History Main / WorldPillars

* ''LightNovel/ClockworkPlanet'': The newly reconstructed Earth has civilizations placed on giant gears, which are held aloft by enormous core towers that are stated in the novels to be 90,000 meters (90 km) tall. The plot of the first novel revolves around Naoto, [=RyuZU=], Marie and Halter trying to stop the government from deliberately tampering with Kyoto's core tower and purging the city into the void below.

* In ''LightNovel/ClockworkPlanet'', the newly reconstructed Earth has civilizations placed on giant gears, which are held aloft by enormous core towers that are stated in the novels to be 90,000 meters (90 km) tall. The plot of the first novel revolves around Naoto, [=RyuZU=], Marie and Halter trying to stop the government from deliberately tampering with Kyoto's core tower and purging the city into the void below.
* ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' has the "Poseidon Saga", in which the eponymous Greek god (reincarnated in the billionaire playboy Julian Solo) kidnaps Saori Kiddo/Goddess Athena into the underwater world. To free her (being imprisoned in the Master Pillar that works as a DrowningPit), Bronze Saints have to break every of the World Pillars, seven of them that represent every of the oceans (five, in fact, having two for Pacific and Atlantic oceans) and guarded by the seven Generals that protect every pillar.
* Zigzagged in ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'': the world of Planet Freedom is divided into two portions; an array of {{Floating Continent}}s collectively known as "The Land of the Sky", and the planet's conventional surface, which is known as "The Land of Darkness" due to the perpetual shadow it lies under. Whilst the continents of the Land of the Sky float naturally, they are anchored to the Land of Darkness by a massive glacial mountain range at the planet's northern pole. Robotnik's plan turns out to be having his new super-minion Hyper Metal Sonic destroy this mountain, which will result in the combination of Planet Freedom's rotation and the Land of the Sky's natural AntiGravity properties sending the Land of the Sky hurtling out beyond the atmosphere, where they will shatter into pieces. This will, naturally, kill everything living in the Land of the Sky, leaving Robotnik to claim technical victory as the sole ruler of the half of Planet Freedom left undestroyed.
* In the ''Manga/UruseiYatsura'' movie ''Beautiful Dreamer'', the world to which the cast have become confined is revealed to be flat and standing upon caryatids.

* In ''ComicBook/ThessalyWitchForHire'', the titular witch alludes to there being pillars that keep the various Heavens from crashing down upon Earth. She mentions this in the context of mentioning that she's learned spells to topple them.

* In the ''Literature/{{Titan}}'' series the center of Titan is connected to the outer ring by vast spokes which serve to hold it together.[[/folder]]

* In ''VideoGame/AtelierLuluaTheScionOfArland'', it's revealed that [[spoiler:both the Fellsgalaxen and Orthogalaxen ruins are part of a greater infrastructure supporting the world of Arland itself. The plot of the game eventually shifts to Lulua trying to prevent the collapse of the Fellsgalaxen ruins, which would destroy all of the Arklys region if allowed to happen, as well as save its operator, Stia]].

* In ''VideoGame/GodOfWarChainsOfOlympus'', the world has held by a single pillar until it was destroyed by a Titan named Atlas.
* ''VideoGame/GravityRush'' is set around a gigantic pillar, and there are different "levels" that are each populated by different societies. Several characters theorize as to what's at the top and bottom of the pillar, though the bottom specifically seem to be covered in black gravity storms. Unusually, at one point in the first game the player character actually gets to traverse inside the pillar.

* ''VideoGame/{{WorldOfWarcraft}}'': In ''Cataclysm'', a major storyline is restoring the pillar supporting Azeroth from the underground realm of Deepholm, which was broken into pieces by [[OmnicidalManiac Deathwing]] as he escaped to the surface. Unlike most examples, this pillar is bare unsculpted rock and it's not clear if it is natural or made by beings like the Titans.

