The Wyrdwinds

The Wyrdwinds are a dangerous source of magic that sorcerers can use to strengthen their rituals at the risk of mutation, madness, or death. They come from the Mistlands as they blow towards the Shimmering Sea and the Wyrdtower. The winds affect all the nations of Terraneus, but those that border the Mistlands such as those in the jungles of Kar'ack often experience the Wyrdwinds at their strongest. The Peoples of Sun and River often will send word along the Great Scar when the winds seem to be growing stronger. Since the Iron Empire has seized control of Scarmouth, they have sent many scholars to the city to try to understand this phenomena better.
While they are called Wyrdwinds or simply "The Winds", there is very rarely any uptake in the strength of the natural winds when the Wyrdwinds blow. They are called that for the way they move continuously, their patterns very much like the behavior of winds. The Wyrdwinds will often transform local wildlife into monsters or those caught outside when they pass into Wyrdings, slaves to the Mistwalkers who dwell in the Mistlands. Some scholars claim that children who are born when the Wyrdwinds blow are more likely to develop the rare gift of Sorcery, though it is difficult to verify this theory. The Peoples of Sun and River call sorcerers "Windcallers" with this legend in mind. 
A sorcerer who calls upon the Wyrdwinds in an area can often perform rituals beyond their means, but the Wyrdwinds exact a terrible cost on the body and mind of their caller. Only the most desperate or the most mad sorcerers attempt to call the Wyrdwinds by themselves. Most, should they know of a wind, will prepare with groups of no less than three other sorcerers (should they know of others) and prepare themselves for the casting. One sorcerer is there to channel the Wyrdwind while the others are there to take some of the intense burden to their own spirits. 
It is said that the Empress and her Chosen are of such power that they can channel the Wyrdwinds safely without assistance. Others say that this is but a result of poor understanding of sorcery. If it were the case, then why would the Empress consider the Mistwalkers and the Storms as much of a threat as she seems to?

Manifestation

The Peoples of Sun and River know when a Wyrdwind is coming due to the special plants that grow throughout the jungle called "Wyrd Lanterns". These trees have existed, according to the Peoples, since the First Storm. When a Wyrdwind is preparing, it starts slow, like a low tide, pushing out from the Mistlands into the jungle of Kar'ack. The flowers on the Wyrd Lantern Trees will bloom, their petals shining with a bluish-purple light, like tiny lanterns. When the Peoples see these Wyrd Lanterns bloom, they will return to their villages and send word down river (had word not already passed) and prepare for the coming Wyrdwinds.
As the Wyrdwinds pass, they often bring with them 'thunder', echoes of the storms of the Mistlands, where the lightning is said to not kill but change and transform that which it strikes. Strange chimera creatures are left in its wake as well as other unexplainable phenomena like stones that move and talk or trees that walk. The closer one gets to the Mistlands, the stranger and more frequent these creatures are, supported by generations upon generations of the Wyrdwinds helping create more until they were able to 'naturally' continue.

Localization

Wyrdholds

Wyrdholds are places throughout Terraneus where the power of the Wyrdwinds did not pass, but instead persists like it does in the Mistlands. Scholars are still unsure of just what causes a Wyrdhold to be created, and there are many theories. The most popular theory among the Scribes of the Iron Empire are that they are similar to permanent whirlpools, where something in the landscape has created 'currents' of the Wyrmwinds and trapped them there. 
Though the Wyrdwinds persist in a Wyrdhold, not all Wyrdholds are permanent. They are known to at times grow larger in size or sometimes disappear completely as the Winds 'escape' to freedom. The Wyrdtower is one such example of a permanent Wyrdhold and it has been as such for as long as the records of the Iron Empire can remember. Wyrdings will often flee to Wyrdholds for safety, as most are outcasts from their previous communities. At times, even Mistwalkers will linger in a Wyrdhold, using its power to sustain them so far from the Mistlands that are their home.

Type

Metaphysical, Arcane