Warhammer Fantasy: Divided Loyalties - an Advisor's Quest

[mathymancer]

The Rune, the capstone's metal, the foundational wheel, the leylines, the tributaries, and the other networks. Six different avenues of investigation for us to discuss further.

Click to shrink...

Since we now have some idea about what kind of things we're going to investigate in the course of this project I thought it might be a good idea to make a short summary regarding each potential research avenue.

Spoiler: The Rune

On the faces of each of those Waystones constructed by the combined efforts of Ulthuan and the Karaz Ankor is a rune used in Eltharin to mean Waystone. This rune is believed to have a part in the working of the Waystones.

Current information:

• The Rune is found in various magical traditions. At a minimum, it appears in:
  • Belthani script (source: Tochter)
  • High Nehekharan (source: Elrisse)
  • Anoqeyån (source: Sarvoi)
  • Arcane Khazalid (source: Thorek)
• The Rune comes from the Old Ones script (source: Hatalath)
• The Rune appears on some, but not all, of the first Waystones constructed before the time of the elves (source: Hatalath)
• The Rune appears to make stone somewhat conductive to the winds, whereas normally it would be a great insulator. Runesmith secrets were used to make this effect greater (source: Mathilde, Thorek)

Avenues of further research:
Magical languages:
-Learn Belthani script, High Nehekharan, Anoqeyån, Arcane Khazalid, and every other magical language we can think of that contain this Rune. Surely some insight will be found somewhere, and surely this will be an efficient use of a few dozen AP.
-Less radically, find out which languages have this Rune, and see how they use it. Our contributors should know a thing or two, and if they don't we can search for experts.
-Are there other Runes from Old One script being used somewhere? If so, would learning this help us somehow?
The Old Ones:
See if we can get Hatalath to tell us about the Old Ones (good luck)
Runesmithing secrets:
-See if we can get Thorek to tell us what the Runesmiths did, exactly. We don't need to know how to do it, and he's probably not allowed to tell us, but he might be willing to at least tell us what the effects are.
-Does Thorek know those techniques well enough to use them if needed? If not, does he have some idea as to how he or other Runesmiths could learn them?

Results:
After some discussions with Elrisse, Egrimm, Tochter, Thorek, Sarvoi and Mathilde, Hatalath has managed to replicate the rune. When drawn in the correct manner with appropriate materials on a structure in the correct shape, it vastly increases Wind-conductivity.
-Different materials can be used to draw the Rune, to different effects. More potent materials are generally more valuable, and Hatalath suggests silver as a decent middle ground. The original Waystones use Waystone Gold, so if we ever find a cheap source of it that'll be great.
-The project has no deep understanding of the actual reason any of this works. But no matter what Runesmithing techniques were involved, no matter what deep metaphysical secrets were employed to find the Rune, it appears that the final product can be replicated by any competent stoneworker with a grasp of basic magic theory. We shall give the ancients our thanks as we shamelessly copy their work.

Spoiler: The capstone's metal

On top of each of those Waystones constructed by the combined efforts of Ulthuan and the Karaz Ankor is a capstone made of some sort of golden alloy. It is known as Waystone Gold, Hepatizon, Aurichalcum, Kavzarian Bronze, Shakudo, Panchaloha, and Hesmenkem. It is believed to have a part in the working of the Waystones.

Current information:

• The pyramidions (that's the pyramids capstones) of Nehekhara may be made of the same substance. The Tomb Kings might know more (source: Elrisse)
• Since getting Waystone Gold requires destroying a Waystone, possession of it has been a capital offence since the time of Simgar (source: Aksel)
  • It's similarly illegal in Laurelorn (source: Cadaeth, Sarvoi)
• The Waystone Gold is an alloy of one part gold to three parts "Titan-metal". Titan-metal originated in the Skytitan holds, and the only known modern sources for it are in the Far East. (source: Johann, confirmed by dwarven records)
• Unless certain methods are applied while casting the metal, solid Waystone Gold will not have the same properties that the Waystone Gold in the Waystone capstones does. Since the Gold Order's stocks were all melted down at some point, our Waystone Gold stock is currently unusable. (source: Johann, Hatalath, Grey Lord Turuquar)
  • Lord Turuquar and Johann are working on replicating those methods, but this is mostly a moot point until we find a reliable source of Titan metal.
• The function of the Capstone is to allow the Watystone to absorb the Winds one at a time without being corrupted by Dhar.
  • When touched by a Wind, Waystone Gold becomes very conductive to that Wind, and by absorving it it repels the other Winds (since Winds repel one another). This allows the Winds to be absorbed one at a time. (source: observations by Mathilde)
  • The material is similarly conductive to Dhar. When conducting Dhar, the metal is in its "natural phase" (that is, non-conductive to all Winds) and so it doesn't pull in Winds into the Dhar.
• In the absence of any easily available Titan metal, we'll have to settle for making our own alternative capstones.
  • The Eonir have an alternative capstone design that requires basic use of High Magic, which means only the Grey Lords and the most powerful mages of the Eonir can make it.
  • Thorek has a rune-based alternative capstone, using one rune to attract the winds and one rune to expel it into the rest of the Waystone. The runes are relatively simple to make, and could be done by Runesmith apprentices with ~20 years of experience.
  • The Colleges can make an alternative capstone, but it requires eight different enchantmenets and relies on the Waystone network to attract Dhar. It kind of sucks.
• The Kingdom of Caledor can make new Capstones with the original Titan-Metal, but this appears to be expensive (source: prince Eltharion)

Avenues of further research:
Material Science:
We can't harvest it from a Waystone, obviously, but if we can get our hands on some already harvested Waystone Gold that will be useful for the purpose of studying the material itself.
-Broken Waystones?
-Loot from desecrated Waystones? If so, it might be found in the possession of the kind of people who break Waystones: Chaos tribes, necromancers, vampires, Beastmen, Skaven...
-Black market? I'll bet there's some stupid nobles who get off on the fact that their golden jewelry is super illegal.
-What becomes of Waystone Gold that is confiscated by the authorities? Is it stored somewhere and could we get some from there?
-The Golds have a stockpile from the pre-Teclisean alchemists, so acquiring Waystone Gold for the purpose of study is solved
-For the purpose of actually studying this, see in the Gold's records if casting Breach the Unknown on this stuff is safe. If not, put Max to work on studying it the old-fashioned way.
-And obviously just take the Gold Order's notes on this stuff if they're fine giving them, though this might require us to bring them on the project and this might be too much of an investment when we need them for a single task.
-Get some dwarf metalsmiths to help us out? The Karaz-a-Karak owes us, and there are two Karaks that are officially part of the project.
-Good news everyone! We figured out Waystone Gold! Turns out it requires a rare metal that is only found in the Far East, and also our current stocks of Waystone Gold were damaged when they were melted down, making them useless!
-Johann and Grey Lord Turuquar are studying ways of smelting Waystone Gold in the proper manner, which if successful would make our Waystone Gold stock useful again. We'd still have a very finite supply of Waystone Gold.
The function of the capstone:
-What about Waystones or tributaries that don't have capstones made of Waystone Gold? Do they function differently? Can we tell what the difference is, and therefore what the capstones even do?
-The Nehekharan pyramids appear to be the only other instance we know of this metal being used for a similar purpose. Look into that?
-Stare at the tips of the Waystones really hard?
Capstones are the part that makes the Waystone absorb the Winds and the Dhar one at a time. It's a non-magical and non-enchanted substance, which would make it a really good and useful solution to this problem if we actually had sufficient amounts of it.
Alternative capstones:
We need to actually test the three different capstones to see how well they work. The main issues we might run into (other than the difficulty of building our various solutions) is that unknown complications may arise from the interaction of our new capstones with the rest of the Waystone design.

Spoiler: The foundational wheel

At the base of each of those Waystones constructed by the combined efforts of Ulthuan and the Karaz Ankor is a foundation, usually partially or entirely buried, which is in the familiar shape of an eight pointed star known as the Wheel of Magic, or the Star of Chaos, or the Gate of Cosmic Order, or the Elemental Compass. It is aligned with the cardinal and ordinal directions, and is believed to have a part in the working of the Waystones.

