Monolith

This article is an expansion based on a canon element. For canon information on this topic, follow the link to The Witcher Wiki: Monolith (Netflix series).

This fan-fiction article, Monolith, was written by Witcher190. Please do not edit this fiction without the writer's permission.

“Long ago, a sorceress by the name of Laura S. Hissra and her group of friends attempted to discredit my work, claiming that the monoliths scattered across the globe contained monsters within them, portals to other worlds, that they had caused the First Conjunction of the Spheres, and other such nonsense worthy of the most illiterate of peasants. So, courteously, I challenged them to destroy a monolith right before my eyes to see whether their claims were true. And beyond the archaeological loss of incalculable value, do you know what happened? In a display of irony — or rather poetic justice — nothing came out of it, and the fragments of the monolith crushed them as they fell, because they failed to cast protective spells in time. In short, what lesson can we take from this? Very simple: monoliths are stones — stones with archaeological and historiographical value, yes — but stones nonetheless. And anyone who believes otherwise is an idiot with an ego so inflated that life will surely bring it down. Sometimes, unfortunately, in the cruelest of ways.”

―Istredd of Aedd Gynvael, mage and archaeologist, On Commonalities Among Different Races and Cultures Through Time

The Nazair Monolith, one of the most famous artificial monoliths present in the western coast of the Old Continent

A monolith is a type of rock found throughout the world, which may occur naturally or be made artificially. Thus, across the globe we find two categories of monoliths: natural ones, which are geomorphological accidents or features similar to mountains but composed of a single type of stone due to being, essentially, exposed bedrock; and artificial monoliths, those created by the various cultures and races of the world by taking an enormous piece of stone and, to a greater or lesser degree, modifying it. This may range from simply moving it to a new location, or combining it with others, to decorating it — all the way to reshaping the stone into a statue or similar forms that require considerable alteration.

The latter type have been used for many different purposes — often of great importance — though not in the way Laura and her circle of fellow mages would have wished. Their functions range from serving as a means of display ecological information of a specific area to preserving poetic works in stone so that they might endure longer. Never, however, to imprison monsters, protect portals to other spheres, or act as keys to controlling the multiverse. They are, quite simply, a means by which the many cultures and races of the world, likely without realizing it, left pieces of themselves behind for others.

Theories About Artificial Monoliths

Because archaeology was not yet well-developed as a science until the early 20s of the 13th century, numerous theories circulated for a long time regarding monoliths and their functions in the world. One of the most infamous came from Laura S. Hissra and her cabal of mages, known as Natflát, who claimed — as already mentioned — that monoliths were the key to absolutely everything, and held a level of importance they simply did not possess.

Fortunately for the archaeological community, the archaeologist-mage Istredd of Aedd Gynvael (whom they attempted to recruit to their cause) disproved their claims. He demonstrated to these mages that, while monoliths are indeed important, their importance is far more mundane, far less exaggerated. More tangible, more real, more useful, and therefore far more logical.

Types of Monoliths

Within the category of monoliths, as already mentioned, we find two major classifications: natural and artificial. And within the artificial ones, we encounter seven major sub-categories: mythological, informative, historical, ecological, and artistic. The most common among them are the historical and the informative.

• Mythological: Monoliths placed in sacred locations that recount a legend—or multiple legends—associated with that place.
• Informative: Monoliths which, as their name suggests, convey some form of information to whoever encounters them. They are divided into numerous katacategories (that is, sub-subcategories). Some of the most notable include: population information, chronologies, the commemoration of major migrations or other large-scale undertakings, dangers, and judicial matters.
• Ecological: Monoliths that provide information regarding the ecology of a given area: typical climate, soil, flora, fauna, resources, etc.
• Historical: Monoliths that recount historical events, as their name indicates. They are essentially divided into three major katacategories: births, pacts, and wars.
• Artistic: Monoliths created as works of art (statues), to preserve works of art (essentially all forms of literature), or to commemorate, in one way or another, important figures (whether part of the ruling class of the civilization in question or not).
• Ritualistic: Monoliths which, as their name indicates, were placed in a specific location and arranged in a particular manner for the performance of specific rituals within that area.
• Funerary: Monoliths used to mark the burial place of a person or a group of people of significance. In some regions of the Far South, such as Hannu or Núchtetl, these monoliths would, over time, give rise to more complex structures such as pyramids.

Differences Between a Monolith and an Obelisk

The differences between a monolith and an obelisk are straightforward and can be summarized as follows:

A monolith may be natural or artificial, but it is always a large rock composed of a single type of stone.

An obelisk, on the other hand, is usually artificial, smaller in size and is not always made from a single type of rock.

One example of obelisks are the stone markers used to frame Places of Power—points where a Ley Line begins and from which magic may be drawn more safely.

History

Monoliths have been present in the world since the earliest sentient beings raised civilizations.

