Roads siphon a little life from everything that travels over them. In time they become living entities themselves, a network of semi-dormant creature-consciousness that spans entire continents, practically a god. That emergent entity is The Road. It's been with us for as long as we've made paths to follow and only grows stronger as we build more.
All roads are part of The Road, whether it's a tiny footpath, dirt two-track, or six-lane highway. All roads that join and carry people build the pattern that is The Road. The older a road is the more powerfully it's woven into the network, a foundation that descendant roads mimic. The larger a road is the more traffic it carries and energy it gathers to feed The Road. "Arterial road" isn't just a metaphor.
On the fringes of The Road are The Trails. Indefinite sub-networks of unset ways. Desire paths, forgotten streets, areas that are off the map. They cling to The Road as parasites, drawing energy from it to sustain their own shifting paths. If you know a Trailhead or want to find one badly enough, you'll slip through.
The longer you spend on The Road the more familiar it gets and the more likely it'll respond. The more often you hit The Trails the better you get at finding your way and the easier it is to get in.
Safe travels.
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