Rift
Parallel is characterized by rifts between dimensions. The mechanics underlying rifts are still largely unknown, though the NPCs Niall, Jess, and Lane have made efforts to study and manipulate the rifts. Rift openings and closings are major events in the server's history, having enabled travel between Parallel Prime, the Sky Kingdom, and Otherside.
History
Pre-opening
The first recorded appearance of rifts in Parallel history is in the teaser trailer "Linearity'" for the opening of Parallel as a multiplayer server. The video was uploaded to Youtube channel DiamondBackPlays and the #announcements channel in Discord on Monday, March 30, 2020 at 4:10 PM EST. [1]
Categories
Linear Rift
Linear (λ-class) rifts occupy one dimension. The appearance of multiple parallel linear rifts appears to precede the opening of a larger spherical rift, as was the case when the Sky Kingdom rift formed on Parallel Prime.
Planar Rift
Planar (𝜎-class) rifts form a two-dimensional shape in space and are oriented parallel to a horizontal or vertical plane. They have been observed in the outer islands of the Sky Kingdom.
Nether portals formed with an obsidian container are planar rifts oriented on either the XY or ZY plane. Nether portals must be activated with flint and steel, and are stable while undisturbed. Their size varies but they are always rectangular in shape. The lorebook An Unfamiliar Past alludes to the mystery of how nether portals like the one in Parallel Prime Spawn Town were formed.
End portals are 3×3 planar rifts occupying the XZ plane and connecting to the End, occurring exclusively in Stronghold structures. No other XZ-aligned 𝜎-class rifts have been observed.
Spherical Rift
A spherical rift (𝜋-class) is comprised of many individual rift blocks arranged in a spherical shape. Spherical rifts have varying radii and are stable even when disturbed when they reach a sufficient size. Three have so far been observed.
A variant (𝜏-form) was observed in the Otherside Spawn Town. It is a spherical rift that consists of a mixture of nether portal blocks and inert purple and magenta stained glass blocks.