Refracting pools are a kind of naturally occurring planar rift. While in the Material Plane these appear as small puddles of water, they in reality lack any mass or matter at all, and what is perceived as water is in reality planar quintessence. Creatures, corporeal and otherwise, can pass between planes by entering a refracting pool, and activity in one plane is visible through the pool in the other.
Refracting pools are found throughout Kishar but are especially prevalent in the eastern Aban Steppe, where most lead to various planes of earth.