Current information:

• Energies flows along cardinal directions - and to a lesser extent, the ordinal directions - are easier to mantain (source: Cadaeth)
• The foundation stores the the eight winds that the Waystones absorb, and when at least two different winds are present they drop them into leylines running below the Waystones (source: Mathilde)
• The Waystones use a core of Dhar to pull on the Winds. The repulsive force between the Winds keep them in stable orbits around the Dhar core, to avoid them falling into the Dhar and becoming Dhar (source: Sarvoi, some speculation)
• If no ambient Dhar is present the Waystones make some on their own (source: common sense)
  • Accordingly, all Magisters involved in this project are heretics and traitors, to be put to fire and sword immediately (source: Magnus)

Avenues of further research:
Theoretical knowledge:
-The function of the foundational wheel appears to be, if not outright familiar to Sarvoi, at least something he believes isn't hard to figure out. Does he know more? Is this part of why house Tindomiel is so confident that this project will lead to the construction of new Waystones?
-Do the other contributors have some idea as to how to replicate the function of the foundational wheel?
-How about Thorek? Runesmithing has ways to repel winds, do they also have a way to attract them? If so that's all we need.
-Apparently some Dhar is used by the Waystones' foundations. But surely not all of it - at some point there will be too much Dhar for the Waystone to contain, right? Where does the rest go? Mathilde couldn't see when she looked, and the push and pull mechanism used to manipulate the winds wouldn't work with Dhar since it's attracted to all of the winds and to itself. What gives?
Abominable acts:
-How do we make those parts without touching the bad magic?
-Could Thorek use a design similar to the one he used when he worked on the AV?
-Can we just let elves do this for us? Surely this will have no drawbacks.

Results:
The project has divided the foundational wheel into two parts, and has designed a number of alternatives for each.

• The storage mechanism is simply the part of the Foundational Wheel that stores the Winds before sending them to the leylines.
  • The Colleges can provide both storage mechanisem based on enchantment and/or special materials. (source: Elrisse and Egrimm)
    • There are hysh cantrips that can shove Dhar around, so it's possible for Imperial Wizards to work on this thing without commiting treason and blasphemy (source: Egrimm, Jovi Sunscryer (STTL))
  • Runesmithing can provide a Runes based storage mechanism. (source: Thorek)
  • The Grey Lords managed to replicate the original storage mechanism, but they did a pretty bad job - they can make the thing, but it's absurdly hard, to the point where it's not truly a viable option and can at best serve as the basis for further research (source: Grey Lords Hatalath and Elrithish)
• The orbital mechanism is the part that takes Winds from the storage, puts them in stable orbits around a core of Dhar, and introduces the whole packet to the leylines.
  • The Grey Lords have an enchantment based mechanism that can be made even by most College enchanters by Mathilde's estimate, though she has little idea as to how it actually works. (source: Grey Lords Skathrai and Yngra)
  • Thorek has an entirely mechanical orbital mechanism, which uses clockwork and Wind-sensetive materials. It requires zero caster hours, but might require periodic windups once a month. (source: Thorek)

Spoiler: The leylines

Each of those Waystones constructed by the combined efforts of Ulthuan and the Karaz Ankor lays on a leyline. Winds are sent from the Waystones along those leylines, and the leylines appear vital to the transportation of the winds.

Current information:

• It is difficult for leylines to be made to flow under mountains (source: Cadaeth)
  • But maybe not for the Dawi (source: Thorek)
  • It is also difficult to make leylines flow over seas (source: Hatalath)
• The outer layer of the leyline energy stream appears to be a control mechanisem, somehow shepherding the rest of the stream. When deactivated it collapses into the rest of the stream. (source: Theory by Sarvoi, based on observations by Mathilde, Hatalath, Sarvoi and Zlata)
• When a Waystone is disconnected, the flow from upstream to it is halted. In the upstream Waystone, which is now disconnected from the rest of the network, the flow of the leylines into the Waystone continues until the amount of magic in the Waystone reaches capacity. (Source: observations by Mathilde, Hatalath, Thorek, Zlata, Elrisse)
  • When disconnected from the rest of the network, the stream of energy to a Waystone curdles into Dhar, and is absorbed by the Waystone in that form. (Source: observations by Mathilde, Hatalath)
  • Disconnecting a Waystone in a chain of Waystones disconnected from the greater network does not halt the flow to it. This is probably because the control mechanisem at the heart of the main network (see below) is responsible for halting the flow to a disconnected Waystone, and said mechanisem cannot reach the disconnected Waystones. (source: Mathilde)
• The flow between Waystones that are disconnected from the greater network can be mantained until the Waystones reach capacity. It is possible to mantain such a flow indefinitely, by expanding the energy created by the Waystones. Said energy is in large part Dhar, which makes this slightly problematic to pull off unless you're very naughty. (source: observations by Mathilde, Hatalath, Thorek, Zlata, Elrisse)
  • It is possible to make benign use of Dhar using Runesmithing, but the knowledge of how to make such runes is mostly lost and what is known isn't scalable. (source: Thorek)
  • It is possible to make benign use of Dhar with the help of a God, which can turn the Dhar into divine energy. The Ancient Widow is probably doing that with the Kislev network. (source: Mathilde, more or less confirmed by Zlata)
• When a Waystone is reactivated the Leylines appear to be restored very quickly. (source: observations by Mathilde, Hatalath, Thorek, Zlata, Elrisse)
  • The Waystone might 'know' where to put the restored leyline simply by latching on to extant energy streams and to remnants of deactivted energy streams, which should remain for decades for most Waystones in the network. It might be possible to cause new leylines to be created by manually creating such an energy flow once, and then hoping that a reactivted Waystone will latch on to it. (source: Mathilde)
• There appears to be an intelligence at the heart of the Waystone network. That intelligence may be a God, or it might be Caledor Dragontamer, still alive(?) at the heart of the Vortex. (source: Sarvoi)

Avenues of further research:
The missing keyphrases:
In the heart of the Waystone network there is seemingly an intelligence that responds to Anoqeyån keyphrases. It is likely that there is a keyphrase that would cause it to create a new leyline, allowing to connect new Waystones to the existing network. Alas, we do not know them.

Results:
We now have the keyphrases from Ulthuan. We still need to try and create Waystones that connect to the existing leylines, but unless something unexpected goes wrong we should now have access to the original leylines. There may still be some value in experimenting with alternative leylines, as for example river leylines could allow us to drain magic from areas far from the existing network (with normal leylines we'll have to build chains of Waystones from the nearest working part of the network, which might take a while).

Alternative leylines:
Recreating the original leylines of the network might be too difficult, so we might prefer to use other methods to send energy between Waystones.
-Air as a medium of magical transport is a well studied subject. We can almost definitely do this quite easily, but the results may be unsatistactory, as energy streams through air are very easily distrubted.
-Materials as a medium of magical transport (that is, strings or wires) are fairly simple theoretically, but practically speaking disturbting the energy flow is as simple as sabotaging the material, and since the Waystone network stretches over large distances guarding the material would be difficult.
-Rivers have been used by Nehekhara and Laurelorn network to transport magic. They might be difficult to adapt but they could serve the Empire well, as the Empire is already built on rivers.

Spoiler: River leylines

River leylines work by inserting magic into a river, letting the water carry the magic downstream, and pulling it out at some later point along the stream. There are many rivers in the Old World that could be used for this purpose, so river leylines would be useful, though still significantly less flexible than other leyline methods which don't require rivers.

• Putting Winds into a river is pretty easy. Pulling it out is slighty harder, but still not too difficult. (source: Mathilde)
  • Magic can be taken out of a river using waterfalls, natural or artifical.
  • Magic can also be taken out of a river by erecting Waystones close to the river and letting them pull the magic out, though we're not yet sure how many Waystones we would need to use to match the incoming flow of magic.
• River leylines are fairly resistant to being tapped for Winds. Pulling Winds out of a river leyline is difficult, and causes turbulence that is likely to rile up any local river spirits. (source: experiments conducted on the Schaukel river near the Tarn of Tears)
• River leylines are mostly resistant to Dhar corruption. Introducing Dhar to a river does corrupt some of the present Winds, but fluid and Wind dynamics ensure that the effect is small and most magic remains uncorrupted. (source: experiment by Sarvoi and Mathilde)
• River leylines require a seperate mechanism to move the Dhar, since shoving Dhar into drinking water is a horrendous idea. (source: Nagash)
  • We can transport Dhar by using river spirits. Relevant rivers probably have spirits that can be used, and the price they'll require should be managable. (source: Niedzwenka)
  • It is possible to use the principles of "induced correspondence" to create a channel for Dhar under the river. The Dhar can be moved along that channel because being under the river makes the area there kind of smybolically tied to the movement above. (source: Aksel)
    • The Hedgewise can make a device to induce the required correspondence, which requires a salmon or trout to be killed on a pile of specially prepared rocks once a week. The Dhar's pull into the channel and its movement along it are quite slow.
    • The Jade Order can make a menhir to induce the required correspondence, which requires an unknown and probably non-trivial amount of effort to enchant. It requires no upkeep, and pulls and moves the Dhar much faster than the Hedgewise device.
    • The Eonir can make a device to induce the required correspondence, seemingly through the resonance of the concept with fate and therefore with Morai-Heg. It is comically bad, and they should feel bad.

