"To brave the Primalstream in its raw state is to dance among the echoes of the Precursors; to follow in their wake and surrender to the currents of the Empyrean. Yet, it is within this perilous descent to chaos that one might glimpse the boundless realms of ancient knowledge and grasp the tools of creation for their own."
- Wytch of the Seventh Fold, Maelgor, on the Primalstream.
Essence Travel and the Primalstream, an excerpt from the Essence of Athon: Volume II
Within Athon, beneath the crust of the world’s surface, pulses a primordial lifeblood - the Empyrean Threads. Known also as the Primalstream, these powerful currents of greater, ancient essence are the rivers through which creation flows. This hidden network spans the undermass of Athon’s lands endlessly, intersecting to create regions of potent surging essence; areas to which untapped raw power may spew forth.
It is at these intersections of the Empyrean Threads that Dolum Gates have risen. Monolithic stone structures etched with the runic language of bygone eras. Their knowledge incomprehensible and their purpose veiled, their existence predating the oldest records. But it is these cryptic manifestations of precursor craftwork that offer a gateway into the primalstream. Their presence anchoring the ethereal currents of essence to the tangible world, allowing those who dare a means to traverse the boundless distances of the Empyrean Threads, in a form of what us scholars call Essence Travel.
To harness the power of the Primalstream and traverse the rivers of the Empyrean, travelers must engage with the Dolum Gate which create an otherworldly phenomenon of remanifestation. This allows the conductor to dissolve into the streams of the Empyrean and reassemble at another gateway - a process completed in the span of mere breaths. Yet this comes with it a toll. Those without an affinity to the Meridian, such as those not Touched by the Meridian, would find themselves wracked with a corporeal backlash. The untouched may experience a nausea that grips the soul, a sickening feeling that betrays instincts, lingering long after the event. For those who dare to indulge too frequently in these journeys, repercussions may escalate to a mild and eventual severe state of Essence Poisoning.
The enigma of what we have come to call Empyrean Stones are relics and tools of the era of the precursors. These objects are imbued with an unerring attraction to the Empyrean Threads, vibrating with palpable intensity at nearing Dolum Gates - yearning for their union. To bind an Empyrean Stone to a gateway is to awaken the dormant power within, consuming part of the greater essence of that gate. Once awakened, the stone permits its bearer to command the will of the currents themselves, to step into the Primalstream beyond just Dolum Gates. This process invoked by shattering the Empyrean Stone within the grasp of organic flesh, thus integrating themselves into the flow of greater arcana - allowing oneself to emerge at a bound location.
The mystery of the Empyrean Threads are one that carry with it a magnificence of arcane innovation. Its discovery could manifest greater understanding of our primitive theories on Essence Travel. One could only begin to perceive the potential that lay within.
- Chronicler Theodoric Fothes, Transfigurationist and Runologist of the Azure Order.
On Activation and Usability
Dolum Gates are physical structures represented by oddly shaped obsidian spires, with hovering names that specify the location that it marks. You must first discover each Dolum Gate within Athon through manual travel. Upon finding a Dolum Gate you have yet discovered, represented as plain obsidian and blackstone, you may right click it to learn of its location, now represented as crying obsidian.
You can the right click any discovered Dolum Gates to access your primalstream network. You can the use this menu to travel to any of your discovered Dolum Gates. Particles manifest around you, and unique potion effects are applied, to represent the strange sensations one could feel when travelling across the primalstream.
Another form of harnessing the primalstream and Dolum Gates is through Empyrean Stones. These are obtained through a number of means, such as events, and are represented as obsidian blocks with the name Dormant Empyrean Stone. When right clicking a discovered Dolum Gate with the stone in hand, you can bind the Dolum Gate to your Empyrean Stone - the object now shifting as represented by a crying obsidian block with the name Awakened Empyrean Stone. Once bound, these are not specific to you, and may be traded. When right clicking with an Awakened Empyrean Stone, you will be required to hold still for five seconds as your body is pulled into the primalstream and returned to the bound Dolum Gate.
There are many more ways to use the powers of the primalstream, but such methods are yet to be discovered or their knowledge published.
