Location : Thuruntsöl Desert, Zürkhalakh, Zardunel
A jet black monolith so high it disappears in the sky. Its construction is flawless. Its surface cold even under the pitiless desert suns. It's perfectly smooth and seems to absorb the light. Its colour so black it looks like a tear in reality and not like something tangible.
At least this is what was written. No one has ever seen the Needle up close and came back. What little knowledge there is comes from the journal of Aaron Mordecan, an explorer who made it to the Needle and managed to write a few lines about his discovery. Aaron himself was never seen again, but his journal was found centuries later, far away from the Needle, by another explorer, Joachim Orman. As he never got really close to the site, he managed to return relatively unharmed, having brought back the only existing information about this construct. Strangely enough, Aaron's journal seemed to have been written that very same day, the ink of the last entry still fresh, and had not suffered any damage by the elements.
Stranger still was the fact that Joachim had left for a mere fortnight, but was adamant about being lost in the desert for many months. His wounds and emaciated body were a testament to his words. He died less than a year after his return, locked away in the Deryapis prison for he had become obsessed with the desire to return to the Needle. Feeling an irresistible draw towards it which proved to be his downfall when he tried to flee and swim all the way back to the coast.
The Needle is one of the most powerful anomalies. It's seen from very far away, long before reaching the zone where its cosmic influence starts being felt. It's impossible to take a picture of it as it distorts images. It's even impossible to paint it. Many artists have made attempts, but their hands contorted in agonizing pain when came the time to paint the Needle in the landscape. All art turns into scribbled mess. Many of those ruined paintings are displayed at the museum in Bekçi. Visitors report not being able to stare at them for too long, stating a growing unease and nausea, even though they're all nothing but abstract failures.
The most famous of those paintings is pictured above. Simply titled Iğne (needle), by famous Auriel painter Hiranur Ganötel. Although 1300 years old now, it is still the least messy depiction of the Needle to this day. Rumour has it that Ganötel mysteriously vanished after painting this and that the black scribble changed shape afterwards.
