The Fifth Pillar is one of the six bizarre uncut diamonds the size of a brick intended to be used in the Machine.
History[]
Early History[]
Though unconfirmed, the six Pillars were most likely constructed by the super-ancient beings, since they included them in their second trial.
At a currently unknown point in Earth's history, the Super-Ancient Beings discovered the Dark Sun and set about constructing a machine that would repel it before it came too close to the planet. During their endeavors, they managed to reshape six diamonds into the Pillars, doing so in a technological process that would appear to modern humans that they had been shaped this way naturally. The Fifth Pillar was also made to be cleansed by the tools known as the Philosopher's Stone and the Basin of Rameses II, which would each work in unison with the Firestone of the Golden Capstone to prepare the Pillar to be set into its corresponding Vertex of the Machine during a Titanic Rising event.
Though they were able to prevent the Dark Star from approaching in their time, the Super-Ancient Beings knew that even after they were gone from the Earth, there may yet be intelligent life, and so left the Pillars and Sacred Stones so that human kind could use them to aid their attempts to rebuild the Machine. They were also able to manipulate the Pillars' molecular structure so that when they were placed into their Vertex, give whoever possessed it would gain a reward; for the Fifth Pillar, the reward would be Death.
Eventually, all of the Pillars came to be kept in Egypt under the Pharaoh Khufu's keep, however, the priest Thuthmosis later stole the Pillars and the Sacred Stones and took them with him as he fled Egypt. Taking one the name Moses, he would keep the Pillars within his familial line until they ended up with Jesus Christ. Apparently unaware of their importance, Jesus would end up scattering the Pillars, and putting the Earth's future in greater jeopardy. The Fourth and Fifth Pillars would be given to the families who would eventually become the Great Houses of Europe.
Over the centuries, the Fifth Pillar was shared between the Royal families of Russia and Denmark. By the present day, the Pillar was held by the King of the Kingdom of Land, Vladimir "Carnivore" Romanov.
During a meeting of small nations called together by Jack West Jr to discuss what Wizard had discovered about the Dark Star, and come up with a plan to find the Pillars and restore the Machine, Vulture hinted that the European Royal families possessed a couple of Pillars.
The Five Greatest Warriors[]
When Carnivore had gathered most of the people involved in the Machine's restoration at his base, he asserted that they would be working for him in placing the remaining Pillars. Giving Jack, Lily and Sky Monster his Pillar, Carnivore sent them to the Fifth Vertex at Diego Garcia, where they would rendezvous with Iolanthe and the Basin and Firestone to give it its second cleansing before placing the Pillar.
As Pooh Bear's team made their way in the Fourth Vertex, Pooh Bear and Stretch became trapped on the viewing platform when the city started flooding, and were forced to toss the Fourth Pillar to Julius and Lachlan to place. Once the twins made it to the inverted pyramid at the bottom of the city, Julius waited until Jack was ready at the Fifth Vertex to simultaneously lay the Pillars in their respective Vertex.
General Jackson Dyer and Felix Bonaventura reluctantly allowed Jack and Iolanthe access to the atoll's Vertex, but claimed that they would not manage to navigate the trap system that had stumped them for years. However, Jack was quickly able to surmise the workings of the trap system, and set about making his way through with Lily, using the Fifth Pillar to disarm some of the traps along the way to the inverted pyramid's summit.
Just as they were about to clear the final trap, Bonaventura foolishly used a crane to set himself and the others ahead of Jack and Lily, setting of the master trap. As both Bonaventura and Dyer were swept away into the chasm, Jack, Lily and Iolanthe were forced to wait near a hidden exit with the Pillar as Julius and Lachlan approached their own Vertex peak at the Fourth Vertex. Once the twins were ready, Jack placed the Fifth Pillar simultaneously with Julius's Fourth Pillar.
Taking the charged Pillar along with them as they searched for the Tomb of Jesus Christ to locate the Sixth Pillar, Jack left the Pillar on the Halicarnassus with Sky Monster. Shortly after Pooh Bear's team arrived, Cieran Kincaid, in fact working for Carnivore, took the Pillar and turned it over to the Russian Royal when he arrived. After the Sixth Pillar was taken from Jack's team, Carnivore proceeded to take all six Pillars in his possession to the final Vertex on Easter Island. Once within the Vertex, Carnivore laid out the first five Pillars with the Sacred Stones on an altar while awaiting the moment to place the sixth.
After Jack took down Carnivore and his men and placed the final Pillar with Lily, he secured the remaining five Pillars and left the Vertex. Hiding them away, Jack informed his superiors within the Coalition of Minnows of the outcome, but when he was asked about the Pillars, Jack lied and claimed that they had all fallen into the abyss. After he was gifted with a farm in the Simpson Desert, Jack hid the five Pillars in an old salt mine on the property and sealed them away, knowing that despite the potential their rewards held, it was far better that no one used the Pillars at all.
Properties[]
Appearance[]
Like all of its sibling Pillars, the Fifth Pillar initially appeared as a diamond with a cloudy appearance, with an anomalous void in the center containing a liquid form of Helium, H-3. Upon being cleansed with the Philosopher's Stone, the Pillar became more like translucent like glass, with the Helium void becoming silver in appearance. After its second cleansing in the Basin, it took on an even shinier appearance.
After being placed in the Fifth Vertex, a triangular section was excised from the end placed into the inverted pyramid.
Purpose[]
The Fifth Pillar is intended to be placed at the massive underground Temple-Shrine located beneath Diego Garcia, the Fifth Vertex of the Machine, during a Titanic Rising. When the Pillar is set, a triangular shape is removed from the bottom end of the Pillar, creating the tip of the inverted pyramid and thus readying the Machine. In addition to its use within the inverted pyramids, the Fifth Pillar is able to disable the traps of its respective Vertex through an unknown mechanism.
Reward of Death[]
The nature of the reward of the Fifth Pillar, 'Death', has not been revealed. Some believe this to be a weapon, dealing death to the enemies of the one who holds it, and Wizard and Jack theorise that it could work in conjunction with the Fourth Pillar's reward; 'Life'.
Trivia[]
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