Ancient Pillar (Desert Treasure II)

An Ancient Pillar can be found at the Church of the Silent Choir within the Lassar Undercity during Desert Treasure II.

At some point during the Third Age, after the Betrayal of Zaros, Sliske recovered the pillar from Imcando dwarves fleeing from their homeland after it was destroyed by the pillar.^[1] Believing it to hold the answers to the Shadow Realm, Sliske brought it with him to Lassar in order to conduct experiments on it.^[2] He also ordered The Whisperer to be stationed at Lassar in order to ensure research on the pillar could proceed without any possible delay and to provide the researchers with her expertise in the Shadow Realm.^[3]

The strange pillar began expelling dangerous energy which made people go mad, talking about seas, curses and blackstone.^[4] The Zarosians conjured a barrier to minimise the effect of its corruption while tasking researchers to study the pillar more.^[5] As an effect of the pillar, the connection to the Shadow Realm in the area was significantly strengthened.^[6]

When the dwarves of Imcandoria began approaching Lassar, Sliske ordered that the pillar remain in the city before tasking the Whisperer to conduct a more thorough test.^[7] Following his orders, she killed the High Magister of Lassar after falsely informing his subordinates to seal the undercity,^[8] before removing the protections on the totem with Sliske's assistance. This would result in a large number of people becoming insane, including the Whisperer herself.

The pillar began to accumulate a large number of fervent followers, who called themselves the Silent Choir.^[9] A large number of people died in front of the pillar, having worshipped it to death. The Whisperer herself would remain submerged in the waters of the city's now-sunken cathedral, while the unchecked Shadow Realm began to grow in size and influence, resulting in many tentacles and various other shadow entities to wander around the undercity.

When the Fremennik attacked Camdozaal, an Imcando dwarf named Ketla found a way into the Undercity. At an unknown time, Ketla died and her identity was assumed by Sliske, who discovered an adventurer attempting to open the Ancient Vault and was led to the undercity. The adventurer was able to navigate the city by entering the Shadow Realm and using various devices constructed by the former inhabitants of Lassar, learning of the Silent Choir and ultimately descending into the undercity sewers, where they found the Ancient Pillar. Its power knocked them unconscious and attempted to drive them insane like the others in Lassar. However, Sliske (still in guise as Ketla) rescued the adventurer, claiming to have destroyed the pillar to free their mind. While the shadow would still remain in the undercity, the pillar's supposed destruction ensured that it could spread no further.^[10]

With the revelation that "Ketla" was actually Sliske, the one who first brought the pillar to Lassar for study, it is possible the pillar was merely moved rather than actually destroyed.

• The ancient pillar is revered in the Church of the Silent Choir.

• The blackstone fragment is a shard of the pillar that was modified by Ketla to be safe to handle. It allows the player to briefly enter the Shadow Realm.
• The Ancient Pillar and its effects have many similarities to Xau-Tak in RuneScape 3—blackstone, shadows, an association with the sea, and the repeated phrase "Do you really think you can save them?"
  • An ancient mould can be found near the ancient furnace in the Grimstone Dungeon, which has an indent that resembles the Ancient Pillar. Notably, the mould is described as being "unnaturally cold to the touch", a trait that black stone is said to possess in RuneScape 3. It is possible the furnace was used to create the Ancient Pillar or similar objects.
• Another Ancient Pillar can be found on Mos Le'Harmless, though it is smaller and does not appear to currently have any negative impact on the local pirate population. According to Mike, similar artefacts can be found on other nearby islands.