Monolith

The Monolith was an enigmatic, mysterious and controversial entity/artifact of immense powers and unknown origins. It was completely black, tall and pointed pillar of unknown material, only known to be unbreakable and to have a small hum coming from deep inside

History
The Monolith was found somewhere shortly before the Monolith Era by the local group of primitive elves, who immediately were affected by it and started to worship it. The group would later expand and start to thrive in both intellectual level and population, as more elves were drawn towards the Monolith.

Powers
Some of the most notable powers of the Monolith are it's effect on certain creatures: it manipulates the genes and the DNA, speeding up the process of evolution in hazard ways, and increasing intelligence of the species in massive amounts. The affected, however, also tend to become prideful, arrogant and even cruel towards others, afterwards leading in the complete isolation of the Monolith City.

The Monolith also had many other powers, as it has been speculated to have a mind of it's own, with unknown motives. It was able to make individuals go insane through reported whispering and hallucinations. Some people have claimed to have had conversations with it. For example, Hykhios the Lawful claimed the Monolith had told him it had came from outer space, from a planet destroyed by it's own inhabitants. It claimed that it's sole purpose was to provide the inhabitants of the planet wisdom and the ability to use it. However, the side effects caused on some species have made it clear that the Monolith either cannot manipulate it's own powers, or does it willfully. For example, Khaldos were known to evolve near the Monolith, and those that had been in it's area of effect were later known to have become more powerful and intelligent.