Mount Meru is the source of power for the gods, the primal mountain of
humanity's collective dreams. The status and power of gods
depend on how high they can ascend on the mountain. A god's primary essence
is forever present on Mount Meru, fighting to gain new ground while defending
his territory from power-hungry rivals. As their avatars gain or lose
advantage in Virtù, their ability to hold their place on Meru are
likewise affected. Gods thus send what avatars they can spare to seek out
power where they can.
Currently, twelve Greatermost Gods have ascended highest yet on Mount Meru,
though they have not yet reached the forbidding summit. Instead, they have
built Citadels in a ring known as the Great Circle, claiming their places
around the Circle as shown. The Great Circle also marks the timberline,
i.e., above which trees will not grow.
The mountain continues upward from the timberline. While it is possible to
fly higher than the Great Circle, the winds that blow between the worlds
present a moderate risk to airborne visitors. Those that claim to have
braved the winds catch give varied reports of what they've seen. The
following landmarks seem to be common to all legends. In concentric circles,
as one travels upslope, one encounters nine standing Stones. Farther up are
seven Springs. Five Caves, one of which faces south and is the source of
the Cascade, which becomes the sacred river Aiia that flows through Seaga's
domain. Finally, three stone Thrones sit empty at the top of snow-capped Meru.
It remains a mystery to the lessermost gods why the Greatermost have not
ascended higher. Certain factions believe that the Twelve currently
co-exist in a state of equilibrium, unable to ascend higher until the status
quo has been disrupted. Others believe that the gods are in fact capable of
higher ground, but have chosen not to. Yet others claim that a
long-forgotten race of ancient Aions live in those reaches, barring the gods
from claiming their territory, and it will only be a matter of time before
they reveal their true intentions.
The lands of Virtù are theoretically limitless, though in practice
genii loci control the size of their sites to ensure that their defenses are
not spread too thin. Unlike the gods, genii loci do not have avatars or
core personae. However, they have manifestations and core vistas that serve
the same purpose.
If one takes Mount Meru as the center of a compass rose, then the sixteen
compass directions seem to act as radiating ley lines that feed power to the
genii loci. The four cardinal points are the most powerful, followed by the
four composite directions, etc. The genii loci are able to shift their
loci and borders to partake of these natural geomantic forces, and this
struggle for power has caused much warring amongst the genii loci.
At the present time, the most powerful entities controlling the compass
points are as shown below. Note that the area clockwise from Llelgautha to
Xhada has more or less stabilized, and is known as the Crescent.
Counterclockwise from Llelgautha to Xhada are the wild sites, and there is
little stability from day to day. Little is known about the genii loci
here, though two ancient genii loci are rumoured to reside in the Wildscape:
Imba and Noraia.
