Overview

The Pilgrim Path is an extremely advanced wayport that permanently sends those who go through it from the eternal realm of the Outskirts to temporal reality. The Outskirts are not designed for the Pilgrim Path to exist, and almost no one knows of the possibility of its existence. However, several of Creon's retired Grand Shapers speak of it in whispers, though they had no knowledge of it ever working.

In the Books

Even Kendo Rattan was unknowing of whether it could be created, although he conceded that, as a near-immortal being, he wished to one day walk it to finally return to mortality. Cole, meanwhile, wished to walk it with his friends to return to Earth and his former way of life. Up until meeting Gwendolyn and realizing that his true goal was to defeat Ramarro and use his powers to save the Outskirts, Cole's primary goal was to seek out the Grand Shaper of Creon to see if there was a way he could return home. Later, the group tried to determine whether Ramarro could be rendered powerless if he walked the Pilgrim Path to Earth. By then, Kendo reasoned he could create the Pilgrim Path, though he didn't know if it would serve its intended purpose. To find out, he walked the path himself, and figured that, once on Earth, he could "study the safety of bringing Ramarro to Earth" (5:243).

When Cole met Kendo 10 years later in Miami, he had lost all trace of his memory of his time in the Outskirts. He claimed that everything past a hazy period 9 years ago was an empty void for him. Kendo had realized this when he first arrived and wrote several books to try to jog his memory. However, by the time 10 years had passed, he only had "tattered scraps of the Outskirts in my mind. Like a half-forgotten dream full of gaps and inconsistencies" (5:256). However, it appears his memories -- and even his recollection of the books he wrote -- can only be triggered if someone else mentions the Outskirts to him. Even then, when Cole blatantly said that his books told the truth, he highly doubted they were real. Instead, he reasoned that he was a madman or a lost, broken soul. However, before he lost all memory, he wrote a letter stating that he highly thought that the torivors would lose their powers -- if not be destroyed entirely -- if they came to Earth.

Trillian later confirmed this after sending one of his followers to Earth. When Ramarro escaped the Void, Lorenzo and two other retired Grand Shapers offered Ramarro a chance to cross through; their memories, as well as Cole's and Violet's, had been warped to make it appear like they believed Ramarro would be able to conquer both worlds if he stepped through. However, Ramarro detected Trillian's taint on them and deduced that it was a trick. After he fell, Cole, Hunter, Dalton, and the rest of his friends from Earth crossed the Pilgrim Path. Cole pledged that he would never forget the Outskirts, but in an epilogue several years later, he has lost all memory of it. Instead, his mind conceptualized it as a game he used to play with Hunter and Dalton when he was younger.

Affects

Side-effects of walking the Pilgrim Path include the loss of one's shaping abilities. Additionally, one would "become so out of tune with the Outskirts that [they] would never be able to return" (243). However, walking the Pilgrim Path also causes one to lose their memory of the Outskirts and what occurred in them. The process happens gradually, but usually runs to completion after a year or two. This was unforeseen by Kendo Rattan when he walked the Pilgrim Path. It is unknown if you still go to the echolands after dying, though Kendo reasoned that the Grand Shapers of Necronum would know. Going through it also restores other's memories of you on Earth. For instance, Cole's mom remembered him after he crossed back over to Earth, even though she had forgotten him during his time in the Outskirts.

Appearance

The Pilgrim Path is described as a large, round wayport, with its edges swirling like eddying mist. It is more like a mystical tunnel than a traditional wayport.

Creators

Lorenzo Debray, Kendo Rattan, and two others are the only known creators of the Pilgrim Path. While Kendo was able to make it himself, it took the other three their combined power to manifest it into existence.