Whence comes the Night, let shine the Light
Monolith
Monoliths is a Datalog section in the Windows and Royal Editions of Final Fantasy XV. It chronicles the monoliths the player has found in havens in the eight optional dungeons visited as part of the Menace Beneath Lucis post game sidequest. Ezma Auburnbrie gives the key to the sealed doors found within the dungeons in Lucis in Chapter 15 after the player has obtained the royal arms from Costlemark Tower, Crestholm Channels, Balouve Mines and completed the Daurell Caverns.
The monoliths' sides have blue glowing runes, possibly because they are located on havens, which have similar runes when encountered in the wild. The messages are engraved in white on black slabs under the text "Whence comes the Night, let shine the Light", alluding to how the message has been left for the True King. The bottom of each monolith depicts the coming of dawn.
Story[]
The author of the monoliths is not specified, nor whether all monoliths were erected by the same person, or if each menace dungeon's monoliths were put there by different kings. The author(s) are former monarchs who lived in a time daemons had emerged in Lucis. The Wall is mentioned, and if this refers to the "new Wall" rather than the Old Wall, it would give the time frame of 150 years ago at most, at least for that particular menace dungeon. The quest description for the Menace Beneath Lucis quest posits the dungeons seal ferocious fiends that "attacked the realm in ancient times."
The monoliths tell the story of a king and an Oracle sealing beasts dubbed "menaces"—beasts too strong for them to fell—underground for the True King to eventually deal with, believing their Chosen heir to be strong enough to take on the challenge. One monolith describes the menace dungeons a closely guarded secret of the royal bloodline. The key to the dungeons, said to have been forged by a king and an Oracle, eventually came to the possession of Ezma Auburnbrie, the leader of the Hunters who work to quell daemon outbreaks in Lucis.
The Steyliff Grove monoliths show the king and the Oracle were in love and how the Trident of the Oracle became a royal arm after the king inherited her position, whereas monoliths in some other dungeons don't mention an Oracle at all. The first monolith in Greyshire Glacial Grotto says the daemon was "laid to rest here by her hand", but the second monolith says the king himself sealed the dungeon. A monolith in Daurell says the Oracle "gives all her strength until her life is lost" to uphold the seals, and the final monolith in Costlemark says it was sealed with the king's own life. The different tone and style of the engravings in each dungeon gives the impression they were left by different authors, painting a picture of rulers of yore protecting their realm by personally slaying daemons and sealing away the ones they could not.
Whether the monoliths are related to the rulers whose royal tombs are found in some of these dungeons is unknown. The author of the Daurell Caverns monolith wants his name forgotten from history, and this dungeon doesn't have a royal tomb. The Costlemark Tower dungeon is said to have been sealed by the life of a king, but the tower doesn't have a royal tomb though it does have a royal arm, although a stolen one. What unites the engravings are the lingering feelings of regret and unworthiness for being unable to protect others—subjects, soldiers accompanying the ruler for their expedition, and the Oracle—and willingness to give one's own life to safeguard the future in wait for the fabled King of Light.
Monoliths[]
Dormaneth Haven[]
Keycatrich Trench Menace
- The daemon lurking deep within knows no single form
By neither blade of flame nor lance of frost can it be torn
Such menaces have terrified the kingdom throughout time
But now they must be punished for committing wicked crimes
- Should we wish to vanquish these menaces once and for all
There is but one method by which our problem can be solved
We must seal the daemons away far beneath the ground
And await the day one who can dispel the darkness is found
Heppletaph Haven[]
Greyshire Glacial Grotto Menace
- O ye, devoid of virtue: o ye, impure of soul
O ye, consumed by anger, who dost the death knell toll
O ye, who throughout time has spread thy scourge across the land
Shall slumber 'neath the earth, laid to rest here by her hand
Ravioth Haven[]
Greyshire Glacial Grotto Menace
- Shadows meld into the darkness; all signs of thee are lost
Thy robes and blade of steel, sealed within the tomb of frost
'Til the coming of the king whose aid we call upon
I seal thee as a sign of hope—the light before the dawn
Oxlareth Haven[]
Fociaugh Hollow Menace
- One who led his men to glory on the field of war
One who led his clan to greatness, slashing to the fore
One who led his liege through troubled times with wit alone
Yet by the burning giant all these men were overthrown
- My loneliness ineffable, my pain beyond compare
Yet I am not afforded time to wallow in despair
For a king must not avert his eyes from what lies ahead
He must continue walking down the path he's born to tread
Gainough Haven[]
Daurell Caverns Menace
- Would I could live a life of bliss and watch the flowers bloom
Listen to the children laugh and gaze upon the moon
Would I could live in peaceful ignorance and never know
The terrifying darkness that is lurking down below
Pauperess Haven[]
Daurell Caverns Menace
- These cages are a closely guarded secret of our line
Keeping wicked ones imprisoned by power divine
Yet the sealing of these tombs is not done without cost
The Oracle gives all her strength until her life is lost
- Such sacrifices must be made to serve the greater good
And yet I wonder: have we done everything that we could?
