Twilight of Empires

The Pillar of Luminar is a geographical feature located roughly thirty miles north of the city of Shining Falls surrounded by what appears to be an impact crater over ten miles across, the pillar itself is a glowing crystal cluster a mile wide at the base and around three miles tall on the central spike (also a fifteen degree lean to the southwest). It is not entirely clear how deep it goes, as there are no Underdark tunnels or caverns within thirty miles of the site. (The last Imperial-sponsored expedition into the matter made it all the way down to the Deep Burning Caves with no success. The entire area has a strong elemental Light attunement, and is considered a Prime Elemental Site for Eden, Alexander, and Carbuncle. Depending on conditions and terrain, the pillar is visible as much as one hundred and fifty miles away.

Oh, by the way, it appears to still be growing.

As far as people are concerned, the Pillar has always been there. There is no historical document, going all the way back to the Divine Era, describing its arrival or formation. Arcanists and Natural Philosophers all assume that the gods stabbed it into the planet at some point in the distant past: why else the crater? But every piece of written lore simply describes it as an established location, like the ocean, or the North Continent.
When Douje was carving out the Asterian Empire back in the first century, the Pillar was already recognized by the locals as a holy location. Not being an idiot, the first Emperor chose not to put these people to the sword, but rather included them in a grand ceremony where his command unit witch contracted with Eden. Since then the Pillar is one of the least contested pieces of real estate in the empire. This isn't because people are afraid of it falling over, but due to an ecumenical sense of reverence, and the sheer quantity of wild spirits wandering about.

• Cleft, The: The natural development of the cluster at the Pillar's base has left a quarter mile long tunnel leading most of the way to the central spire. There is a small shrine to the Jewel itself here, attended by a handful of the excruciatingly rare priests of the Jewel.
• Lake: Several square miles of freshwater, well stocked with fish, and supporting a small population of Paratalle giant land crabs.
• North Luminar: A village on the road from Witchfel, about halfway between the Pillar and the crater rim. Most of the villagers' animal protein comes from the lake occupying most of the crater's north-west quadrant.
• Shrines: Equally spaced around the Pillar are shrines to Alexander, Carbuncle, Eden, Dawn, and the Nurturing Earth Mother. Between the priests, the shamans, and the souvenir hawkers, the population would be equal to a small town if it weren't so spread out.
• South Luminar: A village on the road coming from Shining Falls, just inside the crater rim. Livestock grazes outside the crater, and anything that can be grown on a trellis (beans, grapes, tomatoes) is raised within.