Some ancient maps still mark the lines of elemental power that crisscross this world and the other; one of those lines is the line of fire that runs from south to north, passing through the Isle of Sladder (44.17) as it crosses beneath the Keening Sea.
Most of the time, elemental ley lines are not visible to the naked eye and can only be revealed through certain arcane rituals. However, the fire-line rises to the surface of reality here at the point where it descends into the depths of the Keening Sea, as the two antithetical elements erupt in violent conflict. A constant cloud of steam rises from the water’s edge here, wearing the cliffs smooth with its passage. Few animals can live in such an environment, but the whirligig crabs thrive and make their nests on the steamy beach every year.
The veil of steam conceals a secret cave entrance in the cliffs. The almost unbearably humid tunnels beyond are home to a tribe of kuo-toa who swim up from their underwater caverns to worship a being they call the God in the Jar. It is their belief that all gods are evil and that the world outside the tunnels is roamed by various gods devouring souls. Only these tunnels are safe, for their God has been sealed away. In truth, the God in the Jar is an enormous steam elemental, formed from the fire-line and the sea. The kuo-toa shamans inhale small parts of the elemental, burning their lungs to receive strange visions and breath-related powers.
Connection:
- The fire ley line that exits here begins at the Fire Fang (32.32).
Hooks:
- What exactly do the elemental ley lines do? Is the fire-line channeling fire energy from the Burning Lands? If so, where does it begin and end?
- What other ley lines are there, and where do they pass through?
- How do whirligig crabs survive the intense steam?
- What visions do the kuo-toa receive by huffing the body of their god? Is it really a god? Has it become a god because it is worshipped, like the crayfish at 48.13?
