The Crystal Lagoon is an arcane-fed pool located at the heart of the Sapphire Weald, widely regarded as one of the forest’s most significant natural features. Its waters are sustained by the convergence of Ley Lines that run beneath the Weald, giving the pool a faint luminescent quality that shifts with the forest’s ambient magical energy.
Description
The Lagoon occupies a clearing in the deep Weald, surrounded by mature Sapphire Sentinels whose root systems extend into the pool’s bed. The water is clear and still under normal conditions, though disturbances in the underlying ley lines can produce visible ripples or changes in coloration. The site has long been a gathering point for the Weald’s treant guardians and is considered a place of significance by the druids who maintain the forest’s balance.
Tatharian Research Presence
Scientists from the Laboratorium in Tatharia Capitolina have been observed conducting studies at the Crystal Lagoon, making it a point of intersection between Tatharian institutional research and the Weald’s protected interior. The nature of their research has not been fully disclosed, though the Lagoon’s ley line convergence and proximity to suspected Aetherite deposits beneath the Weald are likely factors.
The Ley Line Reroute
During the Girlsquad party’s passage through the Weald (Banorud, 1 Lotus Secundus, 409 TC), two unnamed treants at the Lagoon were debating how to respond to the Tatharian research presence. One favored driving the scholars off by force; the other proposed rerouting nearby ley lines toward the Mother Tree’s root system, gradually empowering the Mother Tree until the Weald could reshape itself around the intrusion and conceal the Lagoon from outside observation.
Hazelnut persuaded the treants to pursue the ley line reroute. The Tatharian scientists departed unmolested. The long-term consequences of this decision are significant: as the Mother Tree draws more energy from the redirected ley lines, the Weald’s interior will become progressively harder for outsiders to navigate or observe. However, the resulting energy imbalance will increase the frequency of mage-ripper swarm events in the deep Weald, a hazard to the Sapphire Sentinels and any spellcasters caught in the surge zones.