Lore:Sancre Tor

(or the Golden Hill) was an ancient fortified city in  , located in the   north of the city of   in what is now  .  It is said to be the mythical birthplace and final resting place of   and his successors.   It is notable for the   placed throughout the complex during the  .  

The founding stories of Sancre Tor are conflicting and shrouded in myth. It is written that   received the divine inspiration for her slave rebellion at the site of Sancre Tor, and afterwards founded her holy city there.  However, this conflicts with the story of Alessia's youth, where she was raised as a slave in the   city of  .  Apocryphal accounts describe Sancre Tor as an Ayleid holding which was taken by Alessia; the loss involved eight horns known as the  . 

Another origin myth claims that King   gave his life by copulating with the spirit of Saint Alessia on the site of Sancre Tor, seemingly impregnating the earth. The small mound of mud left behind by their union soon grew into a small mountain (the "Golden Hill", also known as Hrol's Hillock), attracting a community of believers to settle there. After nine months, the shepherdess   heard a cry from the top of the mountain, and climbed it to find the newborn Reman Cyrodiil, wearing the   on his forehead. 

Regardless of its origins, the city fell into ruin following the fall of the  . Many heroes and noblemen were buried in the crypts, including the Remans and their   protectors. After its abandonment, Sancre Tor became a dark place, haunted by vast numbers of undead. Some time after the   of  ,   and   hid the   in the ruins of Sancre Tor before being captured by  . In  , the reformed   entered the ruins in an attempt to retrieve it.   swiftly followed, raising more undead from their graves in an attempt to stop them. However, he was defeated in battle by the   after revealing his plans to usurp Bal's godhead. He was then pulled into   for his treachery, allowing the Companions to escape with the Amulet. 

By the late  , Sancre Tor had once again become inhabited. In  , the city was captured by invading forces from High Rock and Skyrim during the  .  General Talos, who would later become  , recaptured the city that winter.  However, the city was in a strategically inconvenient position, and Talos abandoned it to again fall into ruins.  Many decades later, Tiber Septim was fatally wounded at another battle at Sancre Tor, where he died and ascended to become one of the  .  The Blades built a shrine in the catacombs of Sancre Tor, on the spot where he had received the blessing of  .  It then served as a place of pilgrimage for the   for many years.

The old fortress of Sancre Tor was later corrupted by the Underking, prompting it to be sealed shut by the Grandmaster of the Blades in the thirty-sixth year of the reign of Tiber Septim.  The four mightiest Blades of the time, Alain, Valdemar, Rielus, and Casnar, never returned from the ruins and were cursed to undeath.  In the years after Tiber Septim's reign, it was gradually forgotten, decaying into a haunted ruin. The   visited the ruins in   to recover the Armor of Tiber Septim, unsealing the ruins with the approval of the Blades. After freeing the four ancient Blades from undeath, their spirits aided the Champion in entering the Reman crypt and recovering the armor.  The Champion was also aided by a mysterious guardian known as Baynham. 
 

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See Also
For game-specific information, see the Oblivion and ESO articles.
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