장막

나는 장막이 산 자들의 세계와 영의 세계 (그 세계가 영계로 불리느냐, 내세로 불리느냐는 인종, 정치적 문제이므로, 이 논문에서는 다루지 않겠다) 를 구분 짓는 보이지 않는 "커튼"의 일종이란 개념을 매우 싫어한다. 장막에 "이쪽"과 "저쪽"이라는 개념은 존재하지 않는다. 그것은 물리적인 것도, 장벽도, "성스러운 빛에 휘감긴 벽"도 아니다 (그런 이미지가 자리 잡게 만들어 주셔서 참으로 고맙군요, 교황 성하).

대신, 장막을 눈을 뜨는 것에 비유해 보자.

눈을 뜨기 전, 우리 세계는 우리의 눈에 보이는 그대로 보인다. 정적이고, 확고하며, 변하지 않는 세계 말이다. 이제 눈을 뜨면, 영의 시야로 우리 세계의 모습을 보게 된다. 이 세계는 혼란스럽고, 항상 변화한다. 이 세계 속에선 상상이나 기억 속 존재도 실재하는 것이나 마찬가지다. 영은 모든 걸 의지와 기억으로 정의해 바라보는데, 이 때문에 그들은 장막을 건너오면 무척 혼란스러워한다. 우리 세계는 상상이 실체를 갖고 있지 않기 때문이다. 물체는 우리가 그것들을 어떻게 기억하는지, 어떤 감정을 느끼는지와 상관없이 독립적으로 존재한다. 오직 마법사만이 이 세계를 정신의 힘으로 바꿀 수 있는데, 어쩌면 악마가 그들을 탐내는 이유가 바로 그 점 때문일지도 모른다. 누가 알겠는가?

어쨌거나, 장막을 통과한다는 건 물리적인 이동이라기보단 시야가 바뀌는 것에 가깝다. 장막은 추상적인 개념으로, 변화라는 행위 그 자체이다. 장막이 물리적인 벽이라는 믿음은, 살아 있는 존재들과 영들이 이러한 변화를 이해하기 어려워하기 때문에 형성된 것뿐이다.

—민라투스 마법사 협회의 선임 마도사 마레노 저, 물리적 발현으로서의 영계에 대한 논문, 철의 시대 6:55년

 

I detest this notion that the Veil is some manner of invisible "curtain" that separates the world of the living from the world of the spirits (whether it be called the Fade or the Beyond is a matter of racial politics I refuse to indulge in at the moment). There is no "this side" and "that side" when it comes to the Veil. One cannot think of it as a physical thing or a barrier or even a "shimmering wall of holy light" (thank you very much for that image, Your Perfection).

 

Think of the Veil, instead, as opening one's eyes.

 

Before you opened them, you saw our world as you see it now: static, solid, unchanging. Now that they are open, you see our world as the spirits see it: chaotic, ever-changing, a realm where the imagined and the remembered have as much substance as that which is real—more, in fact. A spirit sees everything as defined by will and memory, and this is why they are so very lost when they cross the Veil. In our world, imagination has no substance. Objects exist independently of how we remember them or what emotions we associate with them. Mages alone possess the power to change the world with their minds, and perhaps this forms the nature of a demon's attraction to them—who can say?

 

Regardless, the act of passing through the Veil is much more about changing one's perceptions than a physical transition. The Veil is an idea, it is the act of transition itself, and it is only the fact that both living beings and spirits find the transition difficult that gives the Veil any credence as a physical barrier at all.

 

—From A Dissertation on the Fade as a Physical Manifestation by Mareno, senior enchanter of the Minrathous Circle of Magi, 6:55 Steel