Summary
A mystic device uncovered below the ruins of an ancient civilization
Description
A massive disc of unknown origin and material, the Portal contains 3 concentric rings that rotate freely within the apparatus, centered around a large levitating crystal of some kind. The rings themselves are inlaid with dozens of unknown runes carved directly into the material that seem to glow whenever the corresponding rune is correctly placed on the nearby pedestal.
Placed at a very precise distance to the front of the main body of the portal, sits a pedestal made from the same strange material. Unlike the main body, the pedestal allows one to shift the location of runes, creating a linked sequence of rooms in the central portion of the pedestal. Upon inputting a correct sequence of runes, the portal will begin to energize and activate precisely 30 seconds later, transporting up to 4 people possessing the Fi̊ma Gene to a distant location.
Background
Discovered in 1921 by a group of archeologists excavating the ruins of an ancient city deep within the jungles of Eshara's Veil. During excavation of the 3rd ziggurat cluster, the top of the portal was found roughly 20ft underneath the eldest foundations of the ziggurat cluster courtyard.
Almost immediately, officers from the Aurethan government were called to the scene to secure and contain the artifact, which had quickly been uncovered and found to be unlike anything previously discovered.
Despite several attempts to remove The Portal from its location, the device resisted by increasing its density the closer it came to the edge of the ziggurat plaza. Baffled by the seemingly inexplicable increase in density, researchers soon discovered no such limit appeared to exist in a vertical axis - so long as the device was within the confines of the ziggurat cluster courtyard, it was able to be moved with sufficient equipment.
The S.P.A.R.C. Facility was completed a mere 2 years after the initial discovery of the portal, a concise concrete bunker that extended far below the jungle floor, beneath the ruins of the Eshara's Veil ziggurats.
The intervening years saw a great deal of research on the portal, led by Dr. Aldric Rutherford, though little progress was made over the first two decades of it's examination. It was determined early on that there seemed to be some unknown phenomenon powering the device, though to date no equipment has been able to detect any sort of power source or change in the device.
Eventually, Dr. Rutherford was able to at least partially uncover the meaning behind the runes inscribed on the portal. Apparently a language in their own right, combining the runes in specific sequences with the proper intent behind your actions caused the portal to activate, transporting Dr. Rutherford and several others away.
A short time later, Dr. Rutherford and his companions re-appeared in the S.P.A.R.C. Facility, shaken, but otherwise unharmed. During the mission debrief, Dr. Rutherford and the others that were transported described a habitable planet, with a rustic village in the far distance. Luckily, Dr. Rutherford was able to quickly reverse engineer what he had done and activate the portal to return the group home.
Investigations into the reasoning that only some of the occupants of the portal room were transported away revealed the presence of an additional fragment of genetic code, later to be known as the Fi̊ma Gene. Limited additional testing of the portal found that only those with the gene were able to be transported when it was activated.
With the number of people possessing the requisite gene in short supply, Dr. Rutherford led another small strike team through the portal to do additional research and exploration. They were not heard from again.