The location of the Marks of the Old Ones in Lustria.
The Marks of the Old Ones are a series of vast geometric symbols carved deep into the ground found in the jungles of central Lustria, each describing the stylised form of a creature of the jungle. From the ground, the Marks of the Old Ones appear as perfectly engineered earthworks, but their true form is said only to be visible to the eyes of the gods. No mortal who walks upon the surface of the Known World could ever perceive the patterns, and some say they are intended only to be seen by the enigmatic Old Ones themselves.[1a]
History[]
Close to the Mangrove Coast lies a cleared section of jungle which has puzzled explorers since the Elves first discovered it. Across a flat expanse, huge lines are carved deep into the earth, extending for miles in precise pathways. There is nothing magical about them, save that Lustria's vegetation has not reclaimed the space, and the forms they make cannot be discerned from the ground.[2a]
In truth the Marks of the Old Ones, like the Sentinels of Xeti, are an attempt by the Lizardmen to contact their long-lost creators. Their true shapes are a secret for the Old Ones, and Terradons, alone. They were created shortly after the Great Catastrophe, but now the Lizardmen avoid them. They are a painful reminder of their failure to find the Old Ones. Only Kroxigor still approach, clearing away anything which might obscure the Marks. It is a task some have carried out since their first creation.[2a]
Magister Patriarch Stern Glazend, an astromancer of the Celestial Order, has heard about the Marks of the Old Ones and wishes for them to be mapped out in full. He believes if he can divine their true shapes and then match those patterns to Lustria's skies, he may unlock some great secret of astromancy.[2a]
Trivia[]
The Marks of the Old Ones may be a reference to the Nazca Lines, groups of geoglyphs, large line drawings that appear, from a distance, to be etched into the earth's surface on the arid Pampa Colorada {"Coloured Plain" or "Red Plain"), northwest of the city of Nazca in southern Peru.