Should the symbol of our failures ever come to light
Our people would revolt, unsympathetic to our plight
May the future king complete the calling I could not
And may my name be forgotten, forever left to rot
Cobbitrice Haven[]
Balouve Mines Menace
- Deep within the Daurell Caverns and the Greyshire Grotto
The ruins left by Solheim and inside Fociaugh Hollow
The cages of the Oracle hold villains of the night
Far beneath the earth, out of mind and out of sight
- If we were to inside the mines another cage erect
We could avoid the peoples eyes, preserving their respect
And should my well-intentioned deeds a new disaster bring
I pray my faithful subjects will forgive their foolish king
Intellune Haven[]
Steyliff Grove Menace
- O she so wise will take her shining trident in her hand
Then she shall rise to spread the word of peace across the land
And lest the world forget her efforts or the life she gave
Upon these monoliths her noble deeds I shall engrave
Tunlough Haven[]
Steyliff Grove Menace
- The gods are fickle entities, capricious through and through
Those among us who receive their grace are numbered few
And while I was not blest with acumen or power divine
The gods bequeathed to me a greater gift: her hand in mine
Scorpure Haven[]
Steyliff Grove Menace
- The harbingers of darkness have descended 'pon our realm
Yet much unlike the former king who the vanguard did helm
I issue orders from the rear, a veritable "coward king"
'Tis the Messengers who fight—their praises we ought sing
Courcaive Haven[]
Steyliff Grove Menace
- The greatness of the Oracle was heretofore untold
Her power was unparalleled, her heart was made of gold
She healed the masses, sending words of kindness from her lips
The brilliant light with which she shone ne'er could be eclipsed
Terrecephe Haven[]
Steyliff Grove Menace
- Upon receiving tidings of the expedition's fall
I realized our sole surviving bastion was the Wall
To suppress the menace and dispel the disarray
We set out for the shaded groves of Cleigne without delay
Essofax Haven[]
Steyliff Grove Menace
- Our path to Risorath was paved with troubles all the way
The treacherous terrain beset the two of us by day
Upon the fall of night the lurking darkness showed its claws
Yet staff in hand she saved us both from death's e'er-looming jaws
Vanderport Haven[]
Steyliff Grove Menace
- Like a ray of light piercing straight through darkness' heart
The trident that she wielded cut the daemon hordes apart
No matter what ferocious foe may wait within the glades
It shall be rent asunder, powerless before her blades
Sprannagh Haven[]
Steyliff Grove Menace
- The waters of the Vesperpool had turned a sea of fire
Smoky, swirling billows had enshrouded the mire
Searing bolts of lightning cracked downward from the skies
Yet 'twere not clouds but wings that soared before my very eyes
- Were our foe the Scourge of Stars, it could have be purified
Yet this menace was no daemon—that, we soon descried
The Oracle I loved was slain and with our flags she burned
Beleaguered and bereft, to the forest I returned
Hepplecamp Haven[]
Steyliff Grove Menace
- With the rains that fall upon the earth and nurture life
Also come the bolts of lightning, couriers of strife
Though man can't curb the fearsome whims that rule the natural world
Against a beast, the white flag of defeat needn't be unfurled
- Looking to the Oracle for guidance in these trials
I realized we might defeat the menace with our wiles
First we draw the devil down and seal it in a cage
Then entrust its exorcism to the coming age
And 'til an heir arises to succeed the life she led
Her staff in hand, I shall become the Oracle in her stead
Schoplary Haven[]
Crestholm Channels Menace
- The walls that mankind may erect, however thick or high
Cannot keep out all invaders no matter how they try
So long as earth below and sky above remain as one
A battle with the forces of nature cannot be won
- The dreadvern slithered into the gorge, its presence unknown
And with one gaze, it transformed all of Ostium to stone
If we are unable to halt the wickedvern's advance
The people of Insomnia shall stand nary a chance
Doltham Haven[]
Crestholm Channels Menace
- Until the menaces have all been banished from this earth
Our people shall be shackled by fear, never knowing mirth
If the dreadvern cannot be dispelled by means we know
Then we are left with but one choice: seal it down below
- Permit me leave the King of Light a word of sound advice
Against our foes, a barrier of magic shan't suffice
Many men have lost their lives; they haunt me to this day
That the king should never know this agony, I pray
Dalperry Haven[]
Costlemark Tower Menace
- The wisdom of mankind was by the warring gods laid low
Yet not unlike the seeds of flowers buried 'neath the snow
The secrets of the ancients lie in waiting underground
Hidden blossoms of lost knowledge longing to be found
Kerwicke Haven[]
Costlemark Tower Menace
- The Fallgrove ruins in the southern reaches of Duscae
Were once a single fortress whose stone towers touched the sky
The wisdom of the ancients is within these walls enshrined
Their pillars pierce the heavens, bridging mortal and divine
Aechre Haven[]
Costlemark Tower Menace
- The warring of the Astrals brought the walls and towers down
Yet we held onto hope the ancients' wisdom might be found
We ventured through the woods, underneath the forest floor
In search of secrets left behind by those who came before
Ingwen Haven[]
Costlemark Tower Menace
- Deep beneath the earth where rays of sunlight cannot reach
Encased in walls of stone the gods themselves could never breach
Laid a trove of knowledge—so we thought, yet what we saw
Was a terror out of time that left us all in awe
Encefain Haven[]
Costlemark Tower Menace
- The menaces that lurk beneath us musn't be released
Lest upon the innocents the beasts begin to feast
Our forebears found the fiends below, and down here they must stay
Hidden from humanity and from the light of day
- My fool pursuit of knowledge has cost countless men their lives
Should such a selfish ruler be permitted to survive?
Nay, I say—and thus I humbly offer up my life
To forge another cage and save the future from more strife
Heed my words, O Future King, and follow not my path
Walk only in the light ye shall know the darkness' wrath.
Etymology[]
monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, or a single large piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument or building. In architecture, the term has overlap with megalith, normally used for prehistory, and may be used in the contexts of rock-cut architecture that remains attached to solid rock, or for exceptionally large stones, such as obelisks, statues, monolithic columns, or large architraves. It may also be used of large glacial erratics moved by natural forces.
AThe word derives, via the Latin monolithus, from the Ancient Greek word μονόλιθος (monolithos), from μόνος ("one" or "single") and λίθος ("stone").