Altar of Insight¶
The Altar of Insight is a small dungeon located in the Veruhkt Plateau region, beneath a ziggurat next to the Tinaxi Pools. It is home to some of the only surviving lore about the Veruhkt peoples, as well as the Tul'Vohaln legendary helmet.
Location
Approximate Coordinates (Entrance): 4156, 122, -1547
Finding the true Altar of Insight grants the "Secret Sanctum" advancement.
Layout¶
The term "Altar of Insight" can be used to refer to the small shrine pictured at the top of this article, inside the Tinaxi Pools ziggurat in Veruhkt Plateau. However, digging through the chiseled stone brick in this altar reveals a hidden staircase down to a small, linear dungeon.
This dungeon is guarded by Golems of Insight, purple leather-clad enemies who wield either amethyst shards (melee variants) or bows and truesight arrows (ranged variants). Digging through a wall, players will find that the passageway opens into a larger cavern, where enemies are perched on different platforms that lead towards the back of the cave. Defeating these enemies and climbing up the vines to the northwest, players will find the "true" Altar of Insight.
This area seems to be the collapsed, mostly abandoned ruins of a technologically advanced settlement, prominently featuring a red lens-like structure hanging over a pool of water. The next room holds two noteworthy items: the Convictions of Tech-Priest Lakeivaa book and the Tul'Vohaln legendary helmet.
Putting on the helmet will show players an enemy just behind this wall, where a ladder is placed to allow for easy return to the surface.
Lore¶
The true Altar of Insight was one of the most sacred places to the Veruhktian peoples, a technologically advanced civilization that was constantly oppressed by larger neighbors, including the Akhlo'Rohmans and eventually the Empire of Avsohm. Under the rule of Avsohm, these people were forced out of Sal'Veruhkt (Veruhkaan) and into hiding beneath the Tinaxi Pools ziggurat. The author of Convictions of Tech-Priest Lakeivaa sent her daughter, Gorui, to Avsohm to attempt to learn their technological secrets and bring that knowledge back to her people, saving them. This daughter was Gohri Zed, one of the Stasis 8 members, who failed to do so due to the attachment she formed to Thresa Vera while in Av'Sal.
This book, and Tul'Vohaln, also establish the significance of the Lens of Insight, the red stained glass lens in the previous room. This device allows its users to look directly through the disc, and as such, allows one to see Lo'Veruhkt, the hidden moon, always positioned beneath the disc. The Veruhktian peoples took their name from this disc and worshipped it, hoping to one day manage to physically escape to the moon out of sight. It is unclear if they were successful in this endeavor, or if they all died down here.