Black stone (material)

From the RuneScape Wiki, the wiki for all things RuneScape
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Black stone, or kreath takla in the dragonkin language, is a material heavily associated with Xau-Tak and necromancy. It's described as being extremely cold to the touch[1] and causes corruption to sentient beings exposed to it.

Uses and mentions[edit | edit source]

  • Kranon described a hand made of black stone reaching out from the shadows and severing his connection to the curse that Jas placed upon the dragonkin. It painlessly opened his chest and Kranon pulled out his heart and lungs and put inside himself "a piece of his world".[2]
  • A black stone with great hands rising out of the ground, used as a shrine by the mwanu. Wilbur Howley describes it as enthralling, as if emitting a song that whispered of "the promise of salvation and immortality beneath the waves".[3]
  • Rabid Jack had a plan to turn people from all over the world into a black stone-controlled invasion force by mixing Braindeath 'rum' with black stone. He took over the Braindeath Island distillery and intended to ship vast quantities of the serum to every major port across the world.[4] This serum could also transform ordinary zombie limbs into the monstrous arms and legs of a barrelchest.[5]
  • A Menaphite guard captain deserter and his soldiers protect a refinery in the Temple of Aminishi from intruders.[6] He states that the black stone, or black crystals, hold "great power", a "key to yet more".[7] He claims that both he and his band escaped "the corruption" after all hope was lost in Menaphos.[8]
  • After freeing Seiryu the Azure Serpent from the black crystals, he reveals that during his captivity, he felt others sharing his torment. A "she" who is in pain, but "hides it well", another who is "so alone". He also describes another being under the Wilderness, though this may be one of the previous two mentioned.[9][10] This is later revealed to be the black stone dragon.[11]
  • The pets Ambi, Squoggoth and Tetch speak of "a stranger that wears a black mask under its skin", "an atrocity written in black stone" and "a city of black stone where the screaming never stops".[12][13][14]
  • A black stone which Zemouregal used to strengthen his hold over the undead hero Arrav. Though he believed it to be ordinary obsidian and claimed to have found it in a volcano on Karamja[15], Azzanadra later stated that the resonance of this stone was the same as that found in Mah's corrupted egg remains.[16] During the 18th Ritual of Rejuvenation, the black stone was shattered by the adventurer, weakening Zemouregal's hold on Arrav's soul. The organisation Silhouette later obtained the stone. Although inert, it was studied by mages of the order and was deemed to have potential. Xephos gave the black stone to Guildmaster Tony and suggested that he use it on the Codex to investigate it.[17] Tony used it on the monolith and was sucked into it.
  • A dark dagger seemingly also made from obsidian is given to the player by the demon Nezikchened in the guise of the spirit Echned Zekin. The dagger is intended to be used against the undead guardian Viyeldi, and if used against him will painfully bind his spirit to the dagger[18], which Nezikchened will then absorb and use Viyeldi's power to bind the other three guardians. Nezikchened is supposedly a demon with a strong connection to the Underworld, and was summoned by ancient priests, known as Vacu, who served evil spirits of the Underworld, whilst summoning spirits of the Kharazi tribes' ancestors[19], a practice which sounds very similar to necromancy.
  • According to Kalibath, Tarshak saw people welcome the obsidian hand of death around their throat as they smile.[20]
  • A Black prism[21] is used by Sithik Ints prior to the events of Zogre Flesh Eaters to curse Jiggig, a sacred ogre burial ground, causing hundreds of undead ogres to be resurrected from the dead. Zavistic Rarve identifies it as an uncommon spell component with powerful necromantic properties.[22]
  • The Exile mentions that, after a deal her tribe made with Hearthen, they had to carry "a load of strange black stones" to the bottom of Daemonheim, where "the voices are everywhere, and their words entice dark thoughts"[23]. Once the delivery was complete, the tribe "were to be tolerated no more, so that no other would hear of these stones". The Exile's adopted brother then killed everyone except for her[24].
  • According to the author of the book Redacted Dragonkin Research, the black stone can be "activated" by someone or something called "the Dissonance Chorus".[25] The application of black stone to a test subject's eyes, head, chest and hands and subsequent activation caused them to be "torn apart by the dimensional currents that formed along their body".[26]
  • Zorgoth replaced Vorkath's original heart with one of black stone after learning of it from Kerapac's notes. This would corrupt Vorkath's soul to prevent it from properly passing into the afterlife unless a Soulfarer ritual was performed, which he also modified so that it would hate humanity. At the end of the notes on Zorgoth's Journal, he mentions exploring black stone and creating something far more powerful than Vorkath, though its status is unknown.
  • Death mentions that Misalionar had recurring nightmares in which he was smothered by black stone hands during his final years[27].

