Each Lizardmen temple-city on the New World continent of Lustria is aligned as part of a nexus of points within the Geomantic Web.
The Geomantic Web is a name given to a vast matrix of naturally-accumulated earth magic that encompasses the entire Known World. The world itself contains reservoirs of magic, for Aethyric energy constantly flows in varying currents across the face of the globe and can saturate the mundane materials of the mortal world such as rocks, water, or even the living tissue of flora and fauna.[3a] When, not long after their arrival, the Old Ones ordered the construction of the Lizardmen's temple-cities, they were very specific about where each metropolis should be built as each one acts as a nexus point in this vast Geomantic Web.[1a]
The Old Ones were able to draw on this vast reservoir of magical power, and through it manipulate and alter the continental plates, the weather patterns, and even the very orbit of the world itself, moving it closer to the sun many millennia ago before the Great Catastrophe, to increase its warmth.[1a] A well-balanced Geomantic Web is crucial for stabilising planetary weather, orbit, and rotation and its anchor points are spread all across the world, although many have fallen into disrepair or been settled by other species.[2a]
Furthermore, the Slann mage-priests are able to use the Geomantic Web to channel magic,[4a] and communicate with one another over vast distances. By entering a deep trance, the mage-priests are able to transmit their thoughts from one to another throughout the entirety of the web, enabling them to hold councils of "sublime communion." The oldest and most powerful mage-priests are able to send their souls soaring along the Geomantic Web, allowing them to bring their prodigious magical powers to bear far from their otherwise weak and vulnerable bodies.[1a]
In Lustria and the Southlands, Slann pyramid-temples are situated at web nexus points. In the Old World, the Geomantic Web is largely unknown because earth energies are invisible even to those with the Second Sight. Nexus points in the Empire might be marked with only a single ancient monolith left by the Old Ones.[4a]
Nexuses of Power[]
Nexuses of power are places where several leylines, conduits of magical power running through the geographic features of the mortal world, junctions or splits. Such nexuses usually occur at stone circles or single waystones but can also be found at grid-points on the Lizardmen's Geomantic Web.[4a]
Major nexuses of power are found in Altdorf, the Laurelorn Forest, and Albion. Hundreds of lesser nexus points are scattered across the lands of the Empire. Nexuses of power are usually stable because magic flows continually through them to the Great Vortex at the heart of Ulthuan.[4a]
Leyline Junctions[]
Leyline junctions include anywhere between two to four leyline "inflows" and one leyline "outflow." A junction outflow combines magic from the inflows into a larger leyline, which in turn leads to another junction many miles away. Junctions are often circles of waystones that combine multiple properties. The concentrated magic flowing through a leyline junction can be tapped to enhance spells and rituals, or to create gems of solidified magic called Power Stones which are of great use to wizards.[4a]
Magical saturation occurs when a junction's outflow is disrupted. Wizards of the Imperial Colleges of Magic know that saturation can lead to corruption and the emergence of Dark Magic, therefore disrupted outflows warrant urgent action. Inflowing leylines cross miles of wilderness, and are potentially used by wizards of several factions, both friendly and hostile. Each inflowing leyline is worth investigating as a potential contributor (or solution) to the disruption.[4a]
Morrslieb, the Chaos Moon, brings storms of foul magic to the Known World each Hexensnacht and Geheimnisnacht. On these nights, Daemons enter the world through corrupted fulcrums and subsist on the corrupted magic of Dhar that pools around nexuses. The High Elf Archmage and Loremaster Teclis taught the first Human wizards of the Imperial Colleges that Morrslieb's corrupting influence was inevitable and could only be purged as the moon waned.[4a]
Sources[]
- 1: Warhammer Armies: Lizardmen (7th Edition)
- 1a: pg. 10
- 2: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Altdorf - Crown of the Empire (RPG)
- 2a: pg. 164
- 3: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 2nd Edition: Realms of Sorcery (RPG)
- 3a: pg. 39
- 4: Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay 4th Edition: Winds of Magic (RPG)
- 4a: pp. 197-198