Day Wards

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Where her light shines we are seen and safe.

Day wards are a beacon of light in a dark world. They give off Radiance around them, which drives back the dark and protects those within. Day wards can come in many different forms, but are most commonly seen as lanterns in human cities and villages. These wards are set up as a perimeter to the village, town, or city much like a wall of light. Smaller day wards can also be carried as a small lantern or covered embalm. The smaller the ward is the less Radiance it can hold and maintain.

City Day Wards

In cities, day wards tend to be large and elaborate lantern posts. This keeps the ward itself up out of reach of most citizens while also demonstrating the power and affluence of the local temple. One key feature of day wards in cities is that they are build to replenish off the Daylight Fountain at the center of the city. Their design uses prismem to collect and amplify the Radiance of the fountain, while releasing a lesser amount into the area of the lantern. Due to this there are also many more day wards in cities than in smaller towns or villages.

Cities are designed to be centered around the Daylight Fountain, with six large boulevards extending from the center of the city out to the perimeter ring of wards. Each day ward is placed close enough to collect Radiance from the ward closer to the fountain and continue that exchange of light down the boulevard. With this in mind, the prismem within the larntern is shaped to direct a more concentrated beam of Radiance out toward the next lantern as well.

Upon reaching the outer perimeter, the design of the wards changes slightly to spread the Radiance to each side more efficienctly. The lanterns are also crafted to collect more Radiance than they need to maintain their light. If the Daylight Fountain were to somehow be destroyed, the ward system would be able to maintain itself for some time before going out completely.

The only human city without a day ward system is Chronwhorl, due to being directly centered under the Radiant Disk. Remnants of an old day ward system can be seen in the Shining Roads as lantern posts that are now decorative pillars draped in long swaths of fabric mating the Spires at the end of each road.

Day Wards in Smaller Towns and Villages

Smaller towns and villages without Daylight Fountains funtion very differently than the larger cities closer to Chronwhorl. Without a Daylight Fountain or close proximity to the Radiant Disk they have no steady source of replenishment. Instead it is the duty of the Sheltering Temple for the town to maintain the Radiance in these wards. This Radiance is maintained throiugh daily payers and rituals to call upon Her Radince to fill the wards.

In more affluent towns there tend to be large Sheltering Temples, with many Lightbringers. Smaller villages may only have a few or even a single Lightbringer. With manay Lightbringers available, a single ritual may be done at the brightest point of the day to replenish all wards. In the smaller villages this ritual is often replaced by the Lightbringer traveling through the village each day to cyclically replenish each ward, one at a time.

Other Day Wards

• Day Ward Disks
• Day Ward Lanterns
• Day Ward Broach