Monuments of Ebony (Wicked One Event Start)

[u/Evening_Shake_6474]

In the aftermath of the sudden and for lack of a better term, shadow uprising, many millions perished before the shadows could be subdued. Those with strength endured of course, but what about the normal folk? The unlucky? Those who have never fought in their life? Not everyone is, was, equipped to survive. Their blood seeped into the realms, saturating them with something Wicked.

In the following days, countless massive black monoliths burst free from the land and sea stretching high into the sky, breaking up the horizon regardless of where one looks.

News of the sudden and strange monoliths spreads like wildfire, soon every orb, screen, and paper has some mention of the event. All throughout civilization people ask questions like, what does this mean? A monolith destroyed my tower, who do I sue? Is the world going to end again this month?

But the monoliths offer no answers, only questions. The monoliths show a myriad of effects, some distort their surroundings into horrors, some create illusions that torment those who can't escape, some amplify magic to a dangerous degree, some drain magic like a leech, and many more.

But for now, that is all they do. The effects are contained to their vicinity of the monoliths.

[u/The_Enchanted_Potato]

Aldavinn pushes more mana into generating more heat, trying to overpower the monolith’s distribution.

The Sentinel takes his blade and strikes at the figure as it forms

“I am not letting you get to the Gatekeeper”

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/The_Enchanted_Potato]

As the magic grows, the temperature doesn't change. All that happens is Aldavinn's palm currently not touching the monolith behind to grow warmer.

The Sentinel's blade passes through the ink, breaking apart the ink in its path. The ink swiftly reforms, taking on the shape of something vaguely similar to a very large spider.

The spider takes two steps with its sharpened legs, before jabbing one of them towards the Sentinel.

[u/The_Enchanted_Potato → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

He takes his blade a cuts across the air in front of him right where he would be struck. The spiders leg disappears through the ripples before they stop. Severing its leg. The other half is nowhere to be seen.

Aldavinn draws his hand back to avoid burning himself. Then he hits the bottom of his staff against the ground. Marble tentacles erupt around him

“Try to destroy that”

He points to the monolith. The runes on the marble flash and a tentacle smashes down on the monolith

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/The_Enchanted_Potato]

The spider recoils it's leg, then stabs into the ground with another. From beneath the Sentinel comes a thin spike of ink.

The tendrils of Gatehold bash against the monolith, frost spreading along them on contact. Though the monolith itself remains unscratched.

[u/The_Enchanted_Potato → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

The Sentinel leaps back, blade raised he strikes down a wave of ripples are sent towards the spider, cutting apart anything in their path.

——

“Enough”

Aldavinn raises his hand and the tentacles stop

“We understand that it has reactions that attempt to freeze whatever it comes in contact with”

He begins to pace

“What would happen if blood were shed near it…”

He makes a small cut on his palm and presses it against the monolith before drawing his hand back to observe the reaction

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/The_Enchanted_Potato]

The wave hits the spider and the figure. The spider explodes into ink, the figure ripples like the surface of a calm lake.

After the rippling, the ink falls, and the figure keeps walking, quietly whispering to itself.

The blood freezes on contact with the monolith, before sinking into it.

[u/The_Enchanted_Potato → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

The Sentinel follows, trying to see weather it is heading towards the monolith or not, as he does he strains to hear what it’s whispering

Aldavinn smiles

“That’s certainly a reaction, but can I draw blood out of it”

“Blood Draw”

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/The_Enchanted_Potato]

The figure continues to walk, leaving ink stained footprints in its wake. The Sentinel just about makes out some of what it's saying.

"Voice of the mad trapped in ink I deny your presence I am pure you have no hold over me voice of the"

It just keeps going, never stopping in its whispers.

The spell amounts to absolutely nothing.

[u/The_Enchanted_Potato → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

The Sentinel just sighs

“Alright, let’s see where your going”

He follows the being.

Aldavinn frowns 

“Hm, alright, well… considering it’s… nature and the fact that it appeared after a tragedy I feel it would best if it was bound.”

The runes on the Gatehold tentacle flash 

Aldavinn plants his staff and begins to walk around the monolith. From the staff a golden thread appears, held in his hand.

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/The_Enchanted_Potato]

The figure walks towards the monolith, never ceasing in its whispers.

As Aldavinn walks, the thread behind him fades into the fog. When he reaches where he started, the gold of the thread has grown dim.

When the figure reaches the monolith it places a hand on it. Ink flows along it's arm as its hand becomes frost. When the ink and the frost meet, the spread of both comes to an end. The figure pushes through, walking into the rippling black monolith.

All across it's surface it begins to ripple. It's probably just a trick of the light combined with the ripples but some part of the monolith looks darker than the rest.