II. The Celestine Obelisk

As the Incursion spread, the Venthari returned to the Athrakan Obelisk, commonly known in Eldareth as the Celestine Obelisk, which had remained under their protection since the crash of Ithis Veyra.

The Naerids had discovered Athrakan long before coming to Eldareth and spent generations studying its crystalline structure and the intricate patterns within it. Even with their knowledge, much of the artifact remained beyond their understanding. The Venthari inherited those records along with the psionic aptitude needed to interact with parts of the Obelisk, but their own study had revealed only fragments.

During the Incursion, the Venthari opened that research to scholars outside the Way of the Celestine. Arcanists, artificers, planar theorists, linguists, and others familiar with psionic phenomena came to Rimecliff from across Eldareth. Several represented nations that had only recently begun cooperating against the invasion.

Understanding Athrakan took time. Its patterns did not form a conventional written language, and some responded only to psionic contact. Structures once mistaken for ornamentation proved to contain information concerning spatial and planar relationships, while other portions seemed incomplete when examined in isolation.

Their work eventually confirmed that Athrakan was not unique.

It belonged to a much larger network of ancient Obelisks capable of recognizing and responding to one another across extraordinary distances. Neither the surviving Naerid records nor the Venthari could identify those who had constructed them, and much of the network's purpose remained unclear.

What mattered during the Incursion was that Athrakan could recognize severe dimensional disturbances and communicate with other surviving Obelisks.

Repeated study suggested that several Obelisks answering together could produce a far greater effect than Athrakan alone, though no one at Rimecliff knew how many remained functional or what such a response would accomplish. The possibility became increasingly important as the breaches across Eldareth grew larger and more stable.

Scholars also recognized that a major crossing placed extraordinary strain upon the boundary between the Material Plane and the Far Realm. If Athrakan could call upon the wider network while such a crossing was still incomplete, there was a chance that the resulting response might destabilize the breach.

There was no certainty that the plan would work.

No one knew how many other Obelisks remained intact, whether any would answer, or how much influence their combined response could exert. Timing presented another danger. Acting too early might accomplish little, while waiting too long could allow whatever was crossing to establish itself fully within the Material Plane.

The Venthari shared what had been learned with allied commanders while research continued at Rimecliff. Elsewhere, armies fought to hold settlements, protect evacuation routes, and slow the advance of the Incursion long enough for a viable opportunity to appear.

That opportunity came when one of the largest breaches of the war began to form amid a major concentration of Far Realm forces.

Unlike the smaller openings used by nautiloids and lesser aberrations, the breach expanded violently as something far greater pressed against the boundary of the Material Plane. The entity attempting to cross would later be identified as Nyxarath, the Eye Beyond the Stars.

Only part of Nyxarath entered Eldareth at first. Accounts of its appearance differ considerably, particularly among those exposed directly to its psychic presence. Those sensitive to mental forces reported overwhelming pressure against the mind and impressions they struggled to translate into ordinary thought.

The Venthari waited until the crossing had progressed far enough for Nyxarath and the breach to become vulnerable, then activated Athrakan.

Light spread through patterns within the crystal as the Obelisk sent a signal through the ancient network.

For a short time, nothing returned.

Then other Obelisks answered.

How many responded or where they were located was never established. Their signals converged through Athrakan, producing a dimensional resonance that spread across the breach and the surrounding battlefield.

Those present at Rimecliff experienced the response differently. Some described layered tones or vibrations, while others perceived portions of it through thought. On the battlefield, its effects were far more immediate.

Illithid concentration failed across parts of the fighting. Psychic control weakened or broke, allowing dominated soldiers and civilians to regain control of their own minds. Many aberrant creatures became disoriented as the conditions surrounding the breach began to destabilize.

Nyxarath remained caught between realms.

As the dimensional resonance intensified, the breach could no longer sustain the crossing. The portion of Nyxarath already within Eldareth was severed from whatever remained beyond the Material Plane as the opening collapsed around it.

Its manifested form broke apart as the breach failed. Whether Nyxarath itself was destroyed, injured, or merely cut off from the portion that had entered Eldareth could not be determined.

The collapse changed the course of the battle. Far Realm forces that had relied upon psychic control fell into disorder, and defenders who had spent months surrendering ground were able to counterattack. Besieged settlements were relieved, occupied positions were retaken, and surviving invaders began withdrawing toward whatever crossings remained open.

The Incursion did not end with Nyxarath's failed crossing. Aberrations remained throughout Eldareth, some settlements were still occupied, and many breaches had yet to be contained or closed. Large parts of the world had suffered severe losses, and the effects of the invasion continued long after its main advance had been broken.

Athrakan nevertheless proved decisive. An ancient artifact carried to Eldareth aboard Ithis Veyra had connected Rimecliff to a network whose full extent and purpose remained unknown, providing the means to collapse the largest Far Realm breach of the Incursion.

Its activation also changed the place of both the Venthari and Rimecliff in the wider world. The Obelisk was no longer only a surviving link to Naerid knowledge or a subject of specialist study. Its role during the Incursion demonstrated that the information preserved at Rimecliff could have consequences far beyond the Greyspires, and research into Athrakan and the network it revealed continued long after the war.