Sunshaper Plains

World wonder in the forgotten desert

Written by CraftyGepetto

Deep within a forgotten desert on a lost continent lies a circular plain of shimmering gold a hundred miles or more across. Embossed around the rim are symbols fifty feet tall, unreadable except from the air. The sun beats down mercilessly here, rain never falls on the great disc, and drifts of sand march across at the whim of capricious winds, covering and uncovering sections in endless undulation.
At the very center of the disc rises a triangular spire, impossibly tall, rising nearly out of sight into the cloudless sky. It casts a black shadow on the disc, etching cooler temperatures within its shadow each day. Within that shadow lives a strange creature that never sleeps, marking its time in the shadow, waiting for the right events to free it on the world. Each day it prowls the perimeter
The spire is golden, immense, and surrounded by a delicate stair curling upward to the top. The first ten thousand steps are manageable; the next 380,000 climb ever upward into the white hot sun and ever-increasing wind, strong enough to blow giants into the endless sky. No one knows what's at the top, though legends say it carries a dread purpose.

Purpose / Function

The true purpose of the Sunshaper is lost to legend. Most scholars agree that it is a sun dial of some fashion, and over the millennia most of the runes around the circumference have been surveyed, but their meaning remains unknown. The creature at the center is elusive, seemingly part of the shadow itself, and few have interacted with it; fewer still have documented the experience.

Alterations

Some primitive humanoid tribes have constructed dwellings against the runic embossings around the plain's edge. Their 50' height make a strong defensive position, and living on the edge of the plain allows them to forage for food and water.

Architecture

Alien, of a gold metallic substance that resists magical and divine attempts to identify it. Tribes surrounding the plain mimic the rune patterns and spire in their own art and architecture, made from simple materials.

History

Unknown to all but the gods, if anyone.

Type

World wonder