#159 Gravesight Observatory

Age: 100 years

Hidden or Lost?: No

History: When the early shamans peered through the first shards of opalescent natural glass known as ‘spirit stone,’ they believed that they were looking through a window into the afterlife. Centuries later we know that it's not the world of the dead that lies beyond the glass, but we are also no closer to understanding exactly what the world through the rare stone actually is.

Named after the spirit stone’s ability given to it by those early shamans, the Gravesite Observatory is the world's only institution devoted to the study of spirit stones and the world beyond. The observatory is the repository of every known piece of spirit stone that has ever been discovered, including the massive Looking Glass Crystal, which has been partially cut to form the lens of the observatory’s central telescope.

The view through the telescope, through all of the spirit stone, is a strange one. Rather than just peering at the scene beyond the semi-translucent stone, one can see odd vistas where beautiful and grotesque figures engage in trials, rituals, and odd games with no discernible rules. Many of the figures are generally humanoid, but there are also occasionally glimpses of animals in human garb or colossal titans that seem to wake only to dispense, sparse unheard proclamations. Some can fly, while others seem to be able to conjure potions and flowers out of the air; there are giant clouds of insects with grinning faces; edible palaces made of sweet, flowing honey; and more. The gravesight provides endless glimpses of even stranger, more wonderful, and more frightening things roving that hidden world.

The scientists of the observatory have spent a century poking at the edges of the world in the gravesite, but have had limited success crossing over. Occasionally they have been able to tune in to the frequency of the world, pulling snippets of sound and even a handful of physical artifacts into our world. Although these wondrous totems are a closely guarded secret, some believe it is the world of Faerie or a celestial heaven dimension, or even the realm of shared dreams. The Gravesight Observatory, is our world’s only eye into what could be a source of incredible new power, but if we're not careful, the odd world might stare back.