Ley Lines

Ley Lines is the name given by scholars to the rivers of power from the Shadow Realms than flow across the world of Miranda. Like any river system there are some that are fast and some that are slow. There are some wide and deep, while others are barely a trickle.

To the scholars of the world a ley line is a stream of magic that crosses over this world. This magic is often depicted as wild and untamed when in fact the nature of Shadow Realms is always chaotic. Some people see these lines as fast and dangerous rivers, while others visualize a web laid across the world. Regardless of the visualization, the drawing of the Shadow Realms to Miranda is one of the most powerful magical sources in the world.

A ley node is a physical location where several ley lines intersect. The key point of a ley node is that the power of the Shadow Realms does not stop in a ley node, but instead ties together like a knot with its fibers co-mingling. Ley nodes are not always stable and the vast majority of them will collapse within a few years - some lasting only a second or two before disappearing. While the seven Master Nodes (see Black Gates below) have existed since the world was created.

Far beyond the knowledge of mortals is the truth of the ley lines. When the goddess who would become known as the Earthmother sacrificed herself to contain the power of the Heart of Mir she had to leave behind her divine power as close proximity between it and the heart would eventually corrupt her. Instead she drew upon the natural power of the Shadow Realms that flowed through the Mortal Plane. She used that power to bind her body around the heart in the way that iron and leather is used to bind a chest.

When Ellowyn arrived on this world she created the True Elf by harnessing the power from one of the strongest nodes. These elves were not truly of this world because their spirits were from the fae lands, however their bodies were made from the power of the Shadow Realms intermingled with the Earthmother which gave them a different life from other sidhe.

As their spirits were pure creatures from the Shadow Realms, their bodies became lodestones to the flows of power across the world. Where several elves gathered a new river of power would flow. If enough elves gathered near each other these rivers would eventually merge - forming not just a larger river but a new ley node. Modern scholars call these locations Sylvan Vales due to their otherworldly nature. Driven by the will of the elves this places bring the Fae Lands to the world of Miranda.

To stabilize the chaotic nature of the Shadow Reams she created seven points where the power could be released. Billions of years later the Sha'rek'ta, first sapient species to arise on the world of Miranda, would harness these Black Gates. This nearly destroyed the world until the Earthmother intervened and destroyed these ancient people.