* In ''WesternAnimation/DanVs'', Canada is seen to be supported by some sort of ice pillar in a cave inside a mountain which, after getting destroyed, ends up flooding Canada with snow and ruining it.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillars_of_Creation Pillars of Creation,]] three immense tower-like structures of interstellar gas, were named due to their appearance, resembling a trio of vast pillars at the edge of the universe, evoking this concept.

* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'': The continent of [[GrimUpNorth Northrend]] is sometimes known as the "roof of the world". In ''Warcraft III'', Malfurion receives a vision of Northrend crumbling and fears that Illidan's spell from the Eye of Sargeras may destroy the world. ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' introduces a more literal example in ''Cataclysm'' that is broken into pieces by [[OmnicidalManiac Deathwing]] escaping from Deepholm and must be repaired to prevent Azeroth from collapsing in on itself.

* In ''Anime/SonicTheHedgehogTheMovie'', the Land of the Sky is connected and supported by specific contact points with the Land of Darkness. The second half of the movie's plot centers around Hyper Metal Sonic trying to destroy those points and cause the Land of the Sky to be hurled off into space.

* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'': The Nine Pillars of Nosgoth support the eponymous world throughout the series, overlapping with CosmicKeystone. In order the nine pillars are Mind, Dimension, Conflict, Nature, Balance, Energy, Time, States, and Death. In ''Blood Omen'', the Pillars are have become corrupted, and in order to restore the Pillars Kain must [[spoiler:commit a HeroicSacrifice. He refuses, instead destroying the Pillars and becoming a VampireMonarch, ruling the world for thousands of years.]]

* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'': The Pillars of Nosgoth support the eponymous world throughout the series, overlapping with CosmicKeystone. In ''Blood Omen'', the Pillars are have become corrupted, and in order to restore the Pillars Kain must [[spoiler:commit a HeroicSacrifice. He refuses, instead destroying the Pillars and becoming a VampireMonarch, ruling the world for thousands of years.]]

* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'': The Pillars of Nosgoth support the eponymous world throughout the series, which overlaps with CosmicKeystone. In ''Blood Omen'', the Pillars are weakening and Kain must [[spoiler:commit a HeroicSacrifice to restore the pillars. He refuses, instead becoming a VampireMonarch.]] It's eventually revealed later in the series that [[spoiler:Kain's life has become tied to the pillars, and should he take his own life, he would doom all of Nosgoth]].

* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'': The Pillars of Nosgoth support the eponymous world of vampires throughout the series, which overlaps with CosmicKeystone. The Pillars are [[spoiler:weakening and Kain must commit a Heroic sacrifice to restore the pillars. He refuses, instead becoming a VampireMonarch.]] It's eventually revealed later in the series that [[spoiler:Kain's life has become tied to the pillars, and should he take his own life, he would doom all of Nosgoth]].

* ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'': The Pillars of Nosgoth support the eponymous world of vampires throughout the series, which overlaps with CosmicKeystone. As an inversion, Kain is tasked with actually destroying the pillars to rule over the land as the evil vampire king, and each pillar contains a guardian which reflects their state of mind. It's eventually revealed later in the series that [[spoiler:Kain's life is tied to the pillars, and should he take his own life, he would doom all of Nosgoth]].

* ''VideoGame/DarkSouls'' has the giant, stone-pillar esque archtrees that hold up Lordran. The lowest point in Lordran is Ash Lake, where you can see the forest of them stretching from horizon to horizon, implying the whole world is like this.

* The [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pillars_of_Creation Pillars of Creation]], three immense tower-like structures of interstellar gas, were named due to their appearance, resembling a trio of vast pillars at the edge of the universe, evoking this concept.

[[caption-width-right:250:''"The Pillars of Nosgoth. Even in life, few sights have moved me such as this. I marveled that such beauty should grace our dying world."''[[labelnote:The Types of Pillars]]From Left to Right: Mind, Dimension, Conflict, Nature, Balance, Energy, Time, States, and Death.]]

[[caption-width-right:250:''"The Pillars of Nosgoth. Even in life, few sights have moved me such as this. I marveled that such beauty should grace our dying world."'']]

* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'': The continent of [[GrimUpNorth Northrend]] is sometimes known as the "roof of the world". In ''Warcraft III'', Malfurion receives a vision of Northrend crumbling and fears that Illidan's spell from the Eye of Sargeras may destroy the world.

* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'': The continent of [[GrimUpNorth Northrend]] is sometimes known as the "roof of the world". In ''Warcraft 3'', Malfurion receives a vision of Northrend crumbling and fears that Illidan's spell from the Eye of Sargeras may destroy the world.
* ''VideoGame/{{DarkSouls}}'' has the giant, stone-pillar esque archtrees that hold up Lordran. The lowest point in Lordran is Ash Lake, where you can see the forest of them stretching from horizon to horizon, implying the whole world is like this.

* ''VideoGame/{{DarkSouls}}'' has the giant archtrees holding up the Lordran. The lowest point in Lordran is Ash Lake, where you can see the forest of them stretching from horizon to horizon, implying the whole world is like this.

* ''Literature/Matter'' by Iain Banks takes place on a shellworld, where different worlds are nestled inside each other, held up by pillars through which you can connect to other levels.
* In the ''Literature/Titan'' series the center of Titan is connected to the outer ring by vast spokes which serve to hold it together.[[/folder]]

* ''literature/Matter'' by Iain Banks takes place on a shellworld, where different worlds are nestled inside each other, held up by pillars through which you can connect to other levels.
* In the''Literature/Titan'' the center of Titan is connected to the outer ring by vast spokes which serve to hold it together.[[/folder]]

* The setting of ''VideoGame/GravityRush'' is set around a gigantic pillar, and there are different "levels" that are each populated by different societies. Several characters theorize as to what's at the top and bottom of the pillar, though the bottom specifically seem to be covered in black gravity storms. Unusually, at one point in the first game the player character actually gets to traverse inside the pillar.
* The Pillars of Nosgoth in ''VideoGame/LegacyOfKain'' support the eponymous world of vampires throughout the series, which overlaps with CosmicKeystone. As an inversion, Kain is tasked with actually destroying the pillars to rule over the land as the evil vampire king, and each pillar contains a guardian which reflects their state of mind. It's eventually revealed later in the series that [[spoiler:Kain's life is tied to the pillars, and should he take his own life, he would doom all of Nosgoth]].

* ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}}'': The continent of [[GrimUpNorth Northrend]] is sometimes known as the "roof of the world." In ''Warcraft 3'', Malfurion received a vision of Northrend crumbling and feared that Illidan's spell from the Eye of Sargeras may destroy the world.

See also WorldTree, which is the natural and symbolic variant of this trope.

[[folder:Anime and Manga]]

[[folder:Religion and Mythology]]

[[/folder]]

Expect the plot to be centered around the eventual collapse of these pillars, either by natural decay or deliberate sabotage by the BigBad. When a World Pillar goes, it will often take out an entire city, region or continent with it. Naturally, this leads to the heroes trying to save their world by restoring and fixing the pillars back into their original states, which may prove more challenging if the pillars are a form of LostTechnology that was not passed on to newer generations.

Possible Indexes:
* OtherworldTropes

* In ''LightNovel/ClockworkPlanet'', the newly-reconstructed Earth has civilizations placed on giant gears, which are held aloft by enormous core towers that are stated in the novels to be 90,000 meters (90 km) tall. The plot of the first novel revolves around Naoto, [=RyuZU=], Marie and Halter trying to stop the government from deliberately tampering with Kyoto's core tower and purging the city into the void below.
* ''Manga/SaintSeiya'' has the "Poseidon Saga" in which the eponymous Greek God (reincarnated in the billionaire playboy Julian Solo) kidnapps Saori Kiddo/Goddess Athena into the underwater world. To free her (being imprisoned in the Master Pillar that works as a DrowningPit), Bronze Saints have to break every of the World Pillars, seven of them that represent every of the oceans (five in fact, having two for Pacific and Atlantic oceans) and guarded by the seven Generals that protect every pillar.