The Obelisk of Strength is a powerful magical device created by Morganem and located within Khaal Spire. It is designed to create Power Orbs for Morganem's Council of Six to use in anticipation of a difficult mission.
Physical Description[]
The Obelisk of Strength is situated in a small, separate antechamber in Khaal Spire, right before the six areas favored by the Council of Six.
It consists of a pointed, rune-encrusted grey obelisk surrounded by four smaller obelisks. The floor around it contains six small marked platforms and is daubed with more runes of power.
Properties[]
The Obelisk of Strength is connected to Khaal Spire's magical ley-lines, with the four small obelisks serving as conduits for this energy. Activating the Obelisk of Strength requires focusing magical energy into the central Obelisk, which in turn will activate its latent enchantments. After a short period, it will crystallize the magic it has received into one or more Power Orbs (to a maximum of six), which appear immediately in the hands of those present.
It turns out that the Obelisk of Strength is very sturdily built - even though Maelstrom made a concerted effort to destroy it, he only managed to knock out one of its four conduits.
History[]
The Obelisk of Strength was developed by Morganem prior to the events of To the Bitter End as an evolution of his Mana Conduits. While the Power Orb that it creates does not offer constant protection in the way the Mana Conduits do, they were portable and would allow his Warlords to activate a state of nigh-invulnerability while out in the field for long enough to overcome any single challenge to their authority.
When the Warlords retreated to Khaal Spire ahead of the The Companions during the events of To the Bitter End, they visited the Obelisk of Strength and equipped themselves with one Power Orb each as a trump card in anticipation of facing one or more of The Companions in battle. Maelstrom then tried to destroy the Obelisk of Strength to prevent the Companions from getting Power Orbs of their own.
Fortunately for the Companions, Kurgah Ghar, in his dying breaths, informed the Companions of the Council's plans and alluded to the danger posed by the Power Orbs and their triggering ritual. The Companions proceeded to examine the damaged Obelisk of Strength and Soul Reaver successfully determined how it operated and managed to get it working (by substituting himself and his own mana reserves for the damaged conduit). As a result, when the Companions split up to intercept the Warlords, each of them was carrying a Power Orb as well, which allowed them to prevail in the end.