Whorl

Whorl is the 'heart of hearts' of the voy'Aeldvari, their birthplace and their safehome. It is a well-kept secret, hidden from casual or prying eyes, where the new race of Abyssal elves can continue studying, researching, and mastering Abyssal magic. Whorl is situated in the southern reach of The Dragon's Teeth, the biggest mountain range of Lumasca. The climate is dry, the altitude is high, and the weather is always windy--but its lack of luxury means that no kinvari live nearby. Most of Whorl was tucked into the natural hollows of the orange-red plateau that towered above them. Living quarters, study nooks, communal eating areas, arcane laboratories, sitting areas, lecture halls, and several kitchens were all sheltered within the sun-warmed stone and hidden from even a bird’s-eye view. In the shadow of the plateau, obscured but not quite as invisible, small patches of dirt yielded vegetables, herbs, fruits, and berries. A modest stable held barely two dozen mounts of different species that belonged to those living full-time in Whorl.

The Leading Edge of Abyssal Research

Whorl was established for only one reason: to serve as a safe, extremely secluded place for arcane scholars and sorcerers to experiment with Abyssal energy, particularly how it could counter Eldritch energy. No settlements or nomadic routes existed within dozens of miles of Whorl in any direction, ensuring that only those kinvari who knew about and accepted the risks inherent in working with dangerous magical energies would be exposed to them.

K. Nightbell: When our experiments graduated to slightly larger, more complex ones, we reached the first stumbling block. In very small amounts, Abyssal energy is manageable. It inexorably erodes any arcana that touches it, but with enough arcana layered in a very specific self-reinforcing pattern, it can be used without harm. Without that protection, Abyssal will grind down a body’s surrounding arcana, and eventually touch, then wear away, the anima holding a person’s soul.

Over time, the kinvari now living in Whorl continued to have promising results from their studies: Abyssal energy excelled at stymying Eldritch energy.

K. Nightbell: Everything in our research and experiments, and in our anecdotal knowledge of what Hyldanpev had done, pointed to Abyssal energy successfully barricading Eldritch energy from reaching and contaminating arcana. So long as it was shaped wisely and held unwaveringly, even a small amount of Abyssal energy could block a much larger amount of Eldritch energy. Given enough time, of course, Eldritch energy could eventually eat away at the wisps of arcana embedded in Abyssal energy… but Abyssal energy would also erode and dissipate Eldritch energy. We could not set up an experiment that would last hundreds of years to find out which energy type would win out in the long run, but our theories placed the victor as the result of a particular, as yet undiscovered ratio.

In 409 (11 Arcane), the Ritual of Abyssal Synthesis was discovered by one of the researchers in Whorl. In 418 (11 Arcane), the ritual was performed at full power at an empty location outside of Whorl, and the voy'Aeldvari were born from the survivors. The portion of the jagged mountains where the ritual had imploded resemble a crater as though from a massive impact; the hollow was carved not by a falling meteor, but by a burst of pure energy from the Abyssal plane itself. In the years after the ritual, the new Abyssal elves worked together to adapt to their changed bodies and drastically altered arcane abilities. When pressure from the nearest, still-very-far, kinvaren groups--primarily Urkvari packs--mounted in the wake of the ritual's blast zone, most of the voy'Aeldvari scattered to cities and towns across Lumasca.

K. Nightbell: A single Abyssal elf is strange, even alarming, but not seen as a threat to a town as a few hundred might be. After everything we’d survived, it felt absurd to die at the hands of terrified mobs.