Avenues of further research:
Test the prototypes:
We need to actually test the three different approaches of moving Dhar to see how well they work. The main issues we might run into (other than the difficulty of building and maintaining our various solutions) is that unknown complications may arise from the interaction of our new solutions with the existing network.

Spoiler: Leyline locations

The Waystone network that drains magic from much of the Old World to Ulthan, so vital to the survival of the Empire and its allies, appears to have a worrying amount of bottlenecks that could block the energy flow of half the continent. It might be best if the Empire had a better idea of the exact shape of the network, allowing it to be aware of such an event and respond to it.

Current information:

• The shape of the leyline network in the Old World is, to the best of our knowledge, is described in this map by @ScarabShell
  • Note: this is now slightly out of date. We no know that Tor Lithanel does not connect to Fort Solace - the Laurelorn nexus network is self contained.
• The shape of Ulthuan's network, according to Prince Eltharion, is detailed in this post by @Parabola.
• The shape of the Laurelorn network is as follows: Tor Lithanel is a nexus, and it is connected to nexuses in the following locations: the tower of Se-Athil, the Pass of Stone, Neues Emskrank, Salzenmund, and Middenheim (source: the Eonir)
• The speculative parts of the map are informed by the following information:
  • The flow from the Empire west to Bretonnia passes through Athel Yenlui somehwere in Reikland, and from there seemingly either via Helmgart through Axe Bite Pass or via Ubersreik through Grey Lady pass (source: Hatalath knows of Athel Yenlui, Cadaeth's insight that leylines don't like to pass through mountains is the reason we suspect the network runs through one of the mountain passes)
    • It is now confirmed that Athel Yenlui is just north of Axe Bite Pass. Energy seemingly used to flow through it to the west, but the nexus has been repurposed and the leylines are currently inactive; see 'Reikland Nexus' in the nexuses section for further details.
  • The flow in Bretonnia from L'Anguille appears to continue to somewhere mysterious to the west (probably Albion) and from there to Ulthuan (source: Hatalath being evasive)
    • We now know IC that Albion probably exists, and while we're not quiet sure that it connects to L'Anguille that seems to be the way to bet (source: Prince Eltharion)
  • Possibily instead or in addition to the above the Bretonnian network flows from L'Anguille to Gisoreux to Parravon then through Athel Loren to Quenelles to Brionne to Bilbali in Estalia (source: educated guesswork by Tochter, attempting to figure out a reasonable path to Estalia from L'Anguille )
  • The flow continues from Bibali to Los Cabos and from there to Ulthuan (source: guess by Baba Niedzwenka, based on the otherwise incorogous presence of Elven goods in Los Cabos and its location on the southwestern tip of Estalia)
  • Judging by a number of ordinal and cardinal lines connecting Karaks to nexuses, it appeas that the Karaz Ankor network was once connected to the wider network (source: Mathilde)

Avenues of further research:
Map the network:
-Will help us find currently hidden Waystones?
-Will let us know where to build new Waystones, if we ever manage that.
-May reveal the presence of currently unknown networks. As an exampe, the presence of major leylines passing through Athel Loren lead us to believe they have a network

Spoiler: The tributaries

Each nexus is connected to a spiderweb of Waystones, and each Waystone is fed by tributaries. Some appear to just be smaller Waystones, but others seem to be entirely seperate designs created by factions other than the elves and the dwarves.

Current information:

• The lornalim trees are trees that require gold and/or silver to grow, and are tributaries used by the Eonir (source: Cadaeth)
• The oghams are tributaries constructed by humans, probably the Belthani but possibly other groups (source: Tochter, Mathilde)
• Kurgans are burial mounds which are apparently tributaries built by the Scythians or something? (source: Mathilde's creative interperation of some pictographs apparently)
• Tributaries are probably easier to construct than Waystones because they handle small amounts of magic, and small amounts of winds do not retain the nature of the winds and instead have the same nature. This is sometimes called Earthbound Magic (source: Egrimm)

Avenues of further research:
Existing tributaries:
Get the project members to tell us as much as they are willing on the way the tributaries they are aware of function. If they don't know, see if they have any idea where we might get more information.

Spoiler: Belthani tributaries

The Belthani tributaries are stones, carved with runes and markings but otherwise fairly unremarkable. As they are made of inexpensive materials and have no potential for corruption, they are fairly resilient to sabotage and vandalism.
Current information:

• The Belthani tributaries sit on the leylines the Waystone network uses, on a straight cardinal line from a nearby Waystone. They send the magic they absorb to those leylines, and the magic is then 'caught up' in the existing magical flow (source: Cadaeth)
• The tributaries have no mechanisem to draw magic to them. The stones have a lower density of earthbound magic than their environment since they send the magic they absorb along the leylines, and consequently earthbound magic flows in them to restore equilibrium (source: Mathilde)
• A consecration ritual was used by the Belthani to make the stones send the magic they absrob to the leylines, probably involving a Goddess called the Earth Mother (source: Tochter, a bunch of ancient stone steles translated by Tochter and Mathilde)

Avenues of further research:
Recreating the ritual:
The Old Faith of the Earth Mother isn't well preserved, and there are some risks in calling upon a Goddess you don't know well - someone else might answer, and that someone may not be nice. Therefore, it would be best to recreate the ritual under a paradigm we are more familiar with, and our project members have a number of options in mind.
-Cadaeth believes she can use the Forest itself to do the job (Dreaming Wood tributary)
-Aksel believes he might be able to switch the Earth Mother with Halétha (Haléthan tributary)
-Niedzwenka believes she can use a spirit to make the power start flowing (Bereginya tributary)
-It is possible to attempt and use other magical paradigms to create similar rituals. It is likely that any such attempts will have to involve some sort of external intelligence - such as a God or a spirit - in the process.

Results:
Aksel, Cadaeth, and Niedzwenka all successfully adapted the ritual to their respective magical paradigms. The resulting rituals can in principle be cast by any caster, but they have requirements that make them most useful to the factions of the ritual developers:
-The Haléthan tributary and the spirit tributary require that the casters know the arcane languages of the Hedgewise and the Kislevite magical traditions respectively.
-The Haléthan tributary can only be cast by a certain bloodline if it is cast outside of the Forest of Shadows, effectively meaning it can only be cast by Nordland and Ostland Hedgewise (and maybe some Grey Wizards that were recruited from the Nordland and Ostland Hedgefolk) outside of the Forest of Shadows.
-The Dreaming Wood tributary can only be cast in forests with Dreaming Woods, and the casters must spend at least a week in it. This is not a hard requirement for the Eonir who have thoroughly tamed the Dreaming Wood of Laurelorn, but it could pose serious risks in most other magical forests.
Detailed descriptions of the rituals (from this update) are below.

Spoiler: Ritual descrepitions

Roots of Stone (Haléthan tributary)
Type: Arcane
Arcane Language: Was Jutonian
Difficulty: Moderately Complicated
Description: The ritual calls upon Halétha to partially subsume a standing stone into the Hedge, so that it will draw magical energies out of the air and allow them to come to rest deep within the ground.
Consequences: If failed, local Winds will be riled up, making spellcasting more dangerous and aggravating local spirits.
Ingredients: Dowsing rod, standing stone, lodestone (consumed)
Conditions: The ritual must be cast by someone from the lineage of the Was Jutones, or within the Forest of Shadows.
Casting Time: One week.

Liminal Germination (Dreaming Wood tributary)
Type: Arcane
Arcane Language: Lingua Praestantia
Difficulty: Moderately Complicated
Description: The ritual makes a standing stone exist simultaneously in reality and the Dreaming Wood, allowing it to draw magical energy out of the forest and sink it into the ground.
Consequences: If failed, plantlife in the area is cut off from the Dreaming Wood. Usually this means they will be outcompeted by other plants, but it can become the residence of any number of beings that may be hostile to the Woods.
Ingredients: A seed from the locally dominant form of plant life, a rhyton dedicated to a nature God.
Conditions: A Dreaming Wood must be present, and the ritual must be cast by at least two people who have spent at least a week from the last month within it.
Casting Time: One week.