Gallery[edit | edit source]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • During The Light Within, Coeden tells the World Guardian a story[28] where an entity appears out of nowhere and makes him an offer. Coeden accepts and flies with the stranger to another place, where there was a forest with "growths" of something "brilliant" that was "cold" to the touch. Apparently, Coeden was betrayed and attacked before waking up and realizing it was a nightmare, but reveals that a face still haunts his dreams. The story was extremely boring for the World Guardian, who had a hard time staying awake during the narration, causing some words of it to be missing and being replaced with "blah" in the transcript. The attributes "bright" and "cold to the touch" seem to reference the material.

It begins on a cold winter's evening. There I was, sitting [] on a stool. Just [] sapling [] my own business, [] a strange [] appeared [] of nowhere. Naturally, [] was confused [] their [] arrival, but when [] offered me [] [] I was pleasantly []. I [] his [] and together [] flew into the [] [] the forest [] was [] [] big [] with enormous roots [] upon its magnificent [] were [] growths of brilliant [] and they [] cold [] [] touch [] squidy[sic] [] [] held [] but [] immediately [] saw [] [] powerful [] [] knew [] [] they [] on [] [] [] had [] fight [] [] didn't [] my [] strength [] [] snapped [] [] like [] twig [] [] of shock [] [] face [] haunt [] dreams [].

References[edit | edit source]

