The Wake, The Remnants of the ley lines of The Stolen World and some of it's Direct Manifestations

OVERVIEW

Before the coming of the Star Whales and the 1000 year regular apocalypses, The Stolen World had a more standard form of Ley Lines. The lines covered the globe in a very regular Hex Field, helped along by the high sophistication of the spellcasters of several consecutive civilizations. This hexagonal field spread magic in an extremely orderly and regular fashion. Magic had a highly predictable outcome and was very easy to use. The Wake was created by the disruption to the Hex Field caused by the Star Whales attacks. The Wake was also created by the presence of so many unharvested souls. With the passing of the all the gods in the early stages of the Whale attacks, all the souls of the planet have been accumulating for nearly 23,000 years. Thus was born, The Wake

THE WAKE

The many forces that act on The Wake cause it to act some what like unseen water. It flows, pools, freezes, splashes and ripples. The dueling forces of the ambient souls and the Hex Field constantly trying to regulate itself.create the irregular oceanic like behavior helped along by the immense untapped power of the dead gods and the chaos rifts of varying types opened by The Others(quasi-demons). In reality , it is unlike an ocean because it mostly lacks regular currents and patterns, but the water analogy is about the closest we can get to understanding it. A normal Ley Lane ATTRACTS magic use, The Wake RUNS from it.

The natural tendency of The Wake is move away from magic, as magic is so very high, this seldom results in null magic areas for very long. In general, The Stolen World should be considered very high magic.

DIRECT MANIFESTATIONS

RIPPLES

No matter where you go, The Wake ripples. This creates a minor fluctuation in every spell and magical creature. Items are the only things not subject to ripples. Some examples of this in spells. A fireball that should do 5d6 damage has a 50/50 chance to be plus or minus one die of damage. A Charm spell would have it's save modified by + or- 1 . Once the first spell is checked for, all spells cast within 3d1000 feet will have the bonus or penalty effect rolled first, for 2d6 hours, In creatures this could be HP any given stat,saves, skills, to hit or damage. Only one thing will be effected per creature.Stronger ripples are possible, but rare, causing wilder swings in magic and more frequent fluctuations between positive and negative results, over wider areas.

WAKE FREEZES

These are normal items that freeze a portion of Wake and a soul in them. The soul normally will lack the ability to speak, but if any way of communicating with it is possible,the soul will be screaming to be let out. Since the item is seemingly at random you will find any sort of enchantment in any sort of item, for example a spoon of giant strength.

MAGIC FLOWS

These are found in areas of high concentrations of souls. they manifest as a semi permanent spell on a living being as a soul tries to possess the being in a fashion similar to an almost created Splash(the soul is destroyed in the process). Some examples:

Talons of Falkenrath

Illustration: http://www.trollandtoad.com/p329932.html

The Talons are named after the ill fated town of Falkenrath. The town became overrun with wights and was completely depopulated, leaving it the home to it's undead destroyers. This Flow creates horrendously powerful energy claws , mostly but not limited to, undead. Undead with these claws are able to shred the strongest of magical armors. Bears and other aggressive animals will also manifest these.

Malevolent Whispers:

Illustration: http://www.trollandtoad.com/p1091768.html

Frequently mistaken for a wizards familiar, the Whispers are not true beings even thou they behave in a manor similar to one.They are an embodied concept that infects a sapient being causing them both benefit and harm. It will give a high level of a particular skill, for example Spot Hidden or knowledge of one powerful and obscure spell. The Whisper will constantly chatter in the ear of the sapient , causing them to speak to it and eventually will lead to madness.

Ocular Halo

Illustration: http://www.trollandtoad.com/p141073.html

The illustration is a general idea of how this will manifest, and in fact this will appear in a large variety of ways, but always as some form of eyeballs enveloping the victim. The Halo will greatly enhance the beings vision and shut down the use of the beings own eyes. Night Vision, see invisible detect magic or undead are all possible side effects. After prolonged infection, the victim will become permanently blind when the Halo dissipates.

MAGIC SPLASH

These are similar to Freezes but the power is manifested in a living being. These beings are nearly pure magic now and possess a combination of the soul that bonds with the creature and the original creature itself. All can be destroyed by dispel magic. Several example follow:

Quickling

Illustration :http://www.trollandtoad.com/p1056747.html

Quicklngs are the leprechauns of The Stolen World. Formed by an ambient soul fusing with a bird. With vast illusionary spells at their disposal, thankfully the vast majority of them are merely mischievous. They vary greatly in power level from the very weak to archmages in illusion. The more powerful the Quicklimg the more malevolent they are, capable of casting illusionary fireballs for example , with real damage.

Lost Leonin

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Lost are extremely rare, as they are actually a non evil form of undead. They are made by The Wake infusing the corpse of a warrior with the soul of a long extinct cat like sapient. While they are aggressive and angry, they will not normally attack unless provoked. They souls of the two beings mingle and create a triple personality, the dead warrior, the cat being and a synthesis of the two. They can be reasoned with and provide glimpses of the past and clues to the Star Whales cycle. They are vulnerable to spells and effects that target either undead or humans.

Wakedancer

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Wakedancers are extremely common, and while basicly malevolent, usually pose little threat to others. Formed by more than one soul attempting to possess an individual with a small amount of untapped magical potential. These individual seek out high concentrations of magical energy and are an indications of same. Most often they will be content performing eerie dances that are slightly disturbing to the sanity of the viewer, a few will be very dangerous, with the ability to leach magical energy and the very life force of living creatures. This is in fact how wights are created.

WAKE TIDAL POOLS

These are areas of terrain were The Wake pools due to some external force, by far mostly created as one of the old Hexs successfully trapping a portion of Wake in it, in its attempt to reform the old ley lines. Some Examples

Evolving Wilds

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Small patches of this are relatively common. Ranging in size from about one acre up to tens of square miles, these pools spawn incredibly rapid plant growth, to such an extant that villages are often built in them where the inhabitants have acsess to an incredible abundance and variety of food. As they are usually quite stable , the city states of The Stolen World will fight over them for there bounty.

Terramorphic Expanse

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The three of these that exist all share exactly the same qualities. A perfect storm of magic and chaos, bits of reality are ripped from the past in a constantly changing mix of terrain , weather and ghosts of the past. Supernatural Weather will always be present. While the dangers of these are great, they frequently spawn Wake Freezes and thus are often visited by adventurers. In fact every kind of Direct Manifestation will be found in one. Magical spells and items in the area will fluctuate wildly and unpredictable results are to be expected.

Drifting Meadow

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The rarest of Pools as only one is known to exist. The floating meadows are a result of a huge burial ground infused with a surprisingly regular chaos rift. The area is filled with an eerie calm that is highly soothing and mildly disturbing at the same time. The overall effect of the Pool is an easing of mental tension and is frequently sought out as a cure for mental illness' and an lessening of the sanity draining effects of other parts of The Stolen World. One must be well guarded to beifit from these effects as the unseen chaos rirt will spill out aggressive beings from other dimensions.