The Great Vortex maintained by the High Elf Archmage Caledor Dragontamer at the very heart of the island-continent of Ulthuan as depicted in Total War: Warhammer II.[2a]
The Great Vortex is a vast magical maelstrom at the heart of the island-continent of Ulthuan created in I, 79 (-4421 IC)[1b] by the High Elves as a means to absorb all the excess magic within the mortal world and banish the Daemons of Chaos from this plane of existence back to the Realm of Chaos.[1a]
Ulthuan is spanned by a network of waystones -- towering rune-carved menhirs that channel and redirect the Winds of Magic. Each waystone collects the raw power of Chaos flooding across the Known World from the Aethyr through the ruins of the Old Ones' Polar Gates and directs it to an inward neighbour. Thus are the magical energies of the world inexorably drawn, like the waters of a whirlpool, to Ulthuan's heart. There the magic is drained from the world by the Great Vortex, the last, and most brilliant, enchantment of the High Elf Archmage Caledor Dragontamer.[1a]
The Great Vortex is centered on the Isle of the Dead, the ancient memorial ground of the Elves. It is not a true island, but rather an archipelago of waystones whose arrangements are laid in symbols of mystical significance. These menhirs vary greatly in size -- some are scarcely a dozen feet tall and slim as an Elf, whilst others are as tall as mountains and nearly a mile in girth. Without the latent spiritual energy contained within these waystones, the conjuration of the Great Vortex would have been impossible.[1a]
The Isle of the Dead exists outside time, beyond the reach of the physical world -- its black-robed guardians keep a grim watch to ensure it remains that way. If an intruder were to be allowed upon these haunted shores, he would find the archmages of old, caught like flies in amber, still chanting their ages-long spells to preserve the balance of the world.[1a]
Despite the Great Vortex, magic has left its mark on Ulthuan. Strange lights flicker in the skies, beautiful voices dance upon the wind and waterfalls resonate with otherworldy music. Indeed, Ulthuan's entire being is now sustained by magic. During the time of the Elven Civil War known as the Sundering, the island-continent was wracked and shattered, its remnants saved from the hungry sea by desperate enchantments. Only by harnessing the vast power drawn in by the waystones can the High Elves ensure that Ulthuan is not swallowed up by the ocean.[1a]