What is the hum?
The hum is the deep, universal rhythm of nature. Not magic in the flashy sense—just the truth of things. Water rising in roots. The movement of air and animal. Plants reaching, fungi networking. It’s life, aware of itself.
It’s what Lowen senses during The Quieting. It’s what magic used to listen to.
Why is it fading?
The Evergild fae tried to control it—to name it, bind it, codify it into laws and houses. Over time, magic became artificial, prescriptive, disconnected from place and intention. The hum didn’t vanish, it retreated.
The mist is a symptom of that retreat. Where the hum is suppressed, the world cloaks itself to protect what remains.
Who notices?
- Elves outside the boundary still practice the old ways, but their memory is mostly metaphor, not actionable repair. The Evergild fae are reluctant to listen to their message.
- Gwynviène feels it viscerally: the emotional weight, the subtle cracks. She doesn’t yet understand, but she’s drawn to the imbalance.
- Lowen connects to the hum through crafting, healing, foraging. It’s a quiet, instinctive practice—not wielding magic, but making space for it.
Old vs New:
- New ways try to own magic—make it predictable, safe, profitable.
- Old ways treat magic as something you live within, something to walk with, never ahead of. Reverence, not control.