Iced Breath 5 Khanzhioh, 5120 AGI
Elioque qua Hildezhaon
Confidential Report on Obelisks
Discretion is mandatory The obelisks surrounding the bloodmage forest temple did not fall with the structure. Their bases were built on solid stone that did not collapse into the cavern below. They also survived the magic of Kykini Cede, Flame Dragon of Kassak, when he burned the bloodmage-contaminated forest to cinders. Further research as to why they did not perish in the onslaught is needed.
Elioque qua Hildezhaon
Confidential Report on Obelisks
Discretion is mandatory The obelisks surrounding the bloodmage forest temple did not fall with the structure. Their bases were built on solid stone that did not collapse into the cavern below. They also survived the magic of Kykini Cede, Flame Dragon of Kassak, when he burned the bloodmage-contaminated forest to cinders. Further research as to why they did not perish in the onslaught is needed.
Report contents:
all artwork by Shanda Nelson unless otherwise stated
Obelisks by Greenearth from Pexels
Obelisks by Greenearth from Pexels
"Someone imported obelisks from the deserts further south and erected them in southern Bresdri and Sondresri, along the Keldresri Sea, some fifteen or sixteen thousand years ago. There's no previous evidence they made it this far north. Who built them, and why, is a mystery."
~Lady Shiobe, to Elioque qua Hildezhaon
Obelisk Description
The fourteen obelisks are five stories tall and made of non-native black granite. Any carvings have long disappeared, so we have no words or images to help date them. They have larger square bases and the sides slant to the tops, which have eroded almost flat. Lady Shiobe believes they once possessed points, like similar structures found around the Keldresri Sea. The edges of the sides have also eroded so they appear nearly round. Their placement within a depression so their tips do not rise above the treetops seems purposeful. They are evenly spaced, meticulously so, which might indicate they once surrounded a ritual space. If an altar rested between them, it fell into the cavern and is lost.Obelisk History
We know nothing of how these obelisks came to be in the forest or who might have placed them there. Lady Shiobe has spoken about similar monuments along the Keldresri Sea, so we need to inquire after a scholar who researches the southwestern countries of Seari. They may have some insight into who might have brought these obelisks so far north. Kykini Cede's information is not as helpful as we may wish. He recalls this forest region as having always been sparsely populated. Nomadic peoples traveled through what is now Oritan, northern Merren and Suvan long before the Bane Forest grew, but he claims they never built large, stationary structures like these. He does not recall later inhabitants creating anything like these. Lady Shiobe said the temple looked like a repurposed Jonna Empire government building (there is nothing left to study, as the collapse, and then magick, destroyed it). We do know there has never been a large settlement in the area, so if the Empire did build a government center here, the purpose it served is unknown. It may be, that a scouting expedition discovered the obelisks and they built a place to house scholars to study them, but it is more likely that the bloodmages borrowed the design. Unfortunately, Kykini Cede did not know these stones existed until reaching the forest temple with Lieutenant-general Iavan, Lady Shiobe and Lord Sikode. And, he admits, having lived several thousand years, he may simply have forgotten them.
Lady Shiobe says that the Keldresri Sea obelisks resemble those found in the Maatar Desert, which lies in the southern continent and spans several countries. The Munarr and the Klef peoples used them as humongous sundials, and when the shadows struck smaller stones circling them at regular intervals, they had special ceremonies and rituals.
We not only must search the obelisk area for similar small stones, but this also provides us with a line of inquiry. It may be, that the bloodmages repurposed an ancient worship site.
If the Jonna Empire did construct a government building there, we need to delve into Merren records concerning the area. As the palace was destroyed due to bloodmage contamination, any paperwork housed there was lost. Tindrel or Hendelven may possess something of interest. Lieutenant-general Iavan should have his scribes begin a search in Tindrel, but we have no contacts in Hendelven that might complete a similar inquiry.
Obelisk Wielding
Kykini Cede and Lord Sikode employed wieldings to destroy the bloodmage-corrupted forest, the remains of the temple, and the cavern system below. They did not destroy the obelisks. Ash from their surroundings coated them, but no cracks from heat appear anywhere on the surface and not one fell. They must have some inherent magickal property that protects them from destructive wieldings. Considering the lack of mystery arts talent Lord Sikode noted in the bloodmages residing in the temple, he doubts they renewed any protection spells. The jyevha either brought in outside talent to do so, or the stone might have a natural shielding. Second Claw sub 1 Yorendor has studied the Grasping Stones near Shayd and the Standing Stones on the Oritan Coast. Both he and Kykini Cede say these stones are naturally imbued with protective magick, which they leeched from the soil in which they originally lay. Energy infiltrates the more porous parts, and replaces some of the internal material. This occurs in areas heavy with magick, like the garden forests siojhetioxh create, or near naturally occurring magickal lakes. We should look into places where natural magick pools, and combined with the mineral make-up of the stones, we can narrow the possible locations of origin. This, of course, does not mean we will have access to said origin, which makes scholarly contacts all the more important.
The concern is that the bloodmages have similar monuments and objects that protect important sites. If so, our wieldings may be ineffective against them. Dragon magick is potent, and to have these stones withstand Kykini Cede's offensive wieldings is troubling.
Five Fingers, Oritan Coast. These magick stones always have a flame burning, fed by the energy within them. Pehaps they might help us understand the obelisks.
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