The Shards
Anatomy of a Shard
The Shards of Nerasa can be regarded as small planets unto themselves. Varying in size from massive continents to miniscule islands, each is possessed of its own gravitational pull, atmospheric conditions, climates and even local magical anomalies - making each Shard truly unique and distinct.
While the Span is saturated with elemental energy enough to sustain life and allow the mortal species to breathe, each individual Shard’s atmosphere can be affected by the magical conditions - they may be more humid, filled with strange spores, or mysteriously void of breathable air by some magical affliction.
While Shards can vary wildly in size and scale, they maintain a fairly consistent gravitational force. Except where Spatial magics are directly affecting the pull of gravity, each Shard maintains a standard gravitational force that is approximate to our own. Even stranger, the pull of this gravity seems to be related not to the size and position of the Shard in its current state - but rather the position of the Shard when it was once part of the world-that-was.
This factor is called the Paradesis Ambit. Believed to be the original circumference of Nerasa before the Shattering, when it was whole and complete, this metaphysical line is present in the anatomy of every Shard of Nerasa - and once mapped can be used to determine the flow and direction of gravitational forces of that shard.
Weather in the Span
Within the Span, weather can vary wildly between the mundane storms and climates typical to our own world, to the magical and mystical storms found only the magical chaos of the Span and the Shards that dwell within it.
Weather as we know it - such as snow, rain, and thunder - comes about as an intermingling of elemental magics. As the most basic and plentiful magical forces found in the Span and the Shards, elemental storms are the most common weather patterns encountered. Ranging from heat waves to blizzards, to monsoons and cold snaps, these elemental weather fronts can vary in intensity and duration wildly. Often, these weather patterns are affected by the local climate and magical attunement of a Shard. Some Shards may see more rain, while others may be wrought by colder climates.
Beyond these ‘mundane’ elemental weather patterns are those brought about by the minging and additions of other magical forces. As more complex magical forces, these storms and events are much less common but can have much more dramatic and mystical effects - ranging from storms that alter gravity, to events of massive growth, and even rumored sorrowstorms that twist and corrupt their surroundings.
The Storm Cycle
Because magical storms are known to be the result of intermingling magical forces, there is an extent to which weather can be predicted and monitored. Within the chaos of the Span, there are swells and regions saturated with one magical force or another - sometimes called ‘fronts’ - that move in a counter-clockwise pattern through the Shards.
By studying the movements of these fronts, arcanometerologists can predict the ‘Storm Cycle’ of the Span, and provide early warning of particularly powerful storms, or magical fronts that might effect a season.
Seasons
When Nerasa was whole and had the weather patterns of a typical planet it likely had predictable and consistent seasons. However, since the Shattering such things are uncommon across the Shards, where only the largest of their number have anything resembling consistent climate patterns.
Instead, within the shards the Seasons ebb and flow with the magical forces that cycle through the Span about them. Just as the elements mingle to create storms and weather patterns, so to can they bring about changes in a Shard’s climate long enough to constitute a season.
Because of this, Seasons are regarded more as events, and less measurements of time. A Shard might refer to a ‘coming summer’ or a ‘long winter’ as an event seen on the horizon, or something they need to prepare for - but is rarely something a Shard has more than a few weeks of warning for.