Ley Phases and Zeniths

Synopsis
The power of Primordial Chaos waxes and wanes in cycles, known by magical scholars as Ley Phases. Ley Phases have peaks and troughs, as Primordial Chaos surges and then weakens repeatedly over time, in a continuous pulse. At the peak of each Ley Phase, commonly referred to as a Zenith, the world becomes flooded with magical power, as Primordial Chaos permeates and leaks through the constraints of the Weave. Zeniths are known to be times of great restorative power, when magic practitioners regain magical energy, and mortal wounds heal easily and naturally. From a gameplay perspective, each Zenith represents a short rest.

On occasions, a Ley Phase will culminate in an especially powerful Zenith, commonly known as a Prime Zenith. Prime Zeniths are powerful magical phenomena, with even greater restorative powers than those of a standard Zenith. Prime Zeniths generally occur in a predictable pattern; for example, under the current Ley Phases, a Prime Zenith occurs every fifth Zenith. From a gameplay perspective, each Prime Zenith represents a long rest.

Divine Magic and Ley Phases
Notably, divine magic practitioners encounter similar effects as arcanists during a Zenith. This phenomenon is not well understood. Theoretically, the magic of the gods, and its ability to permeate the Divine Gate, should be unaffected by Ley Phases. But for reasons that remain mysterious, the restorative power of Zeniths affects divine magic practitioners in the same ways that they effect arcanists.

Ley Phases in the Age of Arcana
At the height of magic in Materi, during the last decades of the Age of Arcana, ley phases were extremely rapid. Zeniths occurred multiple times per day, with Prime Zeniths occurring on at least a daily basis, according to most accounts. The result was a world that was inherently charged with easily accessible magic, and magic users that had a nearly endless supply of magical power.

Ley Phases in the Age of Rest
After the Gods' War and the Severance, the magic of Materi fell into a state of almost complete dormancy, as Primordial Chaos spent centuries recovering from the extreme amounts of magic that were siphoned by the war.

Few accounts were made of Ley Phases during the majority of the Age of Rest. In the first decades after the Severance, however, surviving mages kept accounts of the Ley Phases. These accounts reveal a stark and dramatic transformation from the daily Prime Zeniths of the Age of Arcana. In the first centuries of the Age of Rest, a Zenith only occurred once in every few decades. A Prime Zenith was a once-in-a-century phenomenon. The result was a world nearly devoid of magic. Even experienced, high-level mages found themselves sapped of magical power and resources, and for many decades, magic was all but dead in Materi.

In the last century of the Age of Rest, Ley Phases began to accelerate exponentially. Though they didn't approach anything resembling the near-constant magical pulsation of the Age of Arcana, a Zenith became an event that could be expected on a monthly basis, with a small number of Prime Zeniths each year.

Ley Phases in the Age of Awakening
At the beginning of the Age of Awakening, Ley Phases had accelerated such that Zeniths could be expected on about a weekly basis, with Prime Zeniths roughly monthly. In fact, the beginning date of the Age of Awakening was marked on the first occasion that two Prime Zeniths were separated by only 30 days (in conjunction with the official formation of the Weavers Conclave).

In the past two centuries of the Age of Awakening, ley phases have continued to accelerate relatively rapidly, thought they have stabilized considerably in the past half-century as compared to the first century of the Age of Awakening. Currently, Zeniths predictably occur on a daily basis, with Prime Zeniths every five days.