The Mountain

The Sacred Mountain of Sargeroth is the entire reason why this minecraft map was chosen. We, like the Sargerithians were awed by its beauty and stunning height. Nothing in Sargeroth is built higher than the mountain and though it has been done several times, it is illegal in the city to build upon the face of the Mountain.

## Ascending the Heights

It is believed that the leaders of Sargeroth's great houses first tread the heights and ascended to the summit of the Sacred Mountain. There it is told that the God of the Mountain spoke to them, imbuing them with great power and wisdom. The prospective houses built their homesteads based on the experience (and/or view) from the mountainside. Its shadows still cast over most of the city, even being used as a way to measure time by many in Sargeroth to this day.

## The Mountain Faith

Very soon after the original settlement of Sargeroth, many of the various tribes began praising the mountain as a god, saying it had a spirit of strength and knowledge within it. groups would ascend to pray and offer sacrifice ritually and within 100 years, a full fledged faith had taken root, the first known religion of Sargeroth.

As the number of believers grew, so did Sargeroth's consciousness. This early period of enlightenment are referred to as the age of fortune. Disease and crime was virtually non existent, the people of Sargeroth were bound into 1 heart and mind, and the leaders of the Noble houses lived in peace and prosperity with each other. All understood the gifts which the mountain had freely given them. From freshwater springs which spring up throughout the Ridgelands, to the fertile and resilient soil which produced delicious foods with plenty for all, the mountains blessings seemed to be never-ending. The houses and clans each had their own priest of the mountain which led the noble families through rituals of praise and thanksgiving and commanded great respect from the community. Services would be held in the shadow of the mountain, with a sanctuary never being built upon any holy ground or anywhere else throughout the city as it was believed by the devout to be of the utmost importance to commune directly with the mountain.

Pilgrimages are a large part of the faith. Those wishing to gain enlightenment make the trek alone, with as few supplies as possible. Even defecating on the mountain is admonished and the faithful are expected to due their business of the cliffs, lest it rest upon the brow of the Mountain God and turn its favor against the city. Many died from these pilgrimages; some from the freezing temperatures at such heights, others from falling from the rough cut paths in the cliffs. All is meant as sacrifice to the Mountain God, even death whereupon ones own body is left to become part of the mountain itself.

The faith of the Mountain God became ubiquitous throughout the city within a few hundred years and by the end of the 1st era, Sargeroth was a homogeneous religious culture. Trinkets from the mountainside are sold as sacred relics in the streets. Rent - a - Priests can be bought for an afternoon for any kind of ceremony, and beggars watch for the shadow of the mountain to pass upon them before asking for alms.

Many superstitions can be linked back to the Mountain faith, from the fear of building one's structure too tall, to the deliberate process by which one decides to buy a piece of fruit depending on where the shadow of the mount lay when the crop was harvested. Those of decidedly less faith were rarely looked down upon however, and a general freedom of thought was accepted through much of the city, though rare were the minds who could stand to think apart in those days. Everything changed however on a fateful day in the early 2nd era, when an individual by the name of Zwickel appeared at the gates of Sargeroth.