The earth is criss-crossed by hundreds of leylines, the most apparent element of the earth’s soul. Many nexus nodes are considered sacred by the fae, particularly the Tuatha dé Danaan. The nodes of Earth, at least, are well-known. There are eight keynodes in total, and over 30 big nexus nodes.
Keynodes
The following locations are keynodes:
- Mount Kurama, Japan
- Mount Everest, Nepal/Tibet
- Hill of Tara, Ireland
- Toubkal, Morocco (the highest peak of the Atlas Mountains)
- Lake Vostok, Antarctica
- Siskiwit Lake, Michigan (a lake on Isle Royale in Lake Superior)
- Lake Titicaca, Bolivia/Peru
- Uluru, Australia (formerly called Ayers Rock)
Most of the keynodes are not that important. Indeed, most keynodes only spawn two or three leylines. The two exceptions are Uluru and Tara, which are also major nexus nodes.
Nexuses
Rank 1
The biggest nexus, and the number one sacred place of the fae, is the hill of Tara in Ireland. Almost half of the Earth’s leylines cross at Tara. The ancestral fight between the Tuatha dé Danaan and the fomorians, culminating in the near-extinction of the latter, was in no small part due to the power of Tara.
Rank 2
The Egyptians discovered a major nexus near Giza and built their Great Pyramid in part to direct the power of the leylines. This serves as a source of power for many Egyptian tomb curses.
The Incas also discovered a major nexus, building a citadel high up the mountains in order to harness this energy. This is Machu Pikchu, sometimes mistakenly called the Lost City of the Incas.
Both Giza and Machu Pikchu have about the same number of leylines crossing them, though not as many as Tara. In particular, one leyline connects them to each other. There is also a leyline connecting Giza to Tara, and another connecting Machu Pikchu to Tara.
Rank 3
The nexuses classified as rank 3 have a direct connection to Tara via leyline, but no direct leylines connecting them to each other. Many leylines still flow through each one, though not as many as at the rank 2 nexuses. The following locations are rank 3 nexuses:
- Stonehenge, England
- Shangri-la, Pakistan (a hidden valley near the Rupal Glacier)
- Nan Madol, Micronesia
- Temple Mount, Jerusalem
Structures to harness the flow of the leyline have been built on all four of these locations, though only the Rainbow Temple of Shangri-la is still fully-functional. Nan Madol also still works for the most part. Stonehenge is in ruins and no longer directs nay flows of power, and of course the temple of Jerusalem was destroyed long ago and has not been rebuilt.
Rank 4
The nexuses classified as rank 4 have no direct connection to Tara, but do have direct connections to two or more of the same rank. Each nexus is the crossing point of no more than ten leylines. The following locations are rank 4 nexuses:
- Easter Island, Chile (specifically the peak of the island)
- Old Faithful, Yellowstone, Wyoming, USA
- Uluru, Australia
- Mount Olympus, Greece
- Nazca Lines, Peru
- Senegambian stone circles, Gambia/Senegal
Four of these have structures built to harness or direct the leylines. The moai of Easter Island are strategically placed for that purpose, and the Nazca drawings and Senegambian stone circles serve a similar purpose. None of these constructions are still functional, however.
On the other hand, the hall of Zeus on Mount Olympus still directs the flows of the leylines. Originally used by Zeus himself, it fell into ruin when the Olympian gods died off, but was later restored by the Ministry of Magic as its headquarters. The Ministry actively uses the leylines to bolster their defenses and security.
The connections of the leylines between these nexuses form a cycle connecting all five of them. A leyline connects Uluru to Easter Island; Easter Island to the Senegambians; the Senegambians to the Nazca Lines; the Nazca Lines to Old Faithful; Old Faithful to Mount Olympus; and Mount Olympus to Uluru. In addition, a leyline connects Uluru to the Senegambians.
Rank 5
There are many more minor nexuses as well, some with five or six leylines crossing, others with only two. Those with only two leylines are classified as rank 6, but they are rarely of any importance. Some of the better-known rank 5 nexuses are:
- The Temple of Apollo, Delphi, Greece
- Cantre’r Gwaelod (The Lowland Hundred), off the coast of Wales
- Lake Baikal, Siberia, Russia
- Edinburgh Castle, Scotland
- Valley of the Lost, Brazil
- Chichen Itza, Yucatán, Mexico
- Grand Canyon, Colorado, USA (the nexus doesn’t cover the entire canyon, only one significant point on it)
- Niagara Falls, Ontario/New York, Canada/USA
- Menhirs of Tiya, Ethiopia
- Osun-Osogbo Sacred Grove, Nigeria
- Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles (the nexus is in the centre of the atoll)
- Angkor Wat, Cambodia
- Itsukushima Shrine, Japan
- Takht-e Soleymān, Iran (with a nearby rank 6 nexus at Zendan-e Soleyman)
- Altar of Heaven, Beijing, China
- Ajanta Caves, India
- Tasmania, Australia
- Mount Erebus, Antarctica
This list is not comprehensive. None of the structures built on these sites are still functional for the purpose of directing or harnessing the power of the leylines.
Harnessing the Leylines
The leylines can be harnessed to increase the power of spells or, via rituals, to produce specific effects. An appropriate structure built on a node, even a regular node, can leech power out of the leylines and put it to use or direct it into a Well that any channelling mage can draw upon. A skilled mage can draw directly from the leylines; this is one of the easiest forms of leeching.
Perhaps one of the most useful ways of harnessing the leylines is for travel. By spending a minute or two meditating on a leyline, a mage can synchronize themselves with the flow of power and allow it to pull them along, spitting them out at a node of their choice. Entering a leyline can be done anywhere; you do not need to be at a node.