Monalithsis (Mona-lith-sis)

Description

The Monalithsis is a giant stone structure located in the middle of the Petrified isles in an old kingdom whose name has been lost to time. The Monalithsis was originally created by this human kingdom's king Bertorius Wulfwind the Onyx King with the help of the local Geode deities and the Dwarfs from surrounding mountain ranges in the time of Stars. However, when the Darkest started to exert their influence over the world and the island the current king, King Carsist Wulfwind the Dark Stone King did his best to repel the threat by killing and devouring the very Geodes that had helped to create the castle however in return the King and his land had become cursed forcibly turned into the living stone that was only stopped due to an unknown Deities intervention that would lead to its death.

Geography

The Monalithis is located in the middle of the ruins of the capital city of the old kingdom, the surrounding ruins being filled with large stone spires with emerald tips that cause any creature that comes into direct contact with the stone to become slowly petrified and turned into one of the Stone King's minions.

Stone Spires

These large stone spires are located throughout not only the ruins of the city but throughout the entire Petrified Isles, These spires are thought to be directly created and controlled by the Stone King himself.

These Stone Spires have a negative effect on those who touch them causing them to become cursed their bodies undergo a rapid petrification process causing their body to become completely frozen in place, however, the victim is still conscious throughout the process of being petrified. 24 hours after the body is petrified however the victim's skin will start to grow stone-like structures out of their body usually out of their shoulders, back, and legs. These structures usually take the shape of smaller stone spikes with emerald tips similar to that of the Stone Spires themselves these structures on the body also have the same curse-passing traits as the spires that created them. At this point the body will animate, starting to move and search for other organisms that haven't been infected yet the consciousness of the victim is suppressed at this point, eventually if left like this the creature will continue to grow these structures until either the structures make the creature unable to move at which point the body of the organism will shut down all unnecessary functions, growing into another Stone Spire. In rare instances, the victim's structures will become more complex starting to resemble man-made tools or pieces of animals at this point the Victims consciousness is seen returning, and either the creatures will kill themselves or enter a zombie-like state, joining a form of a hive mind while retaining a semblance of their personality.

Shrines

Throughout the ruins of the city surrounding Monalithis, there appear to be multiple destroyed shrines that seemed to have been integrated with local natural structures. The Destroyed structures appear to have all been destroyed with a large slashing weapon of some kind, the Shrines themself however usually contain a Hearth inside of them making them ideal places for outposts to be built, there are at least three known outposts that can be found the first two outposts being owned by The Starfinder Society and the other owned by the Silver Guard. The third outpost is owned by a group of local druids who have managed to restore some vegetation around the outpost with the help of the only remaining Geode on the island.

Structure

The Monalithsis is a giant tower-like castle, having a large central tower supported by three stone ring-like structures, rising from lowest to highest, all surrounded by a large outer stone wall.

Outer Wall

The Outer wall that protects the Monalithsis appears over 100 feet tall with notable weathering and damage were done to the outside of it. The wall outside also has various Stone Spires sticking out of it though if these were intentionally placed through the wall is unknown, also lining the outside of the wall appears to be a number of petrified roots and bodies trying to get over the wall, unlike the other petrified beings on the isles these bodies do not seem to be active or undergoing the same cure that affects the rest of the islands however Start Finder Society scans to conclude that the petrified bodies are still alive to some degree by brain activity being detected in the bodies.

Outer Ring

The Outer Ring is the lowest of the stone rings that surround the center tower of the Monalithsis, the ring is heavily damaged, and most of the rooms collapsed in on themselves however the remaining structure. contains a variety of old utility rooms and barracks, the ring has a variety of advanced infected individuals that appear almost as knights made of stone guarding the outside of the room. The Outer Ring has multiple magical circles in it that allow users to teleport to various locations in the Outer, Middle, and Inner Rings however none of the circles seem to lead to the main tower in this ring.

