Gaphelin

Weird rock formations are common in the Ninth World. Sometimes those rocks are even weirder than they first appear. Gaphelin are “rock” pillars that emerge overnight, standing 9 to 15 feet (3 to 5 m) tall, and shot through with purple crystal. Standing alone or in small groups, gaphelin are usually discovered near locations that contain ruins of the prior worlds, where nanos have used their abilities to effect change, or where many cyphers are stored or have been recently used. No one has ever seen gaphelin appear or disappear. One day they’re simply there, as if they had always been. A few minutes, hours, or days later, and they’re gone, disappearing in the space of an eyeblink.