Aethyric Impluvium (water spirit tribuatry)
Type: Arcane
Arcane Language: Scythian
Difficulty: Fiendishly Complex
Description: The ritual forms an inverted spring that drains magical energies into the ground to fountain through the soil.
Consequences: If failed, the spirit will be empowered to attack or attempt to escape from the caster.
Ingredients: Water drawn from the local water basin (consumed), a biscuit (consumed).
Conditions: Requires the presence of a water-spirit.
Casting time: Two days.

Spoiler: Scythian tributaries

Ask Niedzwenka and Zlata about kurgans

Spoiler: Lornalim

Ask Cadaeth about the lornalim

Earthbound Magic:
-What is the nature of small amounts of winds? What are the tributaries doing with it?
-The Colleges believe that some non-Teclisian traditions are actually using Earthbound Magic. Do Aksel or Niedzwenka have some deeper insight into this?
-We have some idea as to what's going on with the winds in the foundational wheel at the base of the Waystones. The repulsion between winds and the attraction to Dhar is utilized. Is Earthbound Magic subject to similar forces?

Spoiler: The other networks

There is a massive Waystone network draining magic from the Old World and beyond to Ulthuan, where some of it is dumped in the Vortex but some is likely used by Ulthuan. But there are other networks in the Old World doing the same.

Current information:

• The Karaz Ankor has a Waystone network, which uses Waystone Karaks to do...something (source: Cadaeth)
• Laurelorn has a Waystone network which the Grey Lord are seemingly utilizing somehow, maybe other Eonir as well (source: Cadaeth)
• Kislev has a Waystone network that turns the winds into Ice Magic? (source: Niedzwenka)
• Athel Loren might have a Waystone network (source: it sure seems like a whole lot of major leylines pass through Athel Loren)
• Nehekhara has a network that includes obelisks and pyramids and the Mortis river itslef (source: Elrisse)
• Constructing a Waystone network for the Empire itself will be useful (source: trust me)

Avenues of further research:
Existing networks:
-See which of our contributors is willing to tell us about their networks
-The Light Order might be our best bet, since they are the only group which might have knowledge of a Waystone network yet isn't using the network itself, and so wouldn't need to be secretive about it

Spoiler: The Karaz Ankor network

Based on Mathilde's observations and Thorek's information, we now have a pretty good idea about the form and function of the Karaz Ankor Waystone Network (KAWN).
Overview:
The Karaz Ankor Waystone network is compromised of two main parts: Karak-Waystones and interstitial Rune-Mountains. The Karak-Waystones are giant Waystones which draw magic from a large surrounding area. The Rune-mountains draw no magic on their own, and instead connect the Karak Waystones to Karaz-a-Karak. Energy is drawn by the Karak Waystones and sent on paths marked by Rune-Mountains to Karaz-a-Karak (itself a Karak-Waystone), where it utilized to power vitaly important Great Works.

Rune-Mountains:

• Rune-Mountains are giant Runes carved into mountains.
  • It is in principle possible to carve those Runes even today, but wear and tear will disrupt them in short order.
  • The original Runes were seemingly drawn with profound understanding of the nature of the mountains and the forces that act on them, so that those forces will reinforce the Runes rather than disrupt them.
    • In practice, this means that the creation of new Rune-Mountains is beyond the abilities of the project.
• After a long enough period, the Rune-Mountains change the nature of the mountain itself. At that point, even damaging the Runes will not disrupt the connection, so even though eventual damage to the Rune is inevitable the connection can survive pretty much indefinitely, unless someone actually levels the mountains themselves.
  • Mathilde believes that at this point the nature of the stone that energy flows through has itself been altered, and will continue conducting magic even if the Rune-Mountains are completely destroyed. It seems like it would be difficult to test this.

Karak-Waystones:

• At the heart of each Karak-Waystone is a Runed chamber that is responsible for turning the mountain into a Karak-Waystone.
  • The forces within that chamber render it lethal to dwarves and maddening to human Wizards, but non-magical humans can enter it freely.
  • The Runes in that chamber share some characteristics with known Runes, but are unknown to modern Runesmiths and cannot be replicated by them.
    • In practice, this means that the creation of new Karak-Waystones is beyond the abilities of the project.
• The magic drawn into the mountain moves through the stone itself and avoids the tunnels. Mathilde believes that the dwarves themselves contribute to this, as they repel magic.
  • This would explain why fallen Karaks cease to function as Karak-Waystone, as the presence of dwarves within the mountain is actually part of the Waystone's design.
  • In the case of Karak Eight Peaks specifically, it is probable that there is some mechanism that allow the less populated Karaks to still serve as Waystone, somehow borrowing the nature of their neighbor Waystone. We don't know how that works and whether or not it's something unique to Karak Eight Peaks.

The shape and function of the network

• Each extant Karak-Waystones connects directly to Karaz-a-Karak, with the exception of Karag Dum, which connects to Karak Vlag which in turn connects to Karaz-a-Karak. This is probably because of the distance between it and Karaz-a-Karak, which is much larger than any other Karak-Waystone.
• As far as we know, a total of twenty-five Karak-Waystones have ever been constructed. Of those, fifteen are currently connected to the KAWN.
  • Five Karak-Waystones never fell: Karaz-a-Karak, Barak Varr, Zhufbar, Karak Kadrin, and Karak Azul.
  • Eight Karak-Waystones are the eight peaks of Karak Eight Peaks, which were reclaimed in when Belegar completed his crown. This make Karak-Eight-Peaks one of the largest concentration of nexuses in the Old World.
  • Two have recently been reclaimed with the return of Karak Vlag: Karak Vlag itself, and Karag Dum.
    • Karag Dum appears to be functional in spite of its current circumstances.
  • Ten Karak-Waystones have fallen long ago and were never retaken. They are often known by newer names: Cragmere (Karak Varn), Red Eye Mountain (Karak Ungor), Black Crag (Karak Drazh), Hoard Peak (Karak Izril), Mount Gunbad (that one was always called just that), Mount Grimfang (Karag Agilwutraz aka Mount Silverspear), Silver Pinnacle (Karaz Bryn), Thunder Mountain (Karag Dron), Fire Mountain (Karag Haraz), and Red Cloud Mountain (Karag Orrud).
    • All of those are held by hostile forces and taking them would be a real pain.
    • There is currently a plan to retake Mount Silverspear, but the actual expedition is probably at least a decade or so away.
• In Karaz-a-Karak the energies drawn by the KAWN are used to power some Rune-based works. The exact nature of those works is unknown. Based on the High King's response to a question on the subject we believe that they are important, but the High King cannot disclose their exact nature, seemingly due to some oaths.
  • We are fairly certain that it once powered some sort of aparetus that created gases that were used in the construction of airships. We suspect that The Eyes of Grimnir might be another thing the network once powered, and is once again powering now that Karak Vlag and Karag Dum have been reconnected to the KAWN.
  • Belegar and Mathilde have further speculated that the KAWN might be powering the Underearth (the dwarven afterlife) and/or the Glittering Realm (the source of Rune magic). Either possibility would make the KAWN vitally important to the dwarven race.
    • Mathilde is also aware that the Glittering Realm and the Underearth are in fact one and the same.
    • OOC we know that those speculations are in fact incorrect. While the KAWN The most vital thing the network powers is the Runes of Valaya, which protect the dwarves of the Karaz Ankor from magic. That revelation, and the name of some works of the Ancestor Gods that the KAWN once powered, all appear in this update.
• There was once a connection between the KAWN and the wider network. This connection was mostly severed during the War of the Ancients, and the knowledge required to reconnect the networks is lost to the Karaz Ankor.
  • Ulthuan might know how to reconnect the network, but the Karaz Ankor likely won't trust them to do it.
  • Although no actual energy flows between the network, some connection still remains, and large tremors in one network can be detected in the other.

Avenues of further research:
There are several connections between the Karaz Ankor network and the wider network that might still be usable:
-There is an almost-finished nexus right next to Barak Varr, which was supposed to connect Matorca and Karaz-a-Karak. With Ulthuan's help it might be possible to activate it and connect it, which would allow the Karaz Ankor network to have a little piece of the network in the Border Princes.
-There was supposed to be a nexus on the southern end of Black Fire Pass, connected to Heideck and Karaz-a-Karak. Like the one in Barak Varr, it wasn't completed. Unlike the one in Barak Varr, it's not in a vault but was instead stolen by either goblins or beastmen, and is probably somewhere in the Forest of Gloom. If it's retaken and restored then that might allow for even more energy to flow into the Karaz Ankor, and it might help draining the Forest of Gloom of its bad juju.
-There are also Waystone nexuses in Foul Peak, Fester Spike, and Putrid Stump, all Skaven strongholds, and another nexus in Karak Izor that currently isn't active because the Skaven nexuses are downstream of it. Retaking them and reconnecting them to the network could feed yet more energy in the Karaz Ankor network, and also screw over the Skaven, and also cost a whole lot of blood.

