The Magic of Arcasia: The Three Wells and the Lunar Web

Magic in Arcasia is not a single force but an ecology.
It flows through the land, sky, and sea in three interwoven streams known collectively as the Three Wells. These Wells shape how magic behaves, how spellcasters interact with it, and how civilizations rise or fall when they fail to understand its balance.

The Three Wells are:

1. Selunvaric Magic — The Elder Flow
2. Thalunic Magic — The Trickster’s Fire
3. Pearlescent Magic — The Deep Heart

These forces interact through the world’s network of ley lines, forming what scholars call the Lunar Web.

1. Selunvaric Magic — The Elder Flow

Source: Selunvar, the Elder Moon
Nature: Slow, deep, rhythmic, tidal
Qualities: Stability, prophecy, memory, fate, the pull of oceans

Selunvaric magic is the most enduring and stable of the Wells. It moves like tides—predictable, powerful, and ancient. Users describe it as magic that remembers.

Where Selunvaric power is strongest:

• Coastal regions and tidal zones
• Ancient ritual sites aligned to Selunvar
• Caverns containing reflective crystal formations
• Moments of stillness: long rites, sacred meditations

Selunvar’s influence on the world:

• Strengthens divination and foresight
• Enhances healing and water-based magic
• Reinforces protective wards and long-form enchantments
• Brings clarity and calm to unstable arcane workings

When Selunvar is full, the ley lines take on a silver steadiness, and prophecy becomes unusually precise.

2. Thalunic Magic — The Trickster’s Fire

Source: Thalune, the Trickster Moon
Nature: Vibrant, chaotic, quick to ignite
Qualities: Transformation, emotion, illusion, inspiration

Thalunic magic is volatile and bright, like lightning crackling through clouded skies. It is tied to emotion, dreams, and the thin spaces between the physical and the ephemeral.

It is the opposite of Selunvar’s tide. Thalunic magic is the storm.

Where Thalunic power is strongest:

• Dense forests and storm-prone regions
• Ley line intersections with irregular geometry
• Places of heightened emotion—battlefields, festivals, funerals
• Locations where dream and waking life bleed together

Thalune’s influence on the world:

• Illusions sharpen and may become semi-real
• Elemental forces become unpredictable
• Sudden arcane flares occur without warning
• Dreams and nightmares take on physical qualities

When Thalune is full, magic becomes easier to wield and far harder to predict.

3. Pearlescent Magic — The Deep Heart

Source: The Great Pearl beneath the Sunken Continent of Chelonia
Nature: Ancient, oceanic, resonant
Qualities: Memory, life-force, enchantment, depth, psychic resonance

Pearlescent magic is older than recorded history. It emanates from the Great Pearl—a massive arcane core at the heart of the sunken continent. Even the merfolk, who draw upon its power naturally, do not fully understand its origin.

Some scholars claim the Pearl is alive. Others believe it is a fragment of a primordial entity lost to time.

Where Pearlescent power is strongest:

• The ruins and trenches around Chelonia
• The Chelonian Atolls during their brief rise
• Underwater caverns rich in coral growth
• Relics crafted during Chelonia’s golden age

The Pearl’s influence on the world:

• Shapes the evolution of oceanic life
• Hosts enchantments that persist for centuries
• Stores memories or impressions in arcane matter
• Was the foundation of the earliest Clank designs

Direct exposure to Pearlescent energy can grant visions, insight, or destabilize the mind.

The Lunar Web — How the Wells Interact Through Ley Lines

The ley lines of Arcasia are the conduits through which all three Wells flow. These lines are not fixed currents; they respond to the moons, brightening, dimming, or shifting their resonance depending on celestial cycles.

This dynamic interplay forms the Lunar Web—a system where sky, land, and sea coordinate to shape the world’s magic.

Selunvar and the Ley Lines:

• Stabilizes the lines
• Produces clear, predictable magical resonance
• Strengthens ritual magic and long-term enchantments

Thalune and the Ley Lines:

• Agitates or distorts the lines
• Sparks anomalies and sudden arcane blooms
• Heightens emotional or illusion-based effects

The Pearl and the Ley Lines:

• Serves as the anchor of the entire network
• Draws ley energy toward the oceans
• Shapes the magical climate of the world’s waters

Chelonia achieved its ancient heights by building upon the Heartline Nexus, the central convergence of the world’s ley lines.

Lunar Phenomena

Because the Wells interact continuously, certain celestial alignments cause dramatic events in the magical ecosystem.

The Lunaris Veil (Eclipse):
Thalune obscures Selunvar.
Ley lines vibrate.
Magic becomes strange and unpredictable; illusions take physical form, spirits awaken, and identities blur.

The Elder Flood (Selunvar Perigee):
Selunvar draws close to Arcasia.
Tides swell.
Prophecies grow unnervingly accurate. Submerged ruins stir with ancient magic.

The Trickster’s Break (Thalune’s Double Cycle):
Thalune completes two orbits while Selunvar completes one.
Ley lines pulse like a heartbeat.
Wild magic storms appear, affecting creatures, weather, and even memories.