Nodeheart

In the same way that every human has a heart to pump the blood through its veins, each biome of nature has its own heart, connecting it to the heart of Telandor itself and imbuing it with life.

Each biome of nature is connected to the Etherheart at the core of the planet through the vast network of Etherium veins that course through Telandor. These veins emerge in each biome in the form of a Nodeheart, the focal point of life and energy in that environment. The Nodehearts manifest themselves differently depending on the environment they exist in, becoming expressions of the surrounding landscape. Local flora and fauna are drawn to the Nodehearts, as these places are ripe with energy and nourishment. The Nodehearts have long been considered sacred ground by many various cultures that live on Telandor. It is only in more recent years that organizations such as The Coetus Doctrina have begun studying them, causing strife and political turmoil in the lands.

Manifestation

Forests

Nodehearts found in forests often take the form of magnificent and colorful ancient trees, sparkling with the Etherium that courses through their roots. They developed multi-colored leaves that cast a ghostly luminescence upon their surroundings, and it is said that the rustling of their leaves has invigorating effects to those that hear it. The roots of these trees branch out and connect to all the trees in the forest, giving them life and nourishment.

Mountains

Deep at the heart of each mountain range are the Nodehearts that bind the very rocks together. Perhaps the most magnificent of all the various Nodehearts, they take the form of of floating shards of Etherium that hang suspended in the crevices between the mountains. Their rumblings can be heard far from their origin, like the rumbling of a divine beings stomach they reverberate throughout the land. Beneath the floating shards, a purple glow shines up from the depths of the planet, and some say the properties of gravity change in these areas. If you throw a stone it will fall for a time, only to change direction and fly back up.

Deserts

Deserts differ from other biomes, in that they sometimes have multiple Nodes within them. The nodes here often take the form of Oases where life gathers, blooming in these otherwise desolate landscapes. There have also been recorded cases of moving Nodehearts, often in the form of very dense dust clouds that seem to follow a set path through the desert. Some scholars theorize that these moving Nodehearts are tracing Etherium veins deep in the underground, and though many have attempted to localize these veins by following the moving Nodehearts, none have been successful.

Oceans

There is no central Nodeheart in the ocean biomes, since they are so vast, as well as being closer to the underlying Etherium veins beneath the ocean floor. However, the oceanic flora tends to gather around the veins closest to the sea floor, forming shimmering kelp-forests and ethereal coral reefs. Ancient sea creatures such as whales and tortoises have been known to seek out these coral reefs as they come to die, becoming a part of the environment that has nurtured them during their lives.

Undergound

In the underground, the Nodehearts are slightly different since the Etherium is in its natural form here. They tend to form in the intersections where the veins split up, becoming focal points for subterranean flora such as mushrooms and other fungi. Great mushroom forests have been reported forming in these intersections, with majestic glowing mushrooms that can become as tall as 500 foot.

Localization

The Nodehearts form a vast network all around telandor through their connection with the Etherheart, using the Etherium veins that branch out from it like the blood vessels in a human body.They carry energy from the heart, feeding the environments where they form as well as feeding the Etherheart with the light from the Etherstorms. Because of this, Nodehearts may form anywhere where there is a convergence of life, and even the tiniest pond has some connection to the etherheart. As they become smaller, they also become harder to categorize, differing vastly from place to place depending on their closeness to a larger Nodeheart in the area. Even something as small as an anthill has it's own Nodeheart in some form, but the smaller ones become less and less distinguishable.

Type

Natural