Spoiler: The nexuses

At certain points multiple leylines controlled by Waystones constructed by the combined efforts of Ulthuan and the Karaz Ankor come together to form a large deluge of energy, which is sent to Ulthuan. Those are the nexuses, and most of them were erected in easily-accessed areas, many at the heart of ancient elven communities, upon many of which human cities now stand. Some of those could stand further scrutiny.

Current nexuses of interest:

Spoiler: Marienburg (Almshoven and Fort Solace)

According to reliable information (provided by Cadaeth and Sarvoi) there is a nexus in Fort Solace that was recently constructed with Ulthuan's help to replace a nexus that was in Almshoven and was destroyed in the Great War.

• The replacement is a recent construction, built with an Old One Monolith. Both of those things make it notable.
• Seems to be one of a only a few connections from The Empire to the west, making it a major point of failure for the Empire's network.
• Is a nexus in good working order, which is easy and safe to access.
  • ...but we suspect that Marienburg has been aware of the important leyline passing through it since before its independence, but has kept this hidden from the Empire. In light of this and other tensions between the Empire and Marienburg it is safe to assume that Marienburg will not cooperate, so the project might be somewhat limited in studying it and getting answers from the locals

Spoiler: Forest of Shadows (Brass Keep, Blood Fane, Tower of Melkhior)

According to reliable information (provided by Aksel) there are multiple nexuses in and around the Forest of Shadows, which the Hedgewise once controlled but have now all fallen into enemy hands.

• One of the nexuses on which we have an expert (Aksel)
• Are corrupted nexuses, dangerous to directly access.
  • Studying them might be helpful in understanding how a nexus may be corrupted by malevolent actors, and how such actors can use it to further their own ends.
• If we can ever reclaim one or more of them, Aksel thinks he might be able to restore them. This could allow us to gain insights which might help with the restoration of other nexuses.

Spoiler: Reikland (Axe Bite Pass and Grey Lady Pass)

According to reliable information (provided by Hatalath and Cadaeth) energy was supposed to flow from the Empire to Bretonnia through either Axe Bite Pass or Grey Lady Pass (or maybe both?), yet energy did not follow for whatever reason.

A WEB-MAT expedition to search for the missing nexus was conducted, and using records of elven construction from the Library of Mournings the lost elven settelment of Athel Yenlui was found. Slightly north of Axe Bite Pass, with the only accessible path to it clogged with vegetation until WEB-MAT found it (which has kept it from being found by anyone else), Athel Yenlui hosts a former nexus that has been used by either the elves or the Belthani to increase the fertility of the surrounding area at the cost of cutting it off from the network.

• The nexus itself is "a massive, floating shape of marble fringed with gold, at least twenty meters tall and shaped like an angular plumb bob with concave faces. It floats on a point of crystal several meters above an identical crystal inset into the floor at the centre of what looks [like] a much larger version of a Waystone base." There are also "what look like three control platforms, each with a control object of marble and crystal embedded at their points" around it.
• It seems that the original function of the nexus was to bridge the nexuses of the Waystone network (specifically the Altdorf and Parravon nexuses?) but it has been "turned from the spatial to the Aethyric" - rather than moving magic from one point in reality to another, it is now moving magic from the Dreaming Wood to reality.
  • This has the effect of draining the Dreaming Wood of the Reikwald of Ghyran (making the Reikwald much less magically active) and using that energy to fertilize the Reikland (specifically the Vorbergland, a hilly area that otherwise probably wouldn't be particularly fertile).
  • In case of emergency - such as the Mareinburg nexus blowing up - it should be possible to use the control platforms to turn the nexus back to its original purpose, at the cost of depriving Reikland of some of its most fertile land.
• The place has been picked clean of any movable possessions and Belthani script can be found in the area, including in the nexus room itself, indicating that the Belthani found and perhaps studied this nexus.

Avenues of further research:
-Try and translate the Belthani script that's present in the area, particularly the script in the room that hosts the nexus.
-Play around with the control platforms. What's the worst that could happen?

Spoiler: Mordheim

Based on the shape of the network around it, it is all but certain that Mordheim once held a nexus, at least until the city's destruction by a warpstone meteor.

• Is a corrupted (destroyed?) nexus, dangerous to access - though Mordheim was purged recently.
  • Possibly somewhat less dangerous to access than the Forest of Shadows nexuses, but that's really damning with faint praise
• Studying it might be helpful in understanding what happens to a nexus when it is corrupted by outside forces, but said forces do not actively use the nexus (because in this case the outside force is a meteor).
• Might be a lost nexus that is relatively easy to get to, making it a good candidate for tests on restoring lost nexuses.

Spoiler: Los Cabos

Based on some speculation by Baba Niedzwenka we believe that there is a nexus in Los Cabos from which the energy flows from Estalia to Cothique.

• Is a nexus in fairly friendly human hands, which should be reasonably easy to access.
  • Is very far away, but that's why we have a private gyrocopter.
  • May or may not actually exist. Maybe we should map the network in Estalia before we go there on a hunch.
• Seems to be either the only connection from the Old World to Ulthuan or maybe one of two (if L'Anguille also connects to Ulthuan), making it a major point of failure for the Old World's network.
• Supposedly the nexus is located on the southwestern tip of Estalia because leylines don't like flowing over seas. It is possible that observing it will grant us some insight into that matter.

Spoiler: Bugman's Brewery

According to reliable information (provided by Thorek) there is a nexus in Bugman's Brewery, which the dwarves have somehow harnessed to facilitate the making of really good beer. Bugman's Brewery is now destroyed, but the nexus still stands, at least as far as we know.

• One of the nexuses on which we have an expert (Thorek)
• It should be able to provide a route to the west that doesn't involve Marienburg, which is important to have.
• Is a nexus in friendly hands.
  • As long as Mathilde goes there alone, or with Thorek, full cooperation is to be expected.
• Studying it might be helpful in understanding how to harness the power of a nexus to practical and benign ends.

 

[DragonParadox]

You know part of me wonders how the others saw this conversation. I mean we have some really diverse PoVs here. Actually let's try

Elrisse-O-Vision
Bloody Greys and their grey contacts.... Priest of Haletha she says, if that is not a hedgewise I'm an Ogre. Butchering perfectly good metaphors of enlightenment to make s speech about history. Well at least she got the dwarf to talk somehow. I wonder if he can do that transparent stone trick
Egrimm-O-Vision:
Waystones use Dhar? Of course waystones use Dhar, every bloody useful thing on the planet seems to be using forbidden lore somehow. It's a wonder more wizards don't fall. I wonder if she'll try to keep it secret
Tocher-O-Vision
Elves are arrogant, news at eleven. At least this lot is talking and giving us a seat at the table not dismissing all we learned out of hand from the Old Ones.... Wait Old Ones? That was real, there were teachers older than the Elder races who weren't gods. Damn elves not giving a straight answer
Aksel-O-Vision:
Keeo your head down while you figure out who is who and what is safe to say. I wonder if the Kislevites are up for sharing a bit of news from the east.
Hatalath-O-Vision
Managing magical infants who do not know what the hell they are doing... oh and a dwarf. I don't even know which is worse. How much to tell them... how much is safe? Wait, how does she know what an Old One is... and they did what out north? Gods bright and dark what are those lazy SoBs in Ulthuan doing that the humans have been redirecting stones on their own. Calm down, calm down they did not blow up the world, see the world is still here... Fuck, they might actually know something useful. Out of the mouths of babes and all that.
Cadaeth-O-Vision
What an eclectic bunch. I wonder how they will take to a visit to the forest... not the old woman though, she would scare the spirits blind.
Sarvoi-O-Vision
The transmutation of the soul really makes the wizards of the Empire quite becoming. Really it is almost like becoming one with the forest, but so much more wild... and so very clever. Clever enough to know what not to do as well which is half the battle
Thorek-O-Vision
Grumble GRUMBLE GRUMBLE *sound of teeth grinding* I don't even know who half these people are beyond being able to find them on a map. It's for the best, it's for the best.... think of the reform
Niedzwenka-o-Vision
*sound of inner cackling* I get to impress by selling someone else's secrets. Happy fun days. That is why you don't send a Maiden to one of these parties. Elf's not too arrogant, shadow girl's a dab hand at smoke and mirrors, but then she would be. What's she holding?
Zlata-O-Vision
Help I need an adult...what do you mean I'm it?