  1. ^ Azzanadra, "Azzanadra's Quest", RuneScape. "There is another resonance on this egg, but it is not Wen's. In fact, it reminds me of- remember Zemouregal? He had a black stone he used for necromancy. He said he found it in Karamja and the fool thought it was obsidian. It was cold to the touch. Freezing, in fact, and it shared the same resonance as this corruption... But Mah is dead now, and poses no threat to Gielinor. This is a mystery for another time."
  2. ^ Umbral Diplomacy, written by The Ambassador, "The Shadow Reef", RuneScape. "I felt His presence in the shadows. He reached out a hand forged of black stone and He tore the chains from my soul. Then He laid the hand upon my heart and cut a line down my chest. It should have hurt, but there was no pain, only purpose. I reached inside my own chest and I pulled free my heart, for I did not need it. I took out my lungs, because I was no longer bound to the air. I placed inside me a piece of his world, because only then can I truly be free."
  3. ^ Blasphemous journal, written by Wilbur Howley, RuneScape. "I saw them pray, if prayer it could be called, to the broken remains of what may once have been a shrine. A single object, black stone with great hands rising out of the ground, it was the centre of their half-remembered religion. Something about it both unnerved and enthralled me. It was as though the black stone was singing to me, but the sound was felt on my skin rather than heard. A siren song that whispered of the promise of salvation and immortality beneath the waves. Each note an invitation, a drowned promise. As I slept I heard its song in my dreams. They heard it too."
  4. ^ Bill Teach, "Pieces of Hate", RuneScape. "It seems that by mixing the 'rum' with that strange black stone, Mi-Gor could transform people into monsters. Monsters under Rabid Jack's control. By taking over the distillery he was going to ship vast quantities of this serum all across the world. Anyone who drank the 'rum', and there be a lot of sailors who won't look at what they're drinking, would become a monster. We'd get complete chaos as his army would just appear in every major port across the world. If we hadn't stopped him when we did, I'm not sure we would have been able to fight against that."
  5. ^ Evidence file, written by Mi-Gor, "A Clockwork Syringe", RuneScape. "First and foremost, STOP DRINKING THE TAINTED 'RUM'. It takes a lot of effort to secure a supply of 'rum', and even more to get the powdered black stone we're putting in it to have the effects on undead tissue we need to create the barrelchests. Besides, it needs to be injected directly into the body parts to have that effect. All it does to you is make you more useless than you already are."
  6. ^ Menaphite guard captain, "Temple of Aminishi", RuneScape. "Keep them from messing with the refinery!"
  7. ^ Menaphite guard captain, "Temple of Aminishi", RuneScape. "The black stone. The crystals. They hold great power. A key to yet more."
  8. ^ Menaphite guard captain, "Temple of Aminishi", RuneScape. "All hope was lost in Menaphos. We escaped the corruption. We are pure. You'll hamper us no longer!"
  9. ^ Seiryu the Azure Serpent, "Temple of Aminishi", RuneScape. "I felt...others...sharing my torment. The exact same veiled confusion. One hides it well, though it pains her. The other.. so alone."
  10. ^ Seiryu the Azure Serpent, "Temple of Aminishi", RuneScape. "I felt...another...sharing my torment. The exact same veiled confusion. Under the obliterated crust of Forinthry..."
  11. ^ Player character, "Curse of the Black Stone", RuneScape. "I've already fought my way through that laboratory and defeated the Black Stone dragon that guards it. It seems like the dragon was suffering the same way that Seiryu was. Something corrupting it. It all seemed to be linked to that black stone."
  12. ^ Ambi, "The Shadow Reef", RuneScape. "There is a stranger that wears a black mask under its skin."
  13. ^ Ambi, "The Shadow Reef", RuneScape. "There is an atrocity written in black stone."
  14. ^ Ambi, "The Shadow Reef", RuneScape. "There is a city of black stone where the screaming never stops."
  15. ^ Heart magic notes, written by Zemouregal, "Ritual of the Mahjarrat", RuneScape. "The soul of Arrav is more troublesome than I'd originally thought. If I move him too far from my base, I can feel him fighting against my will. I must find a way to strengthen my hold over him to subjugate him further, else it would be better to destroy him and be done with it. [...] Thankfully, I believe I have found what I need in a volcano on Karamja - a rare black mineral called obsidian. I'll construct a new prism from this. The prism works and my spell is enhanced!"
  16. ^ Azzanadra, "Azzanadra's Quest", RuneScape. "There is another resonance on this egg, but it is not Wen's. In fact, it reminds me of- remember Zemouregal? He had a black stone he used for necromancy. He said he found it in Karamja and the fool thought it was obsidian. It was cold to the touch. Freezing, in fact, and it shared the same resonance as this corruption... But Mah is dead now, and poses no threat to Gielinor. This is a mystery for another time."
  17. ^ Xephos, "Archaeology/Pre-release", RuneScape.
    • Xephos: Have you been testing it with any of the artefacts?
    • Guildmaster Tony: Yes, but none seem to have any sort of impact. I suspect it's looking for something more specific.
    • Xephos: I wonder if we might be able to help there. In our own studies we came across this ancient relic. It's a black stone that was once possessed by the mahjarrat Zemouregal. It's inert but our mages are convinced there is potential there. Perhaps this is the right place for it to be used?
  18. ^ Viyeldi, "Legends' Quest", RuneScape.
    • Viyeldi:So, you have fallen for the foul one's trick... Aaaaahhhhhhhhh the pain!
    • You see a flash as something travels from Viyeldi into the dagger.
  19. ^ Gujuo, "Legends' Quest", RuneScape. "* Gujuo:In our native and ancient history, the 'Vacu' were the servants of the evil spirits from the underworld. The 'Vacu' were priests who summoned the spirits of our ancestors. But the priests were enslaved by the evil spirits of the underworld."
  20. ^ Kalibath's journal, written by Kalibath, RuneScape. "The one thing Tarshak is good for is talking, and everything he has said has sickened me on one level or another. He has chased the V User across worlds without end, always failing due to his incompetence. And always he finds mortals bowing and scraping before 'gods' that would slaughter them all to get access to the Stone for a bare instant. He has seen people worshipping giant pigs, giant plants and giant rocks. He has seen them throw their own children into living flames. He has seen them engage in fights to the death with combatants in the billions. He has seen them welcome the obsidian hand of death around their throat with a smile."
  21. ^ Player, "Zogre Flesh Eaters", RuneScape. "It looks like a smokey black gem of some sort...very creepy. Some magical force must have prevented it from being shattered when it hit the coffin.."
  22. ^ Zavistic Rarve, "Zogre Flesh Eaters", RuneScape. "Hmmm, well this is an uncommon spell component. On it's own it's useless, but with certain necromantic spells it can be very powerful."
  23. ^ The Exile, "Player-owned ports", RuneScape. "Our last burden for Hearthen was to carry a load of strange black stones to the very bottom of Daemonheim. I was afraid of going that deep - the voices are everywhere, and their words entice dark thoughts."
  24. ^ The Exile, "Player-owned ports", RuneScape. "He did not survive the massacre - he perpetrated it! He would have killed me too had I been there. Had I not hid... Our last job for Hearthen - the black stones. Once complete, we were to be tolerated no more, so that no other would hear of these stones. He bargained to be the hand to silence us in exchange for his own life."
  25. ^ Redacted Dragonkin Research, RuneScape. "Kreath takla activated by the Dissonance Chorus."
  26. ^ Redacted Dragonkin Research, RuneScape. "Method: Subject was restrained and kreath takla was applied to their eyes, head, chest and hands, the known locations of magic. [...] Result: Subject described the pain from the curse reducing. Deadening effect lasted mere moments before subject began screaming and then was torn apart by the dimensional currents that formed along their body. A mercy sterilization was applied to the subject before they could be consumed fully."
  27. ^ Death, "Requiem for a Dragon", RuneScape. "Misalionar [...] In his final years he became increasingly paranoid. He confided in me that he suffered a recurring nightmare in which he was smothered in black, stone hands."
  28. ^ Coeden, "The Light Within", RuneScape. "It ... reminds ... me ... of ... a ... funny ... story ..."
Retrieved from "https://runescape.wiki/w/Black_stone_(material)?oldid=36680480"