Middle Ring

The Middle Ring is the second lowest of the stone ring structures that surround the center tower of the Monalithsis, the ring just like the outer ring is damaged however to a lesser extent having barely any collapsed rooms. However, the halls of the middle ring are stalked by a large quantity of not only cursed humanoids but a variety of other stone creatures such as Gargoyles, within the walls there is also a hill dwarf who is mostly petrified all besides her head. The dwarf will identify herself as Morgan Stonebone an old jester who worked for the Stone King but has become petrified to the wall the only thing keeping her alive is a magical necklace gifted to her by the King. The jester offers the passer byes a variety of rock and stone-related puns if they are given gold. The Middle ring just like the Outer Ring also includes a number of teleportation circles located around the structure that allows for teleportation to other rings.

Inner Ring

The Inner Ring is the highest of the three rings that surround the central tower, it is the least damaged of the three rings having almost all of its rooms intact for the most part besides some minor structural damages. The Inner Ring has a number of rooms with shrines to the 12 current Constellars, one room dedicated to each deity as well as multiple smaller rooms dedicated to unknown deities that resemble animals and plants. The Ring also has a multitude of teleporters that mainly lead to the mid-ring and the base floor and morgue of the central tower.

The Morgue

The Morgue is a large room located under the central tower, the room is filled with the petrified remains of large animal-like creatures that resemble that of the deities depicted in the rooms of the Inner Ring, the corpses also appear to have multiple of the Stone Spires sticking out of them, some penetrating out of the morgue and into the Outer and Middle rings respectively. The morgue has one exit in the form of a teleporter that leads back to the Inner ring.

The Inner Tower

The Inner Tower is the largest and tallest part of the Monalithsis, the large structure appears to have had multiple floors at one point or another, now being filled with a variety of Stone Spires that stab and grow through the inside of the structure, all spiraling up towards the top of the tower. The Inner tower is filled with a multitude of petrified beings the most prominent of the two being humanoid creatures known as Stone Marys and Everests. The main way of traversing the inside of the tower is to climb the Stone Spires or use flight. at the very top of the tower is the throne room itself.

The Throne Room

The Throne Room is located at the top of the tower the entire roof of the structure is made of an emerald-like material, and the floor of the room is made of a mixture of normal gray stone and lines of black Onyx all leading to an elevated throne where the Stone King is seen mostly stationary. the room is also filled with the petrified corpses of multiple humanoids their faces stuck in a perpetual state of fear.

History

The Monalithsis was created long ago in the time of stars by the Onyx King Bertorius Wulfwind and his long-time friend and is sometimes depicted as a lover a Dwarven Queen whose name has been lost to time. They with the help of the surrounding Geodes created the Monalithisis as a symbol of the unity and harmony the king hoped to promote from his kingdom.

The Darkest Invasion

When the Darkest first invaded the denizens of the Petrified Isles fought back against the oncoming deities for many years however the many years of fighting the Darkest started to weigh on the current king at the time causing him to beg the Geodes for more power, however, this power would not be granted to him causing him to lash out against not only the Darkest but his own people. Until one day it was said he was approached by a mage from an unknown land offering him a way to gain the power that he sought to protect his people. The mage only asked in return that he be given the rights to all non-deific creatures over the age of one thousand cycles on any place that his castle's stone touched. The King thinking that this deal only benefitted him took it, the mage gifting him an axe that would allow him to butcher the flesh of Geodes allowing for him to kill and eat them as he pleases, gaining portions of their power. The King then went about killing and slaughtering the Geodes of his isles, gaining the power to repel the Darkest, however, this power soon caused him to develop a curse until it took both his mind, body and soon all the isles, the spread of the curse only stopped by an unnamed God who was said to die in the conflict.

Rediscovery

The Isles and the Monalithsis would be lost to time for time until it would later be rediscovered by the elves of Misthaven who had learned of the city through the study of old human stories that spoke of it. The elves would lead the first expedition into the Isles losing the majority of the first exploration party to the Petrification curse. This would leave the elves to abandon the isles simply branding it as a dangerous area that should only be explored by those with a death wish.

Modern Day

The Isles and the Monalithsis today are left to their own devices, for the most part, only being visited by adventurers and explorers who seek to unlock its mysteries.

Basic Info

Aliases: The Stone Kings Castle


Location: Petrified Isles


Notable Occupants: The Stone King, Petrified Creatures, Gargoyles, Stone Golems

Type

Castle

Personal History

Owners: Bertorius Wulfwind the Onyx King and Carsist Wulfwind the Dark Stone King