 

[Some_guy_161]

Primorbial.

Click to shrink...

I put way too much effort into a stupid one off image joke. Anyways, have a Morbtilda BÖÖK sweep.

 

[LadyLynn]

I expanded on my Mathilde analysis. Added a "Worthiness" and "Connections" section as parts 4 and 6 respectively, moving Curiosity to part 5. I previously touched on the worthiness and value of connections in the "Loyalty" section. If there's anything that seems off, feedback would be appreciated!

Spoiler: Mathildeanalysis

1: Bravery
- Mathilde is willing to put her life and soul on the line to accomplish her goals, though she always tries to stack the deck when doing so.
- She's also got a daring sort of empathy, willing to and even eager to understand and connect to people that others would find too dangerous or too alien. She even describes "dangerous" as one of the traits that she's (romantically) attracted to.
- Very Gambler.

2: "We did it. We changed the world we live in."
- Mathilde wants to change the world into something better for the people living in it.
- She said this line to the memory of Abelhelm in a very book-endy moment, and later echoed it to Johann.
- This motivation probably comes heavily from her backstory in nearly being burnt as a child, and her survival only being made possible because Magnus changed the world into one where that didn't have to happen. But there's still so many wrongs to right...
- Very Protector.

3: Loyalty
- Mathilde is overwhelmingly loyal to people and institutions she believes in.
- This also probably stems from her backstory. Traumatic experience, rejected by her community and family, only saved by the grace of one authority figure and then taken in by the Grey College.
- The Grey College is also very good at instilling a strong sense of loyalty in its Wizards.
- It helps that she's been fairly successful in finding people worthy of her loyalty.
- Notably, Mathilde's loyalty is not only a powerful motivator, it is also the main thing that can stop her other powerful motivations in their tracks. See: The refusal to wield Dhar, admitting to humiliating mistakes like accidentally knocking out an ally with a magic dart, turning back at Karag Dum for the sake of the Expedition even though there was more to learn... but most notably of all, the sacrifice of the Divine AV, which was the greatest challenge of her loyalty that she has thus far encountered, and that vote's outcome firmly established that Mathilde's loyalty is the ultimate veto of her actions.

4: Worthiness
- In her backstory, Mathilde had the worth of her life violently and traumatically dismissed by her community and family, only to be saved by the grace of one authority figure and then through being taken in by the Grey College.
- Likely as a result of this, Mathilde has a very strong urge to prove her own worth. It feeds her ambition, makes her want to matter, for her life to mean something.
- Approval, praise, gratitude, and admiration all fulfill an emotional need for Mathilde, I reckon - especially from an authority figure she's loyal to. Meowthilde demands headpats for the latest Weird Thing she dragged in, and all that.
- This also probably contributes to how much satisfaction she gets from playing the impressive smug all-knowing Grey Wizard. "Ulgu makes mystics and showmen", indeed.

5: Curiosity
- Mathilde always wants to learn, to understand, to seek out mysteries - and she is not inclined towards closing her mind to possibilities unless they would come into conflict with her loyalties.
- This stems in part from Ulgu.("Is this a Grey Wizard thing? You just seek out the biggest question you can and bang yourself against it like a moth against a lantern so you have a constant source of confusion at hand?" "To Hysh, it is the moment of realization that is most satisfying, and the rest is simply the thrill of the hunt. To Ulgu, the seeking itself must energize.")
- Also, from being adopted by and in turn adopting the values of one of the Colleges of Magic.
- Plus her eagerness to prove herself... (look what i figured out, be proud of me!)
- Plus her desire to change the world... (look what i figured out, this is gonna save lives!)
- And likely, from the fact that her childhood trauma stems from people being close-minded.

6: Connections
- When kid Mathilde's magic was revealed, she became other, an outcast, and lost her connections to her family and community. Then the Grey College took her in and made her a part of something again, and she was taught to be an instrument of the Empire's will - a part of a greater whole.
- Mathilde believes strongly in the value and importance of the interconnectedness of various institutions/groups, both in strengthening those connections and creating new ones.
- This shapes her loyalty into something much broader. In her speech to the EIC she talked about how the Empire as a whole was vital to all institutions and people within it, and I think she similarly views the Empire as part of a greater whole that her loyalty to the Empire extends to. Hence, her easy willingness to help Dwarves, Kislev, and so on.
- This worldview is heavily reinforced by the fact that Mathilde has seen very many successes thanks to the connections between various institutions and groups and people, sometimes ones she has herself created or reinvigorated. Overpowered gear, valuable allies, many headpats, everything about K8P and its inhabitants, the Eye of Gazul, the We, the Duckling Club(and later WEB-MAT)... and now, the Waystone Project and the Library.

 

[Sculpt0r]

Threw together a diagram of the Leyline studies this chapter.
Experiments with Sevirric Infrastructure - 2489 pt.3

Spoiler: Sorry to any Electrical engineers

 

[mathymancer]

You stare at the sheets for a long time, paralyzed by indecision. While the dream of spider-silk is as alluring as ever, the weavers employed by Karak Eight Peaks have yet to manage to turn that dream into a reality. You are suddenly reminded of Elrisse's comments during the Waystone project's meeting on leylines, making the point that the project needs not replicate the very best method of transmitting energy between Waystones, and could instead use alternative methods that could serve its purposes almost as well. This, you think to yourself, is a similar decision. You could keep waiting for We-silk until the end of the world, or you could get yourself some perfectly serviceable silk sheets here and now. With a sigh, you reach out to take the sheets. A melancholy feeling settles on you, as you bring about the end of a very long dream with your own hands, but then your fingers touch silk and those thoughts are chased away by the smoothness of your new bed sheets. Yes, this was definitely the right decision.

[Trait gained: Non-Perfectionist: You have come to acknowledge that sometimes, perfect can be the enemy of the good.]


---


When you finally finish the minute engravings weeks later, you blow off the last of the shavings and look upon your creation. It seems like a simple wooden staff adorned with a spiraling pattern of interconnected Runes. You smile, take a deep breath, and properly grasp Eike's staff for the first time. And you feel...nothing. Well, that's not quite right. You feel the same rush of energy you feel when you grasp your own staff, as you suddenly find it so much easier to draw Ulgu, but you don't notice any special effects. Mists don't come easier to you, nor shadows, nor any other type of spell.

After you spend hours casting every spell you can think of under various different conditions you are left with no choice but to admit that this staff is nothing special. Despite the material it is made of, this is merely a simple Ulgu staff, the kind of staff the Grey Order's turner would churn out in bulk had there been one. Perfectly serviceable, and nothing more. You glance at Drycha's remains. There is enough material for another staff, if you want to try and make something really special, but it was the work of a month to create even this.

You sigh. There are not enough hours in a day. You are sure that Eike will be perfectly happy with a staff that "merely" increases her magical power.

[Ulgu Staff: +1 Magic.]


---


"Well", Egrimm says carefully, "the interaction of Hysh and Ulgu could be argued to be synergetic. The effect isn't quite what we hoped for, but it's..."

"It's fine," you reply curtly. "Let's write the paper."

Egrimm stumbles back, shocked. "Are...are you sure? I mean, don't get me wrong, I would be happy to finish this damn thing. But I have to admit, I didn't think you would be satisfied with this."

"I have enough on my plate already between the project and Eike's education," you say tiredly. "We could keep working on this thing for months and maybe by the end of it we will have some stunning achievement that will wow the Colleges. But we don't have time for maybes. This...this is sufficient."


[A Somewhat Impressive Enchantment That Kind of Incorporates Multiple Winds, 2452. Subject: Rare, +1. Insight: Shattering, +3. Delivery: Dull, -1. Total: +3.]


---


"Right," Belegar says. "The proper way to do this would be with Runes - the traditional way is to use one powerful Rune which lights up the whole thing. I doubt Kraag or Thorek would be interested - though you of all people might be able to convince them - but I believe Thorek has some bright apprentices who could do the job. Or you could go to Karak Vlag and have their Rhunkits craft you a number of smaller light Runes - it would ruffle some feathers, but it will be quicker..."

"Can't we just use lanterns?" you interrupt.

"That...well you could do that, but fire in a library..."

"We'll be careful about it," you say. "If we use Vlag we'll have trouble with the Cult of Thungni, and I can't have that now that the project has entered its Rune phase. And a large Rune will take a long time, longer than I'm willing to wait. I know this is not perfect, but it's better than the alternatives."

"If you're sure," Belegar says dubiously. You turn to leave, but you stop when notice him giving you a strange look. "Is there something wrong?" you say.

