accessed by or created by, what are called Bridgewalkers. Bridgewalkers are not confined to any one species or race of beings. They are likely to pop up in any sentient species. Dalton, the hero/gallery owner of the main arc is a Bridgewalker from Earth. He sells art and his customer in the next township might be from Alpha Centauri or an agent for galleries on Earth.
At the top of the heap are a small class of sentients called Bridgemasters. These are Bridgewalkers who have gone beyond bridgewalking in their power. They are known as the Nine and are the trump cards in protecting Primus and the rest of Bridgeworld from major threats to the planet's existence. They are beyond even the gods themselves in their power. Or at least they like to think they are.
Bridgeworld is a mix of Fantasy and Science. Magic works, giants walk and dragons fly. Spaceships reach for outer space, aliens abduct cows and man walks on the moon. It is a place where Magic and Fantasy walk hand in hand with the hard struck lines of Reality and Science. On Bridgeworld, anything can happen and often does.
TLM 1995
The journey to Bridgeworld has taken a long time to get to this point. This is a result of undiagnosed ADD and life's obstacles. Here I am in a place where new and young fantasy writers come to share their visions. My writing style is different and I decided before I published here that I wasn't going to push it. That is until I swing into high gear. I don't mind being in a backwater. It's here mainly for family, friends and acquaintances while I work on Bridgeworld's third addition, Imp Online. It's also to give me copyright over things I did long ago and a jump start: because that's what the writing here does for me. Reading fresh voices and watching them grow is inspiring. As a result, in spite of the procrastination and the juggling of many projects, caused by ADD, I have managed to accomplish more than I have since the 90's.
TLM 2024
This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.