A Barrier is a ward raised over a kingdom's ground. It is paid for in mana, not geld: the power that each Node gathers at the Wellsprings, the Covenant's thin places. Wards consume mana in the raising, and when mana runs short, they drop in the ruleset's deficit order.
When a spell comes against a kingdom, the ward is the first thing it must get past. Only then does it meet the resistance of its affinity and the creature's own resistance.
A kingdom cannot ward itself completely. A fully closed ward would cut it off from its own Wellsprings. So there is a limit on how much ward a kingdom may raise, and that limit is a convention. Warding, the art taught by Daegred, the Sunward and Tellan, the Keeper of Tallies, lets a kingdom make more of its wards. Heaven counts every ward in a kingdom's Weight.
Player-visible facts
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Construction cost per building | 0 geld, 50 mana |
| Ordinary upkeep per spent turn | Mana; included in observed upkeep |