The Mana Conduits are tall spires of dark stone erected in the dusty, Dharuk-controlled area surrounding Khaal Spire on Dhar in Ithia. They form a key part of Morganem's magical defenses.
Physical Description[]
The Mana Conduits are tall spires with claw-like protrusions at the top. Suspended between these protrusions hovers a sphere of magical energy concentrated enough to be visible to the naked eye.
The towers themselves are made of smooth, dark grey and black rock. They are perfectly formed through magic, without any seams, flaws or openings. The rock is supernaturally hard, though it can still be damaged if hit hard enough.
Properties[]
The Mana Conduits were a precursor to the more flexible Obelisk of Strength. Similar to the Obelisk, the Mana Conduits are designed to be utilized by Morganem or his Council of Six to ensure they cannot be defeated in battle. However, they function very differently: while the Obelisk of Strength is used to generate temporary but portable Power Orbs that provide effective invulnerability for a period of time anywhere, the Mana Conduits instead are designed to be linked to a powerful being (such as the members of the Council of Six) and provide them with a constant, near-endless stream of magical energy while in their vicinity. A creature thus linked will heal wounds almost instantly and have access to a near-infinite supply of mana for this spells and abilities. The Mana Conduits draw their energy from Khaal Spire directly, meaning they have effectively limitless energy available. The restorative energy the tower provides is visible as a pulsing line of green energy that flows from the top of the tower and into its target every time it heals and recharges its ward.
That said, the Mana Conduits have a number of limitations. First, only very powerful beings can successfully make use of the Conduits. Second, only one being can be linked to a given Mana Conduit at a time. Third, their effective range is limited, meaning they can only protect their user while they remain within a moderate distance of the tower, and as the towers are static, this relegates them entirely to a defensive role. Fourth, the towers' energy causes them to resonate dangerously if in close proximity, which means they have to be spread some distance apart to prevent them from destroying themselves. And last, though they can protect their linked ward, the towers themselves are not invulnerable and can be destroyed.
Even so, Maelstrom did find a way of drawing on the Void energy used by the Void Children's Void Portals and channeling it into his linked Mana Conduit when it was damaged to shield and repair it, making its destruction even more difficult.
History[]
Morganem created the Mana Conduits soon after his creation of Khaal Spire as a form of perimeter defense system. As long as he or his Warlords were present, they could utilize these towers to singe-handedly counter any assault on Khaal Spire with ease.
When The Companions first arrived on Dhar in order to overthrow Morganem's rule during To the Bitter End, they struck so quickly that Morganem did not have time to rally the Council of Six to his side. Without any of his powerful immortals available to use them, the Mana Conduits went unused and offered no protection against the Companions' assault.
This was not the case when the Companions returned to Dhar later. This time, Eryion Xanatha, Dustwalker, Kherek, Kathryn Urdanna and Maelstrom had each taken up a defensive position near a Mana Conduit to bar the Companions' approach. Defeating them required the companions to first locate the tower and then destroy it - at which point the linked Warlord, now defenseless and heavily outnumbered, would retreat. Maelstrom provided an additional hurdle, having found a way to preserve his Mana Conduit by shielding and repairing it using the energies of the local Void Children, but after dispatching those, the Companions successfully destroyed Maelstrom's Mana Conduit as well.