"That's what I wanted to ask you," Belegar says slowly. "You know you can talk to me if something's bothering you, right?"

You force a smile. "Everything is fine," you say, "everything is perfectly adequate."


---


Alas, there is no doubt that these will not be the Waystones of the Golden Age. When the research into rivers proved too difficult, you finally settled on using strings, despite the drawbacks. The foundation also proved frustratingly hard to replicate, and the imitation you managed to create falls far short of the original. The capstone will not include the original Waystone gold but an alternative, and the runes are not the original runes, nor are they etched using the original techniques. But is this good enough?

You look over the proposal one last time. At its foundation, a contraption of Runesmithing and wind magic that kind of keeps the winds separate, only generating 3.6 kiloDhar per thousand wind strands according to your measurements. At its head, a capstone made of some spare golden alloy Thorek found under his couch. Connecting it to the other stones is a criss-crossing web of dental floss, hopelessly entangled with the local shrubbery. And on its sides, a Rune of the Old Ones, scribbled with crayon by a human toddler.

Good enough, you think to yourself, and you give the document the stamp of approval.


---




Every year, thousands of Imperials give in to peer pressure and accpet subpar silks.
Compromising isn't normal, but on vampire silk it is.
MEDIOCRITY: not even once.

This has been a public service announcement by the Karak Eight Peaks Weaving Guild

 

[Redshirt Army]

somehow, borek returned

 

[theajl]

@Boney here's a set of updated 9e stats for Mathilde. Threadmark update pls.

EDIT: Here's a link for the 9e fanproject for those who aren't familiar.

Changelog:

• Integrated @Codex's many good ideas from her collection of stats here. Thanks, Codex! That's going to be a refrain in this one If you see a thing from Codex's Mathilde stats that I haven't explicitly called out in here as a subchange to something I've also modified myself, I've nicked it whole cloth (e.g. Lashing Shadow, which I flat forgot about when making the first set of stats ).
• Fixed Wizard Level/Battle Magic known disparity (whoops!)
  • Added Rite of Way. Thanks, Codex!
• Adjusted equipment
  • Branalhune actually gets an upgrade! A direct hit from a cannon is not just S10 but also Multiple Wounds (D6) - and we know that Branalhune lives up to it because of that time Mathilde bisected a perfectly healthy Orc Warboss in one hit. Excuse me, the several times. Also WoB from the Okral river rescue re: "yes it will literally explode that bulkhead with the force of a cannonball". Apparently I am being too literal. The canon sheet, which I forgot existed (derp), says S10 only. Thanks, @Mopman43!
    • On the quality of life end, added a "Rune of the Unknown laughs at your attempt to steal Mathilde's sword" clause.
  • The Master Rune of Spite is fixed S5 in 9e, but narratively it's described as hitting back with twice the attacker's power so ehh? I've de-typo'd it to S+1 rather than +2 (whoops again!) and am currently leaving it at that.Forgot the canon sheet existed, it's definitely S+2.
    • I'm less clear on the distinction between what counts as a Hit and a Wound when converting narrative to tabletop, but I'm erring on the Wound side.
    • Fixed wording so that the Belt doesn't brainburn friendly casters if they try to buff Mathilde before she's been targeted by an enemy wizard (whoops again!)
    • Included Codex's anti-Dhar protection Magic Resistance. Thanks, Codex!
  • 9e actually has some "recover one/all of your Wounds every turn" items on special characters, so the Seed is, amusingly, the most reasonably balanced of Mathilde's big-ticket items, exchanging limited charges for the ability to autotrigger on being reduced to 0W and to use it on other characters. Todbringer, for example, has one that not only heals him completely every turn, but also gives him Immunity (Psychology) and Magic Resistance (1)!
    • Rewrote the rules to de-clunk them a bit. Same effect, easier to parse.
• Ranald's Coin is now a Divine Item.
  • Night Prowler rule streamlined, Protector rule completely reworked. Much happier with these versions.
• Robes reduced back to 4+ ASv. I am very confused as to what it's actually supposed to be, I was told 3+ when I did the prior set of stats but Codex's more recent version has 5+ so I'm taking the middle road for now.
  • Added a "not metal, so you can't Searing Doom her" clause.
  • 3+ was correct for 9e. Thanks, Codex!
• Dwarf pistols reduced to correct ranges. An extra 6" snuck in there somehow, I suspect because the Marksdwarf pistol was supposed to be 18" and I got that on the Revolvers by mistake and then unthinkingly added 6" on for the Marksdwarf range. Whoops!
• Shadowsteed adjusted to match the rules for the canon sheet.

Other Considerations:

• Hidden/Mistress of Disguise? There was at least one instance I can recall that qualifies (that's a nice Orc Warboss you have charging that unit of Dwarf Warriors, it would be a shame if he took a SURPRISE MURDERWIZARD TO THE FACE!).
• Rune of the Unknown fighting style. I'm not 100% sure where we are on that and how much it's helping yet, given we haven't developed it fully and iirc also had some pretty shit rolls.
• Waystone knowledge?
• We know the Lore of Stealth is Ulgu-Dhar, and the Wild is Ghur-Dhar, but what about Plague/Ruin? The Chaos Lores? Great Maw/Hashut? I've erred on the side of "nasty shit = Dhar" for now, especially given Mathilde's musings that arcane and divine magic may not be quite so separate as commonly believed, but I'm open to corrections from people who know more about this than I do.

            M WS BS S T W I A Ld
Mathilde    4 5  4  4 5 3 5 3 9
Shadowsteed 8 -  -  - - - - - -

Unit Type: Infantry (Special Character, Lord) or Cavalry (Special Character, Lord)

Magic: As a Lady Magister with highly developed Windsight, Mathilde functions as a Level 3 Wizard in all respects. However, she is not specialised in Battle Magic; she knows only Melkoth's Mystifying Miasma from the core rulebook's Lore of Shadows and her own Rite of Way.

Rite of Way | Cast on ?+​

Mathilde, and any unit she has joined, gains Strider, and may Swift Reform even if they do not have a musician. If Mathilde and/or the unit do not have Swiftstride, they gain that special rule as well.​

SPECIAL RULES
Scout, Sniper, Stubborn

Dwarfsouled

Mathilde may be taken as a Dwarfs special character as well as an Empire one. Friendly Dwarf models consider her a fellow Dwarf in all respects, and she may be the General of a Dwarf army in which there are no Dwarf Lord or Runelord models. If she is the Empire General, allied Dwarf models may benefit from her Inspiring Presence even if she is not also the Dwarf General.​

Lashing Shadow

Mathilde causes Terror, but does not benefit from the usual Immunity (Fear/Terror) included with it. In close combat, her shadow inflicts an additional D3 Hits at Strength D6 on her own Initiative. These Hits do not benefit from Branalhune, and are distributed across models in base contact with her; if she is engaged in a challenge, they strike only her opponent, but do contribute to Overkill.​

Secrets of Dhar

The Liber Mortis may not be the Books of Nagash, but it is feared and coveted for good reason. Mathilde, though with different aims than most, has read it cover to cover, and may reroll one die on any Dispel attempt against spells from the Lores of Dark Magic, Necromancy, Plague, Ruin, Stealth, Nurgle, Tzeentch, Slaanesh, Hashut, the Great Maw, and the Wild.​

Shadowsteed

Not to be confused with the Battle Magic spell Steed of Shadows, a Shadowsteed is a construct of Ulgu that provides the Strength Bonus (1) and Strider special rules, M8, no other characteristics, and no Impact Hits. A Shadowsteed does not count as a Mount. A model riding a Shadowsteed ignores the Split Profile and Terrain rules under the Cavalry unit type, and gains Ward Save (4+); if this Ward Save prevents two Wounds in the same round, the Shadowsteed is removed until the model is no longer in close combat.​

Waaagh and Peace

Having pioneered a new understanding of the Waaagh field, Mathilde is especially well-equipped to counter it. She may reroll one die on any Dispel attempt against spells of the Big, Savage, and Little Waaaghs, and of the Bad Moon and Spider God. Orc and Goblin Shamans must reroll their highest die when attempting to Dispel Mathilde's spells.​

Windherder

Mathilde is possessed of exceptionally acute Windsight. She rerolls failed Channelling attempts, and if she is within 6" of a Wizard of WL2 or less who Miscasts, she may negate the Miscast with a successful Ld test.​

Ranald's Boxcars

You may set any die to 6 if it would cause Boney to die a little more on the inside.​

​

​

MAGIC & RUNIC ITEMS
Branalhune (Runic Weapon)

