The Onyx Tower
The Onyx Tower is a mythical tower found in the same blasted region as the Black Pyramid. Rumoured to be at least two, only one has ever been verified sitting to the south near the entrance of the region.
Purpose / Function
The Onyx Tower seems to act as a form of announcement over the whole region. A sonorous dull bell sound is heard as far as the Black Pyramid, the cries of a baby, and the sound of air escaping a dying man's lungs are heard. Most species hate the noise, especially those with more sensitive hearing. A drop in temperature occurs as well when it is activated.
Alterations
Spikes of slender onyx has been added inside & out, some with the remains of many many species, not all known to any but time itself. Rusted chains of iron hang here and there with the same grisly trophies hanging from the ends of each chain.
Architecture
The tower has a slender polished build similar to an obelisk. A single door is on the opposite side to the path from the surface. It is all made out of blocks of onyx, and internally there is nothing leading up to the top, with a set of stairs leading down in a circle to a deep hewn room a few hundred feet below. The odd remains hang from onyx spikes & iron chains hang here & there in the tower, and down below. A slight glow is given off between some of the seems between the onyx blocks, bathing the area in low blue-white light, but with a gloom still present. This shifts and runs like water along different seems and never sets itself in any one place. Down the stairs is pitch black.
If anyone spends any time here, the sounds of the bell, crying baby & last breath is far far stronger and nearly at painful levels as it is amplified by the tower. A large domed iron & brass circular structure sits in the middle of the room about 8 feet tall at the centre and one foot around the edge.
Deep below the floor and metal structure, hangs a bell of huge proportions. 8 metres of bell made of brass & iron hangs on a 6 metre set of chains, with the stairs built into the walls to a drop of about 25 metres. Lining the walls of the chamber appear cubby holes. If examined, there is the dusty remains of the young of many species, and at the bottom scattered remains of adults, built into a heap pointing up to the bell. These appear ancient and the majority appear to be of many species unseen in aeons.
History
The exact origin of the Onyx Tower is unknown. It definitely is a prehistoric building existing before the majority of the world's sentient species came into existence. Those that have examined it in detail & lived, have noticed strange miniscule cuneiform writings in places around the structure similar to some found here & there in the Black Pyramid. What they mean and from where they came is another matter, along with the shapes being of no known writing system.
It seems it was built as part of a larger series of buildings that don't exist any more. There are remnants of these buildings lying around the local landscape. It is the only one that is built out of onyx almost exclusively. Somehow it has been made to amplify the sound of the bell, and the other sounds seem to trapped & amplified by the structure too. Exactly why is unknown, though the sounds in general are also reported to exist in Leviathan's Labyrinth when Leviathan is awoken.
It appears to act like an early warning system that potential students of the dark arts or an enemy has entered the land. A strange presence is sometimes felt in the place below it. It feels like an emptiness the rips at the soul, followed by a feeling of a million voices crying out in pain rushing through to an void of nothingness.
A rare few who have been in the tower also mention that they have found ancient texts in Yuan-Ti, Dragon, and Giant records that mentioned it was as old as the world itself. Many mention it acts like a beacon for souls, and is tied to the literal Void. Also, the Star Spawn refuse to go near it, while followers of Leviathan sometimes would congregate around the tower feeding the waves of negative energy.
"You can hear the noise of that bell for miles around. Horrifyingly loud, and penetrates you deep down. The sound of the crying and the gasping of the dead. Whatever the reason, no-one can say, at least yet. Something happens though. You can see movement in the corner of your eyes
Type
Tower
Parent Location
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