The Basilisk
OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION
- Intent: To create a site of remembrance on Onderon honoring both those who perished under Stormguard oppression and those who gave their lives to liberate the planet. It also stands as a promise from the Mandalorian Empire to take pride in their fallen and in the people under their protection, ensuring such desecration never happens again.
Image Credit: Midjourney
Canon: Onderon
Permissions: N/A - Links: Thunderbringer, Dragons of the Stormbound Sky
- Structure Name: The Obelisk of Storm and Steel
Classification: Memorial / Monument
Location: Onderon
Affiliation: The Mandalorian Empire / Local Onderonian communities
Accessibility: Publicly accessible; isolated from main settlements but marked and maintained. Pilgrimages encouraged. No permanent garrison, but often visited by Mandalorians, Onderonian clans, and sympathizers.
Description:
The Obelisk of Storm and Steel rises from Kalavar Ridge, where the Stormguard once desecrated Mandalorian graves. In the liberation's aftermath, the Mandalorians restored the graves as best they could, but the damage left a scar. This monument was built not only as remembrance for those who died, but as a promise from the Empire to take greater pride in protecting their sacred sites and the lives of those under their care.
At a glance, the memorial is a storm-struck obelisk standing atop an octagonal basalt plinth. Veins of beskar inlay run along its surface like lightning cracks, glowing faintly when storms roll overhead. At its peak, the crown splits into the shape of a stylized Mandalorian visor, The Split Helm, meant to catch the fury of the skies. At its base sits a perpetual flame brazier, kindled during the dedication. Surrounding it are three concentric rings of engraved stone paths and markers, honoring the dead in order and unity.
POINTS OF INTEREST
The Obelisk: A 12 meter tapered monument forged of reclaimed beskar, its surface inlaid with veins that glow when lightning strikes. The obelisk itself serves as a storm conduit, binding Onderon's weather into the memorial's design.
The Split Helm Crown: At the obelisk's peak, the monument divides into two arms, shaped as the abstracted "T"-visor of a Mandalorian helmet. It was engineered to catch lightning, channeling it down into the beskar veins. Symbolically, it represents the ever-watchful eyes of the fallen. Each strike illuminates the obelisk's face, reminding pilgrims that the dead still look upon the living, demanding honor and vigilance.
The Perpetual Flame: A brazier set into the plinth's front, lit during the dedication. It symbolizes the undying spirit of the fallen and is ritually rekindled during memorial gatherings.
The Three Rings of Names:
- Northern Arc: Engraved with the names of Onderonian civilians who died under Stormguard oppression.
- Southern Arc: Engraved with the names of Mandalorian warriors who fell in battle for Onderon.
- Outer Ring: A shared circle of remembrance, inscribed with a unified dedication in both Mando'a and Onderonian script:
"For the fallen and the freed; for those who held the line. Family is more than blood." - The Stormshards: Blackened tree trunks and battlefield timbers stand upright in the outer circle. Each is carved with runes of remembrance, representing all whose names are unknown.
SECURITY
Security Rating: Low
Assets:
- Occasional Mandalorian patrols.
- Local Onderonian caretakers (civilians, stonemasons, and clergy).
- The site is symbolic rather than strategic and is not heavily defended. However, any attack or desecration would bring swift reprisal.
HISTORICAL INFORMATION
The Obelisk of Storm and Steel was conceived after the joint campaign of Mandalorians and Onderonians to purge the Stormguard from Onderon. Kalavar Ridge, once scarred by occupation and battle, was chosen as the site.
During the Stormguard's occupation, ancient Mandalorian graves had been desecrated, stripped of armor and sacred items. Though Mandalorians restored them after the battle, the act left a wound upon both the land and their honor. The memorial was raised as both a remembrance and a promise: never again would such carelessness allow the desecration of their dead, nor the neglect of the people who looked to them for protection.
The Empire as a whole committed itself to the project. Mandalorian smiths, Onderonian stonemasons, and volunteers from across the sector gave labor, materials, and craft. While it was Adonis Angelis IV and
Athena Faar
, riding Miit'alor, who led the final strike against the last of the Stormguard, it was the combined strength of the Mandalorian Empire and Onderonian people that raised the monument.The obelisk itself was forged from beskar reclaimed from the battlefield, inlaid with veins to channel lightning. Its crown was shaped as the Split Helm, a stylized echo of the Mandalorian visor, designed to draw lightning into the veins. More than functional, it was symbolic: the eyes of the fallen cast down upon the living, holding them to their oaths. At its base, the perpetual flame was kindled during the dedication ceremony, lit by dragonfire, sealed by a bolt from Adonis's sword, and answered by arcs from Athena's shield, binding both weapons together in oath.
The memorial now stands as both remembrance and warning. It honors Onderonian civilians who endured, Mandalorian warriors who fell, and all those who gave their lives in the storm. For pilgrims, it is a place of silence, reflection, and oath-making. For enemies, it is a reminder: the storm always returns.