Branalhune strikes at S10, and cannot be Parried. A model that is Hit by one or more attacks from Branalhune has all of its magic items disabled for the rest of the game, and all augment spells currently active on them are dispelled. Branalhune cannot be stolen, lost, or disarmed.​

Belt of the Unshackled Mountain (Runic Talisman)

Grants +1 T, included on profile, and Immunity (Flaming Attacks). For each unsaved Wound inflicted on Mathilde, the attacking model suffers an automatic Hit at their attack's Strength + 2. The first hostile spell cast against Mathilde in the battle automatically fails (but is still rolled to see if a miscast occurs) and is permanently burned from the caster's mind; the caster suffers an automatic Wound, which cannot be saved against. Additionally, Mathilde has Magic Resistance (3) against spells from the Lores of Dark Magic, Necromancy, Plague, Ruin, Stealth, Nurgle, Tzeentch, Slaanesh, Hashut, the Great Maw, and the Wild.​

Staff of Mistery (Arcane Item)

Mathilde gains a +1 bonus to her channelling attempts. Additionally, she casts the augmented version of Melkoth's Mystifying Miasma at 5+.​

Grounding Rod (Arcane Item)

One use only. If Mathilde rolls on the Miscast table, she may choose to reroll the result.​

Enchanted Robes (Enchanted Item)

Grants a 3+ ASv. Since these robes are not metallic, they are not vulnerable to the Lore of Metal's Searing Doom or similar effects.​

​

Additionally, any spell or effect whose fluff is themed around physical fatigue cannot affect Mathilde. (I'm still not sure if these exist, since I don't particularly want to check every special character in every book, but I'm leaving it in here for completeness.)​

Seed of Regrowth (Enchanted Item)

The Seed begins with four charges. At the end of each player turn, if Mathilde is at less than full Wounds, she is immediately restored to full Wounds and the Seed loses one charge. If she is reduced to zero Wounds, she is restored to full Wounds at the end of the next round, except if she was subject to an effect that directly removed her as a casualty without recourse to saves (e.g. Purple Sun of Xereus).​

​

At any time, as long as Mathilde is alive, one charge may be expended to restore full Wounds to a living friendly character in the same unit as Mathilde, or who(se unit) is within 3".​

​

Each time Mathilde and any unit she has joined wipes out an enemy unit, whether by Wounds or Overrun, the Seed regains one charge, unless Mathilde's own unit was also destroyed or driven to flee.​

​

​

DIVINE ITEMS
Ranald's Coin

Before deployment, choose a face. Mathilde has that ability for the battle.​

• The Gambler: One use per battle. Mathilde may reroll up to two dice over the course of a single phase.
• The Deceiver: Mathilde may Scout within 12" of enemy units, and charge on her first turn. If the enemy player goes first, Mathilde may be deployed at the start of her controlling player's turn instead of at the start of the game.
• The Night Prowler: May only be used if at least one piece of urban terrain is on the board. Before the game begins, your choice of enemy unit anywhere on the board suffers either her full Shooting attack sequence (as if she were in ideal range) or her full Close Combat attack sequence, any or all of which may be targeted specifically against individual models or characters.
• The Protector: Double the number of Victory Points earned by Mathilde. If she has joined a unit with other characters, count Victory Points earned by the unit as a whole (such as eliminating a unit with shooting or close combat attacks contributed to by the characters), but not the other characters' individual actions (such as winning duels or casting spells).

EQUIPMENT
Dwarven Revolvers - 12", S4, Armour Piercing (1), Dwarf-Crafted, Quick to Fire, Extra Attack, Multiple Shots (3)
Marksdwarf Pistol - 18", S4, Armour Piercing (2), Dwarf-Crafted, Quick to Fire, Extra Attack

 

[Glau]

A Death Pass Marching Tune

(Generally considered very rude, the singing of it in taverns has been subject to disciplinary reprimand after dozens of complaints and three brawls)


When a caravan comes back a'scraping along,
Meek as mices all spiced up they creep!
While the watching waaaghs and the trolls,
And the scaly monsters all know!

Undumgi take care of the pass!

The small little goblins love a'riding their wolves,
See the white wolves turn green with jealousy!
And while beardlings with copters bother poor halfling crofters-

Undumgi take care of the pass!

They all came a'knocking late at night,
The wizard the dwarf and the orc.
We tugged on some plaits and we spanked some green flanks-

Undumgi take care of the pass!

 

[Boney]

have i told this story yet? idk but it's good. The War of the Ancients Story:

my pre-sigmar history professor went to this ancients conference. like to be clear this is a man who has a doctorate in being a history nerd. he reads the library of the old world to his four-year-old son. and the ancient races are one of the cornerstones of pre-sigmar history, right, so this should be right up his alley?

wrong. apparently ancients scholars are like, advanced. there is a branch of ancients scholarship that specifically looks for ancients cultural practices based on the archaeological artefacts unearthed in talabheim. my professor, who has a phd in pre-sigmar history, realizes he is totally out of his depth. but he already committed his day to this so he thinks fuck it! and goes to a panel on elven-dwarven relations, because that's relevant to his interests.

background info: the elves and dwarves used to be bros when they were ruled by legendary kings who were directly channelling the gods of their people but then they fell apart when they started being ruled by regular fuckwits who made mistakes and by the time the leaderships who were like a continent and a half way from each other realized this those in the epicenter had already speedrun like fifteen different tiers of atrocities against each other. but the exact details of who's to blame or if anyone's to blame is very open to interpretation, and scholars believe all kinds of different things about what flaws both races have and how much each are actual flaws and how much they're just incompatibilities between the two people that there wasn't enough of a dialogue between them to deal with when it caused local flareups and the ancients stans get extremely tense about it.

so my professor sits down to watch this panel and within like five minutes a bunch of crusty academics get super heated about the ancients' theoretical flaws. because it's academia, though, this is limited to poorly concealed passive aggression and forceful tones of inside voice. one professor is like "this isn't even about economics!" and another professor is like "this proves it's about economics!" people are interrupting each other. tensions are rising. a panelist starts saying that the dwarves and the elves were fundamentally incapable of coexisting without the oversight of unfathomably wise god-kings, and that the occasional stand-offs between elven and dwarven ships prove this, and another steps in and starts talking about how there's a dwarf on the ruling council of marienburg that gets on fine with the elves—

then my professor, perhaps in a bid to prove that he too is a smart history-knowing person, loudly calls: "BUT WHAT ABOUT THE WAR OF THE ANCIENTS?"

some more background: like four thousand years ago there were a bunch of raids on dwarven caravans that by all indications were done by elves, because back then they were the only ones running around that part of the world that had metal weapons to attack things with. so the dwarf king sends an envoy to the elf king to be all, wtf bro? and the elf king gets pissed off and shaves the envoy, which for dwarves is basically the biggest thing you could possibly do to piss them off, and so they launch into a war of mutual extinction that almost wiped out both of them. and if you say it like that it makes the elf king sound like a real douchebag, classic fuckwit king shit. BUT if the dwarves had already started doing punitive attacks on elves before the envoy was sent, then it's less of a 'wtf bro' and more of a 'yeah i'm killing your dudes and now you're going to pay me for it' thing and it's a bit more understandable for someone to be flipping out and even there's an argument to be made that the dwarf king needed to get his people in check. elven arrogance or dwarven vengefulness? it all hangs on the sequence of events.

much later, when my professor told this story to an ancients nerd friend, the guy said the war of the ancients thing was a one of the biggest landmines in their field. he said it was a reliable discussion ruiner that had started so many shouting matches that some conferences had an actual ban on bringing it up.

so the place goes dead fucking silent as every giant ass ancients stan in the room is immediately thrust into a series of war flashbacks: the war of the ancients argument, violently carried out over seminar tables, in literary journals, at graduate student house parties, the spittle flying, the wine and coffee spilled, the friendships torn—the red faces and bulging veins—curses thrown and teaching posts abandoned—panels just like this one fallen into chaos—distant bells, skies falling, the dog-eared translations of historical texts slicing through the air like sabres—the textual support! o, the quotes! they gaze at this madman in numb disbelief, but he could not have known. nay, he was a history theorist, a pre-sigmarite tribes man, only a visitor to their haunted land. he had never heard the whistle of the mortars overhead. he had never felt the cold earth under his cheek as he prayed for god's deliverance. and yet he would have broken their fragile peace and brought them all back into the trenches.

my professor sits there for a second, still totally clueless. the panel moderator suddenly stands up in his tweed jacket and yells, with the raw panic of a once-broken man:

WE! DO NOT! TALK ABOUT! THE WAR OF THE ANCIENTS!