A Tejen, also known as an Obelisk

This is a tejen or 'defense', commonly called an 'obelisk' (from their word for "roasting prong") by outsiders. Tejen'al are always monolithic (carved in a single piece) with a quadrangular base, placed upright and usually have a pyramidal cap.

A tejen is said to symbolize a ray of the light from Krykhalin, the Holy Sun, in petrified form. Tejen'al may tell a story as well as disperse the wrath of storms (they are frequently struck by lightning) and are often placed in pairs to guard a temple or other holy place.

It is also said that tejen'al are phallic symbols, and, indeed, at certain times of the year the nubile youth of a community may dance in ritual circles around them, crown them with wreaths of herbs and flowers, and perhaps pass the night with merriment in the vicinity of one-- but this is a adolescent custom not officially encouraged by the elders, who regard it as somewhat frivolous. (Nevertheless, it goes on every year.)

Several fine identical examples of tejen'al can be found in Khar Th'Sekt. Each as pictured is inscribed on an opposite two of its four sides in the Irekei demotic script used for carving in stone, with the two faces perpendicular to those being inlaid with the image of the Dark Wyrm in bas relief over a red-figured background. Note that our writing normally is vertical, having been developed to be written and read in columns down and across a papyrus or parchment scrolled from side to side.