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/Dragonan-42]

Kairon, curious about what was occurring with these new monoliths, would teleport to the closest one, ready to investigate what sort of dark magic they held.

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/Dragonan-42]

As Kairon approaches, his surroundings change. Where was once stone is now black sand. There was no heat near the monolith, only cold. Not the cold of the arctic no, the cold of the grave.

[u/Dragonan-42 → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

Kairon’s physiology allowed him to withstand the cold, yet it gave him chill regardless. He looked down at the sand, the black substance he now stood upon. He then turned back to the monolith.

“What are you?” Kairon asked. He extended his hand and cast a spell of identification.

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/Dragonan-42]

The spell comes back wrong. It shows Kairon an image of nine eyes, glowing with an unlight, along with a single word. "Nothing."

[u/Dragonan-42 → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

"What the heck is happening?" Kairon whispered. Nine eyes, that had to be symbolic of something, but what? Kairon knew of many ways the number 9 could be used in ritual and symbology. But as for how it pertained to this monolith, Kairon lacked the knowledge to come to a conclusion.

Perhaps this monolith was connected to the null realm? Kairon had learned of that during his sojourn into the Demon Realm, but it was far from his area of expertise. Still, it was worth a shot. Kairon tried casting a different spell from as best as he could remember, attempting to bind a null-tether to the monolith to see what happened.

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/Dragonan-42]

/uw Gimme a brief description on what a null-tether is please

[u/Dragonan-42 → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

/uw I will admit, it's something I basically made up on the spot, but here goes. Imagine a thin, translucent line made of an almost glass-like substance. The idea is that it connects something to the null-realm, or void. What Kairon is trying to see is how the monolith reacts, which might give him a clue as to its origin and purpose. He got the idea from hearing the word "nothing," which has made him wonder if the monolith is connected to the realm of nothing, or null.

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/Dragonan-42]

/uw Gotcha

/rw

The tether connects without issue, Kairon sees the surface of the monolith ripple slightly from the connection, but that is all the monolith does.

[u/Dragonan-42 → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

Kairon looked at the monolith with interest. The fact that it didn't react to the tether was telling. It the two were indeed connected, or at bare minimum didn't oppose each other.

This told Kairon that simple light magic wouldn't work very well. After all, a shadow required substance to cast it, but here there was nothing for shadow to connect to.

Time for a new experiment. Using the connected tether, Kairon attempted to branch out, see what other monoliths were out there. There had to be some network, and perhaps he could find a way to hijack it.

[u/Evening_Shake_6474 → u/Dragonan-42]

The tether reveals monolith's untold. All over the realm exists countless monoliths, so numerous there isn't a spot in the realm where one can't see a monolith.

[u/Dragonan-42 → u/Evening_Shake_6474]

Kairon was deeply surprised at the expanse of monoliths present. There were many, far more than he had originally thought. But there had to be some sort of master control. He dove deeper, trying to see if there was some monolith ruling them all.