Astral Warding Runestone of Alara
A broad, flat stone of midnight-black granite, its face carved with interlocking runes that blaze with a cold starlight visible even in full daylight, as though the inscriptions are windows into a star-filled sky. It radiates a steady, almost imperceptible vibration, felt more in the bones than the ears, that causes lesser dark enchantments to unravel in its immediate presence.
Artifact Details
- Type
- Relic
- Rarity
- Legendary
- Origin
- The Runestone was carved in an age before living memory by the legendary Seer Alara, said to be among the earliest members of the Celestial Order who still walked closely in the tradition of the original Celestial communicants. Alara inscribed each rune during a different celestial event, eclipse, conjunction, solstice, and aurora, so that the stone carries the accumulated power of a full celestial cycle concentrated into immovable stone.
Overview
Astral Warding Runestone of Alara is a legendary relic in Landorya. Its known origin is The Runestone was carved in an age before living memory by the legendary Seer Alara, said to be among the earliest members of the Celestial Order who still walked closely in the tradition of the original Celestial communicants. Alara inscribed each rune during a different celestial event, eclipse, conjunction, solstice, and aurora, so that the stone carries the accumulated power of a full celestial cycle concentrated into immovable stone.. Its most cited abilities include Amplifies all celestial spells and wards cast within its proximity to extraordinary potency, Projects a powerful Astral Ward that repels dark magic and contains dangerous artifacts or entities, and Unlocks or seals magical barriers aligned to celestial frequencies. Accounts also warn of a drawback: Any individual who attempts to use the Runestone without the sanctioned rituals of the Order risks drawing the full, unfiltered attention of celestial forces,…
History
The Runestone of Alara is one of the most revered artifacts in the Celestial Order's keeping, credited with holding the Order's founding monastery intact during a catastrophic magical storm that reshaped portions of the Celestial Mountains. It was later used to contain a ruptured astral rift that threatened to bleed chaotic celestial energy across the surrounding lands, an event recorded in the Tome of Ancient Lore as the Night of the Bleeding Sky. The stone has never left the Celestial Mountains; the Order regards its removal as an existential risk and a spiritual transgression of the highest order.
Powers & Abilities
- ✦ Amplifies all celestial spells and wards cast within its proximity to extraordinary potency
- ✦ Projects a powerful Astral Ward that repels dark magic and contains dangerous artifacts or entities
- ✦ Unlocks or seals magical barriers aligned to celestial frequencies
- ✦ Can serve as a focal anchor for Order-wide protective enchantments across an entire monastery
Curse or Drawback
Any individual who attempts to use the Runestone without the sanctioned rituals of the Order risks drawing the full, unfiltered attention of celestial forces, an experience described by the few survivors as having one's soul briefly held up to the light of all stars at once, leaving the victim permanently altered, often catatonic or consumed by religious mania.