The Shield

The Shield is a magical dome that has its highest point at around 25 miles. It has a very slightly blue tint. It repels all those who try to enter it. Being of such powerful and unstable magic, it slowly decays over the centuries. When this happens, the unstable magic that had left rains down again, replenishing the shield while providing a very beautiful light show. Famous ones include the 1833 'Leonids shower' which was really magic, which was the cause of the 1767 shower as well. The Shield was going through a period of weakness, needing replenishment every century or so. The average gap between replenishments is 650 years. A small one appeared on 1023, but the first documented one was on 841. However, in the early twenty-first century, a replenishment failed to appear, causing the Shield to begin to disintegrate. Max and Molly had to repair it within weeks or it would fail altogether.