Ley Lines

Currents, wells, and points of magical energy that form a complex natural network across Gaea's surface, Ley Lines produce and circulate the natural Mana of the planet, which is in turn derived from the Titan for which it is named. Akin to a combination of the circulatory and nervous systems of a living organism, Ley Lines serve as a critical resource to those living on the planet.

Ley Lines are three-dimensional spiritual presences; they cannot be perceived with conventional senses, nor interacted with directly through physical means. However, their presence *can* be felt as a powerful magical presence by individuals trained in the use of magical energy and observed directly by individuals capable of perceiving Mana and Auras. They are coterminous with the material world, overlapping and coexisting in the same space as physical structures in the world such as fault lines, river courses, mountain ranges, ocean currents, trade winds, volcanic shafts, storm fronts, ocean gyres, and cave networks. They can occur in any of the forces of nature, be it land, sea, sky, or deep beneath the planet's crust and even mantle. However, they are most commonly thought of by Men as being "paths" close to the surface. Ley Lines have varying size, speed, and power, and while most have fairly consistent positions, others move, sometimes quickly, across and within the planet. The most active, mobile Ley Lines thrum and roil in the planet's molten core and ripple and flow through its atmosphere as weather patterns. Of particular note among these are the unnatural Ley Lines that seethe in the region now known as the Wandering Sea.

## Ley Line Resources

Ley Lines are important to many beings on Gaea, being a source of seemingly limitless Mana and tied to the well-being of the environment. Druids, Shamans, and other practitioners of Primal Magic often seek to protect Ley Lines from tampering and alteration by those seeking to exploit their energies to the potential detriment of the environment. Even without tampering, Ley Lines can and will produce significant resources over time.

Pure Manatite often forms within a Ley Line, especially near its center. Elementite and Occultite often form closer to its edges in places where the Ley Line's energies overlap with other magical auras. These often feed of one another, resulting in especially rich natural resources such as ores, unusually fecund, healthy, large, or rare plants and animals, and mystically-imbued water, among other resources, all of which are invariably saturated in Mana.

## Ley Lines and Reincarnation

Ley Lines are involved in the Karmic Cycle of Gaea, as they serve as a vehicle through which souls may reenter the world from the afterlife in order to be reincarnated. As such, deities like Persephone that are associated with reincarnation are often much more in-tune with Gaea's Ley Lines than other Divinities, besides Gaia herself, whose spiritual body overlaps with the planet and is the source of the Ley Lines.

## Ley Lines, Dungeons, and Lairs

The Dungeons of Monsters and Lairs of Beasts can only form along Ley Lines; these Demiplanes need the energies of the Ley Line to initially manifest and sustain their existence, even though they also draw on the Mana of their prospective or current inhabitants as a catalyst. Curiously, these do not normally disrupt the Ley Line in a meaningful way, though there *are* accounts of Dungeons that began to "leak" Taint downstream, usually as a side-effect of physical or magical tampering with the internal structure of the Dungeon itself by its residents, particularly when residents attempt to create additional entrances or exits, or when Dungeon Cores are removed from the Dungeon but it is allowed to persist. Rumors of Lairs having a similar effect are commonly relegated to rumor and theory, though this does in fact happen, and is actually more common than the Monstrous counterpart.

## Wizard Towers

Also known as Magic, Mage, or Spell Towers, Wizard Towers are a popular invention found throughout history. Wizard Towers are magical research or production facilities created atop or within Ley Lines and designed in such a way as to make use of the vast energies that flow through them by siphoning some of that power off or submerging the structure in it. These designs are also sometimes intended to produce specific changes in a Ley Line, or even to control the physical features of the world that it connects to. Such structures are essentially the closest that the Races of Man come to creating Dungeons without exploiting powerful magic or psionics to create Demiplanes. Though, in truth, many Wizard Towers do just that as part of their functions.

Wizard Towers are often controversial. Their presence and influence on the Ley Lines they utilize are often seen as profane by Primal Magic-users but may be of tremendous economic importance to local communities. Wizard Towers are often the central structures of academies of magic or are used to funnel magical energy into neighboring communities in order to supply permanent Enchantments that promote prosperity in settlements, such as by magically creating safe water supplies, promoting crop growth, enriching and maintaining soil, and powering protective wards. This can, and has, led to active conflict between different magical traditions.

### Druid Hermitages

A counterpoint to Wizard Towers are Druid Hermitages. Unlike the former, these structures are intended to reduce the environmental impact of human settlement and other forms of corruption on a Ley Line, and in many cases to counteract the impacts of a Wizard's Tower. Produced by Primal Magic users, these are commonly relatively simple affairs where a single mage takes up residence and manipulates the Ley Line with their own Mana and specific training in order to return it to its natural state. Hermitages are often positioned strategically, most commonly upstream or downstream disruptive forces on the Ley Line, or upstream of major points in need of protecting from outside influence.

While the term Hermitage naturally reflects the idea that there is a single resident, larger Hermitages exist, some of which are communities in their own right. Regardless, Hermitages usually have a very low environmental impact and very little in the way of creature comforts. They are always self-sufficient.

## Touchstones

Similar to Wizard Towers, Touchstones are rare mystical artifacts, structures, or even naturally-occurring formations that siphon and condense Mana from Ley Lines, converting it into Mythic Power. In essence, they convert Mana Gaia has allowed to flow into the world *back into Divine Ichor*, sufficient to grant a modicum of Divinity to mortals who can reach and draw upon the Touchstone. Most natural animals are averse to Touchstones, but Beasts have been known to guard these locations in recent decades, drawing on their power to become far more potent. Once a Touchstone has been activated, it usually takes a significant amount of time before it can recharge. This is almost never less than a year, and frequently much longer, depending on the efficiency of the mechanism and the power of the Ley Lines it draws on.