Lines of magical power in the earth — newly relevant to the party’s investigation.
What We Know
- Leylines are, at their source, of old elvish origin — per Master Najlad. (S3)
- Some diagrams in the recovered documents resemble star charts overlaid on leyline confluences — Ari’s observation while copying them. (S3)
- The implication: leylines may be mutable, like the stars — their positions perhaps depending on stellar configuration. (S3)
Confirmed (S5)
Estelle states that sanctums are located at confluences of magic — and that The Red Star may mark when interactions with them are possible. Ari’s reading of the diagrams (S3) was right. The Sanctum of Sethariel sits at one such confluence, in a chasm two days north of Halwa, and the tunnel beneath it is older than the temple built over it — consistent with sanctums predating all known history.
What remains unsolved is the math: predicting where and when a confluence falls. That is what the star charts are for, and possibly what the orrery is for. See The Six Voices.
Speculation
If leyline confluences move with the stars, then a “sanctum” might only exist — or only be findable — at certain times. That could explain why the Order of the Owl was uncovering temples/sanctums no one else knew about, why Master Najlad’s navigation-by-stars work feels connected, and possibly even how the Monastery of the Dawn chose its site (a religiously significant location per Master Humron, S3). The jeweled orrery — a machine for modeling celestial positions — suddenly looks like an instrument, not a treasure. See The Sanctum Investigation and The Monastery of the Dawn and the Orrery.