These white jade artifacts appear as geometric doorways up to ten feet tall and/or wide, with occult runes in Rocktongue adorning the entire surface in delicate filigree. Most often, the devices are shaped as arches, rings or simple rectangular doorframes, but they may feature stranger geometric configurations according to the aesthetics of their creator. In order to program and activate the gate’s magic, a character must first prop it against a flat stone surface and spend 20 motes (this is not committed). Spending this Essence causes the gateway to fuse to the rock, becoming a permanent extrusion of its structure. Through the lens of the device’s magic, the attuned character’s senses immediately extend through the rock into the earth, providing a limited clairvoyance duplicating the effects of the Charm Earthen Insight Method (Exalted: the Fair Folk, p. 252). The character’s awareness flows out along an unbroken conduit through the earth in an instant, trailing an artificial dragon line behind it. When the line intersects a space that is not filled with earth, it terminates and locks into place, programming the path of the gate. If the dragon line stretches more than a mile from the doorway, the Essence channel snaps and the character finds her senses returned back to the doorway so she can try again. This process repeats as many times as necessary to establish an acceptable path.

          Once a character programs the course of a Stonemeld Gate’s dragon line, she must then set the parameters of use. By default, the basic setting allows any Essence user to trigger activation by touching the stone bordered by the gate and spending a mote of Essence. For greater security, a gate may be configured to require a spoken password or a combination of runes touched in a specific order (before allowing the Essence expenditure). Once a character defines all facets of the gate’s operation, the gate cannot be reprogrammed without first disabling it.

          To “open” a Stonemeld Gate, a character must touch the rock and spend Essence, performing any necessary actions to satisfy security precautions. With all conditions met, ripples spread from the point of contact through the stone and an irresistible force pulls the character into the rock. Wherever she touches the earth, it becomes a viscous liquid that smoothly warps around her and settles back into place. This duplicates the effects of a Parting Stone Blessing (Exalted: the Fair Folk, p. 253), save that the character does not control her movement. Instead, she races along the defined path of the artificial dragon line at a rate of 150 yards per turn (approximately 100 miles per hour), gently emerging from the earth at the destination as if she had simply stepped out. Artisans often build Stonemeld Gates into their Manses, sometimes sealing away the entire structure in its own sealed cavern that can only be reached through one door (without boring through a mile of solid rock). Of course, such extreme deployment also means that the Manse has no way to recycle air and thus requires that all visitors have life support artifacts or Charms obviating the need to breathe, not to mention a second gate on the inside so the journey isn’t one-way. Less extreme placements provide excellent front gates for walls, provide a quick getaway or allow unconventional transport throughout layers of tiered structures.

          Disabling a Stonemeld gate requires sufficient damage to the adjoining rock to pry it free (this stone has the usual soak and health levels of a stone wall; see p. 239 of Exalted). Unfortunately, the geomantic backlash caused by this brute force approach leaves the gateway useless until it has been repaired with the same effort required to create a level one artifact.

          Numerous variations of the Stonemeld Gate exist. Some feature geomantic collectors so that they do not require Essence infusions to activate, but these level 3 artifacts only work inside Manses. Geomantic gateways typically feature more elaborate triggers, such as floors that suck enemies into oubliettes if they are not crossed in a specific way and other such traps. Superior gates built as level 4 artifacts extend their dragon lines up to 10 miles away or allow up to 5 different possible destinations up to a mile away. In order for a gate to link to multiple destinations, it must be programmed with separate triggers for each destination. Both types of level 4 gates may also feature geomantic construction if built to draw power within a Manse.