Titani Obscurai

Of these ancient constructs, little is known. My colleagues in the department of History have assured me that their research has revealed the structures predate not merely the last Dawn Age, but every Dawn Age yet known. It is likely the devices were assembled more than one-hundred thousand years ago, which would place their origin before any recorded evidence of human habitation. Put simply: these ancient machines predate our oldest possible ancestors.
What few records remain from the last Dawn Age confirm that even then the Titani Obscurai were largely a mystery though we have been able to determine that at least some ancient researchers had theorized a purpose. According to Dawn Age texts, our world is part of a much larger system of celestial bodies which move in regular circles around a common point. Our world is in some fashion "locked" in such a way as to ensure that one side always faces "the sun", leaving the other in perpetual darkness. This should render the surface of our world an uninhabitable, burning waste. Instead, our world remains temperate, which Dawn Age texts confidently state is impossible. They argue - and our own research appears to confirm - the Titani Obscurai are largely responsible for staving off this fate.
To date, we know of more than a dozen constructs. The largest can be found partially buried in a mountainside east of the Ivenspire. The metallic object stands nearly three hundred feet high and emits a strange violet light. Most people avoid the machines when they are found and rightly so. If they are as crucial to our survival as we think they may be, it is best if they are left alone.

Magister Ghaerin Calison, University of Khalinost

Purpose / Function

The machines are designed for one purpose: to regulate the planet's environment and mitigate the effects of the planet being tidally locked. The machines dissipate the planetary storm systems that would normally scour the surface, and regulate the wild fluctuations in temperature that would normally occur.
As a result, Laethelle's environments remains hospitable to life.

History

Unknown to the humans living there, Laethelle has been extensively terraformed by an antediluvian species who modified the planet in its distant past. The beings embedded enormous machines at important sites around the planet and linked them together in some unknown fashion. Once activated, they generate an energy field that attenuates the planetary storms and regulates the temperature over much of the surface. Some areas remain hostile to human life, but the majority of the planet is habitable.

Alternative Names

Giant's Playthings; Great Machines; Daemon Engines

Type

Geographic Feature