Leylines are more than just lines of magic, they are the lifeblood of the earth and breathe pushing the skies. As stated in prior books the currents of air, flows of magma and streams of ocean currents are not the only forces of nature in the world. The aspects of magic flow and stream around and within our planet. While the name ‘leyline’ are a general term for the flows of magic within and around our planet the three major lines do have their own names. While they do connect and exchange magic with eachother to say they are all the exact same would be quite wrong.
Let us begin with a general description of the three lines and their individual names. The laylines that flow through the earth and down to the core of our planet are known as ‘Veins’ taken from the old Dwarven myths that akin the lines of magic to the blood veins of the goddess they worship and claim the body of, makes our fine planet. A cute myth to be sure. The Veins twist and cross one another creating high potent areas of magic, these areas tend to have higher than average life of all kinds growing in their vicinity. The Veins also restore and twist the land that may have been lost or mined out, creating new earth and ores. The main issue of such makes mining while more profitable, much more difficult in high mana areas.
The leylines that twist through the ocean are properly named ‘The Flow’ as it twists and guides, or is guided by, the flow of the ocean currents, while not as permanently placed as the Veins they do have a favored location they like to twist and churn about creating cycles and enabling life to thrive in the waters as well as traverse the oceans.
The last of the leylines are the ones that twist and twirled around the sky. Never in the same place for long are known as ‘Breaths’ and they act as a conduit for the other two. Taking mana up from both Veins and Flows to twist and churn them around in the sky before pushing them back down to the land and seas below far from where it was taken. It is through this process you can find smaller flows forming in streams and lakes causing ‘enchanted lakes’ or ‘magic springs.’ The surge of mana from the Veins also collects and forms as new islands in the vast oceans, the slow acumination of mana building up over time. Fresh made islands created this way are typically lush with life and eagerly sought after by explorers, researches and monster hunters alike.
But there is a danger that comes with the Breaths that is not there with Veins or Flows. When mana taken from the other two leylines can’t find a way out they build up and form what is known as ‘Mana Storms’ where an utter downpour of both magic and water decimates many an area. The forced evolution or mutation of both animals and sentient beings happens at this time, and has caused the destruction of many a kingdom. There are now man-made devices used to leach the mana from areas of the sky around kingdoms to ensure such a thing doesn’t occur near them and only happens away from settlements of notable size.
Excerpt from Grand Mage Mills book ‘Leylines: More than just mana in the ground’
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A tingle of energy tickled the constructs mind. It’s awareness returning to itself after its surprise loss to the intruder. The world returning to its vision, the image of its creator looming over it. Hand pushed into its chest as a gem was embedded into the inner layer of armor. The new gem not the only one, merely the largest as new magical array had been twisted into its original coding in an improvement. The change noticeable already as the construct could feel mana surging into its body not from mana gems but now surging up from its legs.
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Alexander stood up, his boney hands retreating from the armor as he replaced the armor and fastened it into place. “There, you are awake now aren’t you?” the mage looked down and noted the glowing eyes behind the eye sockets in a mimicry of view. “Good. I have improved your design to resolve any future…mishaps with rune blades designed to dismantle magical formations. As helpful as those two blades were to form for the little rat, I am still upset with the near destruction of your formations. I’d explain how hard it is to recover a magic formation that was unraveled at the seams but I’d imagine you felt just how much damage it did yourself.”
Alexander gave a little nod. Not giving his creation a moment to answer his first question. But being a well programed construct it merely sat up and took to its legs and stood waiting for an order as his master continued to talk.
“You should be able to feel it.” Alexander continued. “Your matrix has been altered, you should now be able to ‘pull’ the spell that forms you in on itself and into a ‘folded’ state, so should you ever find yourself being attacked like before you can collapse your spell into a single point in any of the gem matrices placed inside of your armor, your form will collapse where it has been pulled in, but it will save me the effort of having to re-make it, as a bonus though, any armor you expand your spell into will be your new body part. Making it easier to upgrade you as we go along. Now give it a test, pull your arms in.”
The construct did feel the difference. The gems along its armor almost calling it to enter them. The twisting spell that ran through it’s arms shifting and packing in. Compressing itself smaller and smaller as the gauntlets, vambraces and rerebrace all clattered to the ground. Alexander looking pleased as he placed the armor back against the constructs torso and instructed it to fill the limbs once more.
The spell unraveling itself from the small compression it once had the spell overlaid itself onto the armor, almost snapping back into place as the construct took control of the limbs once more.
“The other upgrade I have made is to keep you from going through my mana gems.” He spoke as he motioned towards the construct. Ordering him to lift his leg, as it did the spiked cleats on the bottom of its sabatons were now very visible to it.
“Those cleats are made to tap into the mana that surges through the planet, not keep you in one place, making that solid connection allows you to better absorb the mana of the earth even if we weren’t on top of a layline junction. I tried to have you condense mana in the air but the saturation is too low, it would have only been viable on top of a mountain near the Breaths.”
“Thank you for seeing me useful enough to reform me and give such boons to me Master. What would you have of me?” The construct asked. Feeling that if it didn’t respond its master would continue on in a tangent for some time longer.
“Oh.” Alexander pulled himself away from his train of through. “Well why don’t you go patrol the upper floor, see if anything other than a stray goblin or spider has come down, can’t have monsters running down here, If you find any wet behind the ears adventurer, dispose of them, if you find nothing guard your post. Check the upper floors at least once a week. I will call for you should I need you otherwise.”
With a nod the construct turned and marched its way out and towards the upper floors. The old dungeon rooms dusty, cobweb filled and quiet. The bones of fallen monsters, occasional curled up spider that starved to death, or old broken trap falling out of a wall visible.
A few bats had taken up residence in the upper floors, evident by the light layer of guano coating the floor and piling up in corners of rooms. It was only after getting to the fifth floor up that the sounds of murmuring and footsteps could be heard. Slowing it’s path the Construct sought to trick any incoming intruder less it was the goblin again. Taking pose in the center of the room the construct twisted it’s armor in old cobwebs to better disguise it’s clean looking self from the dust covered and near empty room. Standing as still as a statue as it awaited it’s potential prey.