Netherpower

• 05 April 2025

Netherpower was a form of entropic, non-conformational radiation that was emitted by Ugrite crystals. Its name was derived from The Nether Fountain, the source of ugrite on Legere. Many Legerians also referred to netherpower as anti-magic or anti-magical radiation, thanks to its infamous properties of disrupting magic. Carnites' bones, which had nanoscopic fragments of ugrite throughout them, were also imbued with a lower potency of netherpower.

Netherpower was an extremely dangerous phenomenon because it was the sole thing capable of completely shutting down magic on Legere. The Arcane Hand was known to be strongly against any form of netherpower usage, even though some Destrian scientists performed extensive research into useful applications of netherpower.

Function #

Netherpower was able to eliminate the flow of the arcane by annihilating archons. Anti-magical radiation was characterized by the emission of subatomic anti-archons, sometimes called nether archons, which cancelled out true archons upon collision with them. Stronger sources of netherpower had a more potent effect in terms of eliminating magic by emitting thicker "clouds" of nether archons.

Weak Sources #

Weak sources of netherpower included things like Carnite bones. They usually lacked the ability to outright nullify magic, but could stifle arcane currents enough to weaken the potency of what a mage would typically be able to do.

Strong Sources #

Strong netherpower sources were usually shards of Ugrite, which themselves were a sort of anti-Arcanoform. Ugrite was potent enough to outright nullify magic, although the effective range was still dependent on total mass. A small piece of ugrite might only disrupt magical abilities when directly penetrating the flesh of a mage, while the very large ugrite heart of The Nether Fountain nullified magic within several miles.

Usage #

Netherpower was the key force behind Ugrite weapons, and also the central phenomenon behind the power of Netherwielding.

Consequences #

The magical nature of Legere was always at odds with what netherpower was. Netherpower was a distinctly alien, eldritch energy that served no purpose but to disrupt the natural state of the world. The wildlife of the Dawn Wastelands are often cited as examples of what kind of results could arise from widespread netherpower radiation.

The more magical a creature was, the greater the mutations could become in response to the deletion of the fundamental forces at play in their biology.