A node is a natural wellspring of Quintessence. The Gauntlet is thinner in a node than elsewhere, although some nodes attuned to Stasis (such as those found in Technocratic laboratories) have artificially strengthened Gauntlet ratings to all Awakened save the Technocrats themselves. The vast majority of chantries are constructed on or around nodes.
Mages and Technocrats alike tend to view other supernaturals' mystic places of power as nodes, rather than as distinct sites with powers and properties of their own, and members of both groups have been known to raid these nodes for their Quintessence. Caerns in particular have been a point of contention between the Awakened and the werewolves. Haunts and trods have also been the target of the Awakened.
Shen (supernatural beings of the Middle Kingdom, such as Kuei-jin and Hengeyokai) refer to nodes as dragon nests, and to the Quintessence they produce as chi. In the Dark Ages and Renaissance, nodes were known as crays.