The Ley Lines

Ley lines are naturally occurring currents of concentrated magical power within the Weave. They form an extensive network across Eldareth, running beneath the surface and deep into the world below. The Weave itself exists throughout Eldareth, and ordinary spellcasting does not depend on proximity to a ley line, but these currents carry magic in far greater concentrations than the surrounding environment.

Under normal conditions, ley lines are remarkably stable. Their courses can shift gradually over long periods, but sudden changes are uncommon and usually follow major magical disturbances. A powerful enough event can weaken a current, force it onto a new course, rupture it, or alter the places where several lines converge.

Because of the power concentrated within them, ley lines have influenced magical study, settlement, and engineering for thousands of years. Many important arcane sites were established near strong currents or their points of convergence, while much of the magical infrastructure of the Age of Wonders was built around their use.

The Nature of Ley Lines

Ley lines vary considerably in strength and depth. Some are powerful currents that can be traced across great distances, while others are faint enough to escape detection without careful study. Some pass relatively close to the surface, while others run far beneath mountains, seas, and the Hollow Depths.

A healthy ley line does not normally produce dramatic effects on the landscape around it. Its presence is more often revealed through magical observation, nearby Galarium deposits, or enchantments and devices designed to draw upon concentrated arcane power.

When a ley line is disturbed, the effects depend on the severity of the damage. A weakened or displaced current may interrupt enchantments, portals, or other systems that rely upon it. Sudden surges can overload magical devices or Galarium cores, while severe disruption may destabilize the surrounding Weave and create areas of Wild Magic. In extreme cases, violent surges or realignments can also produce eruptions of Spellfire.

Damage to a minor current may affect only a small area. A major realignment can alter magical conditions across an entire region.

Ley Nexuses

Places where two or more ley lines converge are known as ley nexuses, usually shortened to nexuses. Some older arcane traditions use the term loci for the same phenomenon.

Nexuses contain unusually high concentrations of magical power and have long attracted scholars, artificers, rulers, and others seeking to make use of that concentration. Large rituals, permanent enchantments, portals, and other demanding magical works are often established near stable nexuses where their power can be deliberately harnessed.

Simply standing near a nexus does not make ordinary spells more powerful. Drawing upon one safely requires knowledge, preparation, or structures designed for that purpose.

Nexuses also provide especially favorable conditions for the natural formation of Galarium. Some of Eldareth's richest known deposits lie within or around major convergences, making these sites important both magically and economically.

Several of Eldareth's oldest Great Trees are also known to stand over powerful nexuses, including Syl'dareth, Ashal'ardor, and Faelar'dor. Scholars disagree over the reason for this pattern. Some believe the trees were deliberately established where magic was strongest, while others argue that the conditions surrounding a nexus allowed them to flourish in ways ordinary environments could not.

Rare accounts from particularly ancient or powerful nexuses describe vivid dreams, fleeting impressions of unfamiliar landscapes, or brief visions with no identifiable magical source. Such experiences are uncommon, and no accepted explanation has been found for them.

Ruptures and Realignment

Ley lines can be damaged, although doing so generally requires forces far beyond ordinary spellcasting.

A ley rupture occurs when part of a current is violently disrupted. Severe ruptures can leave sections of a ley line effectively severed, interrupting the normal movement of power through the affected area.

Other disturbances force a current onto a new course without breaking it completely. These displaced or realigned ley lines can be difficult to predict. Magical systems built along the former route may suddenly lose access to the current, while regions that previously showed little ley activity may experience a significant increase.

Nexuses can also be damaged. A fractured nexus remains active but unstable, while a collapsed nexus is a former convergence where the surrounding currents no longer meet as they once did.

Such changes can take centuries to settle naturally. Some damaged sites gradually recover as the surrounding currents stabilize, while others remain permanently altered.

The Upheaval

The greatest known disruption of Eldareth's ley network occurred during the Upheaval.

As the Mythal fractured, ley lines across the world convulsed almost simultaneously. Currents surged, weakened, ruptured, or shifted onto new courses, while many long-established nexuses became unstable. The sudden changes overwhelmed much of the arcane infrastructure of the Age of Wonders, particularly systems connected to Galarium cores and the Great Leyline Conduits.

The network gradually stabilized in the centuries that followed, but it did not simply return to its former state. Some ley lines now follow different routes, old nexuses have weakened or disappeared, and new concentrations of magic have emerged elsewhere.

As a result, surviving ley charts from before the Upheaval cannot always be trusted. Mapping the altered network remains an important field of arcane study.

The simultaneous disruption of the Mythal and the ley network has also led many scholars to believe that the two are connected in some way. The exact nature of that relationship remains uncertain.

Galarium

Galarium is closely associated with healthy ley lines, particularly powerful nexuses.

The crystal forms naturally where concentrated ley magic remains stable for long periods. Ley lines do not depend upon Galarium to function, and removing a deposit does not automatically damage the current beneath it. Careless work around a major nexus, however, can disturb the surrounding magical environment.

Galarium deposits can slowly regenerate where favorable conditions remain. This process takes centuries, but renewed growth has been documented as portions of the ley network continue to recover from the Upheaval.

The close relationship between Galarium and concentrated ley magic made both central to the arcane engineering of the Age of Wonders.

Ley Lines Beneath Eldareth

The ley network continues throughout the Hollow Depths, although its deeper routes are far less understood than those near the surface.

Some of the strongest known currents pass beneath major mountain ranges and through regions that are difficult or dangerous to reach. Deep nexuses and Galarium deposits have been documented, but the scale and course of much of the subterranean network remain uncertain.

Mapping these currents is difficult. Access is limited, the terrain is often poorly charted, and many lines pass too deep beneath the surrounding stone to be traced reliably.

Communities of the Hollow Depths have developed their own traditions for observing and interpreting changes in nearby currents, particularly where stable magical conditions are important to local life.

Ley Line Manipulation

Ley lines can be tapped, redirected, regulated, and incorporated into large magical workings, but manipulating them directly carries considerable risk.

During the Age of Wonders, the Great Leyline Conduits allowed arcane institutions to channel and distribute power from major currents across great distances. Large Galarium cores were used to receive, conduct, and regulate this energy, allowing cities and other installations to benefit from powerful ley currents without every device being built directly over them.

Forced redirection, excessive draw, poorly regulated conduits, and attempts to alter a nexus can destabilize the surrounding currents. The consequences may extend well beyond the site where the work was attempted, particularly when several connected systems rely upon the same source.

For this reason, direct alteration of a major ley line is approached with considerable caution. Even when the intended change succeeds, its wider effects may take years to fully understand.