# Portals

## Principle

A Portal is a spatial connection, not a hyperlink with scenery around it. It must belong naturally to the Scene in idle state and make its destination intelligible before travel.

## Archetypes

- doorway or gate;
- arch or freestanding threshold;
- mirror, pool or luminous surface;
- bridge or path;
- observatory aperture or telescope;
- window into another place;
- Realm-native Object that opens spatially.

## Required anchors

Every Portal declares placement, interaction, focus, shadow, `portal.entry`, `portal.exit` and a destination-preview plane. A Portal that emits light also declares the light anchor, range and reflection influence.

## States

### Idle

The Portal is complete architecture or an instrument. Destination content is absent or dormant.

### Available

Restrained environmental cues—nearby warmth, lens glint, slow material motion—suggest possibility.

### Focused

The destination preview resolves at the authored plane. Nearby surfaces begin receiving destination color.

### Active/open

The destination is visible; local material reflections respond; the entry plane becomes traversable; a reduced-motion transition remains available.

### Unavailable/locked

Illumination and motion withdraw. The Portal remains whole. A non-color cue and accessible explanation identify the Constraint and any legitimate next Action.

## Preview rules

A preview reveals only information authorized for the Source, their Avatar, the current Realm, Roles, Permissions and Consent. It must not leak private Scene content through imagery, audio, labels or generated summaries.

## Transition

Default transition: Attention gather 180 ms → destination resolve 240 ms → spatial handoff 420–780 ms → destination atmosphere settle 300 ms. Reduced motion uses a crossfade and persistent orientation landmark.

## Failure modes

Reject neon rings, generic magic swirls, portal “buttons,” screen-space rectangles without world material, destination previews that ignore Scene light or transitions that erase orientation.