View source for Obelisk

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Callsign}}
[[File:H3 Sandtrap Tower.png|thumb|300px|An obelisk on the Ark.{{Ref/Map|Id=Sandtrap|H3|Sandtrap}}]]
"'''Obelisks'''"{{Ref/Note|While never officially named, the constructs are named as <code>obelisk</code> in ''Halo 3'' game files, see [[#Production notes|production notes]] for more details. Should an official name be provided, this article should be updated accordingly.}} are a type of [[Forerunner]] structure found on select installations, including [[Installation 00|the Ark]]. 

==Overview==
===Appearance===
Obelisks resemble enormous dark grey metal towers with glowing portals near the top, resembling eyes. These eyes emit extremely bright orange light, capable of lighting up large expanses of land from far away.{{Ref/Reuse|Sandbox}} Notably, their darker metal and more brutalist construction suggest a similar origin to that of the structures found within the [[Sentinel wall]] and [[Quarantine zone (location)|quarantine zone]] of [[Installation 05]].

===Function===
[[File:H3 Sandbox Laser.jpg|thumb|250px|An obelisk firing its weapon.]]
The obelisks are typically constructed in groups of six, pointing inwards towards select stone structures in the middle of desert expanses. When attempting to leave the predetermined "zone" in which they protect, they are capable of firing extremely powerful orange [[directed-energy weapon]]s from their "eye".{{Ref/Map|Id=Sandbox|H3|Sandbox}}

In at least [[Sandbox|one instance]] of the defenders' placement, underneath the "shrines" in which they protected was a "crypt" area{{Ref/Reuse|Sandbox}}, indicating the shrine defenders' purpose is one of preventing escape.

===History===
The obelisks were built on [[Installation 00]]{{Ref/Reuse|Sandtrap}} and at least one other planet{{Ref/Reuse|Sandbox}}, defending similarly-built areas of stone structures in the desert. At some point likely during the [[Battle of Installation 00]], the [[Jiralhanae]] occupied the zone occupied by the obelisks on the Ark, though the Brutes were later forced out of the region by forces of the {{UNSCShip|Aegis Fate}}.{{Ref/Map|H3|Sandtrap|Detail=Map description}}

==In-game information==
===''Halo 3''===
[[File:H3 Sandbox Tower.png|thumb|250px|An obelisk on Sandbox.]]
Obelisks are found on the ''[[Halo 3]]'' multiplayer maps [[Sandtrap]] and [[Sandbox]]. On Sandtrap, the towers are used to enable [[Jiralhanae|Brute]] [[jumpmine]]s that surround the map's boundaries; if a player exits the map, the obelisk towers fire at them with harmless beams that then trigger the mines to explode. The Obelisks return on the [[Mythic Map Pack|Mythic Map]] Sandbox, though instead fire [[M68 Gauss cannon|gauss cannon]]-like projectiles at players who attempt to escape the map. Prior to this lethal response, the defenders fire a form of [[BR55HB battle rifle|battle rifle]]-like weapon at players. When this weapon hits a player, it flashes their screen yellow to alert them to their impending demise.{{Ref/Site|Id=YT|URL=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8dSyEf9BUA|Site=YouTube|Page=Halo 3 - Mystery Of The DaVinci Code Easter Eggs (REVISITED & SOLVED)|D=18|M=06|Y=2025}}

==Production notes==
Obelisks appear in ''Halo 3'' on the maps Sandtrap and Sandbox. In the ''Halo 3'' game files, the mesh, shader, and textures for the structure are named the <code>obelisk</code>,{{Ref/File|H3|tags\levels\multi\shrine\bitmaps\forerunner}} with the specific functionality to enable their in-game weaponry termed the <code>shrine_defender</code> and <code>sandbox_defender</code>, respectively.{{Ref/File|H3|tags\objects\levels\multi\shrine\shrine_defender}}{{Ref/File|H3|tags\objects\levels\dlc\sandbox\sandbox_defender}} In ''Halo 3'', "defenders" are a kind of map feature used to enable interactive elements on multiplayer maps: others include the <code>[[Shuku-pattern sentry turret|cov_defender]]</code> on [[Snowbound]] and the <code>[[Unidentified ancilla (Installation 05)|mon_defender]]</code> on [[Cold Storage]].{{Ref/File|H3|tags\objects\levels\multi\snowbound\cov_defender}}{{Ref/File|H3|tags\objects\levels\dlc\chillout\mon_defender_integrated}}

Within the ''Halo'' community, the obelisk towers are infamous for being the subject of a number of rumours surrounding the [[Da Vinci Code objects]] near their "eyes". In reality, these specific objects are the aforementioned "defenders", used to fire [[Sentinel beam]]-like beams into the desert if the player exits the map's boundaries.{{Ref/Reuse|YT}}

Obelisks were at one point intended to appear in ''[[Halo 4]]''. The cut map [[Cut Halo 4 levels#Z01 Fortress|Z01_Fortress]] features several of them arrayed around its exterior, in a similar fashion to Sandbox and Sandtrap.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:H4 Z01Fortress Screenshot 1.jpg|The cut ''Halo 4'' map <code>Z01_Fortress</code>, with several towers.
</gallery>

==Notes==
{{Ref/Notes}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Forerunner|array}}
[[Category:Forerunner buildings]]