It is believed that the oldest monoliths are those—often mistaken for obelisks—created by the griggs (a confusion caused by the small size of this race, which led later inhabitants of the world to associate them with a different type of object). These were erected for funerary purposes.

After the griggs, the next oldest monoliths are those of the vrans, who raised them for informational purposes. The most notable among these are those that record massive migrations. In fact, this is the very reason we know that the original homeland of the lizardfolk lies somewhere in the Far East, for there exists a colossal monolith in the Blue Mountains commemorating the arrival of the first vrans to what are now the Northern Kingdoms.

The next to come after the vrans were the monoliths of the bobolaks, who (likely having copied the idea from their enemies at some point during the many wars they fought against the vrans) raised monoliths with funerary and historical functions. The funerary monoliths marked mass graves through the use of symbols, while the historical ones typically indicated the site of a battle, explained what had happened, why it had happened, and what the outcome was.

Bobolak monoliths are easy to identify not only because of the use of symbols or their fully epigraphic writing style, but also because both funerary and historical monoliths tend to appear close to one another — forming, so to speak, matching pairs.

After the bobolaks, we find the dwarven and gnomish monoliths. These are characterized not only by their squared, rectangular shapes, but also by the functions they served — primarily informational and historical.

Emphasis on served, because with the arrival of humans and their widespread adoption of paper, both dwarves and gnomes abandoned the use of monoliths for these purposes in favor of written records.

After the dwarven and gnomish monoliths, we find evidence of sverg and vampiric monoliths — both belonging to the informational category.

The first were written, functioning essentially as direction posts carved in stone. The second acted as a hybrid between the informational and ecological categories (though far more informational than ecological, truth be told), using symbols to indicate the number, condition (whether confined or in semi-freedom), and health of the “livestock” of other “inferior races” (primarily elves, and later humans) during the brief period in which the Supreme Vampires maintained a state in what is now modern Toussaint and its surroundings — the polity later known as the Gerontocracy of the Great Promise.

The elves were never particularly inclined toward monoliths, as they considered the cultures of their macro-civilisation “too complex” for such “primitive” constructions. Only in the case of the terrestrial elven cultures (primarily the Aen Seidhe and Aen Ghele), and only after the appearance— not specifically of humans, but of the Nordlings and their expansion (in the case of the western coast)—did the elves, as a way of honouring their own culture, begin to create monoliths, mostly artistic and historical in nature.

The only elves to create monoliths before the arrival of the Nordlings were the Aen Taoide, the sea elves, who, influenced by the peoples of the Great Sea Civilization, began constructing all kinds of monoliths, as beneath the sea, written records on paper or hardened clay are, quite obviously, essentially impossible.

Speaking of aquatic peoples, it is known that the vodynaoi (or vodynaoy) also possessed monoliths, but due to the very limited number of non-aggressive contacts with them, their function remains unknown. It is inferred (because members of their priestly caste have been found near many of them) that these monoliths served a ritualistic or religious purpose.

Lastly, the most recent monolith makers are humans. These were used by different cultures for different functions, but three major types stand out above the rest.

Ecological monoliths, used by nomadic cultures such as the Dauk or Wozgor; Mythological monoliths, used by cultures such as the Migwesk; And historical monoliths, used by later cultures. A notable example would be those erected by the various Nordling countries to commemorate different events of the many wars fought between them.

Careful—not to be confused with the homage made to the fallen mages on Sodden Hill, which is an obelisk, not a monolith.

It is important to note that, in general, all races and cultures (with the exception of the vodynaoi, whose customs remain uncertain) made use of the various types of monoliths — though the ones mentioned above are those that stand out the most among them.

The Dauk, for instance, possessed mythological monoliths: their menhirs, which — most likely due to a mistranslation — gave rise to the almost certainly false Prophecy of the Black Sun, the same prophecy that later lent its name to the so-called “curse” of that name.

Notable Artificial Monoliths

• Gorsvelenian Monolith
• Lakeside March Monolith
• Marnadal Pillar
• Dauk Menhirs
• Moais (Silk Islands)
• Monolith of the Blue Mountains
• Starfall Pillar

Notable Natural Monoliths

• Nazairi Monolith
• Spadeleri
• Stone of Remembrance
• The Great Base
• The Lost Column
• The Trunk
• Valorstone

Trivia

• As is evident from the article’s introductory quote, this constitutes a major retcon of the element introduced in Netflix’s The Witcher, ensuring it aligns properly with established lore. It should not be confused with the obelisks from The Witcher 1, nor with the Witcher 1 quest titled Monoliths.
• The Gerontocracy of the Great Promise is a reference to the New Promise Mandarinate established by the Kue-jin in the World of Darkness (WOD) universe. The existence of this vampiric state in The Witcher is based on the vampiric ruins found in TW3: Blood & Wine, such as Tesham Mutna. The proposed name is, of course, a translation, as the native name would logically be in Etruscan — the language from which the vampiric tongue in The Witcher draws much of its influence.