The First Iron Mountain is one of the temple shrines built by a race of Super-Ancient Beings for use in the Trial of the Mountains.
History[]
Early History[]
At a currently unknown point in Earth's history, a race of Super-Ancient Beings constructed the first of their Iron Mountains beneath what would later become the tidal island of Mont Saint-Michel in Normandy, France. Here, anyone who could complete the Fall as part of the Trial of the Mountains would receive a "burning key" that would qualify for entrance into the Supreme Labyrinth.
After the Super-Ancients were gone, the Four Legendary Kingdoms learned about the tasks left behind by the Super-Ancient Beings, among them the Trial of the Mountains, with the locations of all five iron mountains, and the three Secret Cities, kept on a bronze-like globe.
While the locations of the other mountains, particularly the last two, were lost or difficult to pin down exactly, the position of the first iron mountain was easily located thanks to the bronze-like globe which showed that the mountain was located on France's coastline. Once the Four Kingdoms found it, they had the Catholic Church build a shrine dedicated to the archangel Michael atop it to help conceal the mountain from the rest of the world, and continued to maintain it for several centuries.
The Two Lost Mountains[]
After Hardin "Sphinx" Lancaster successfully completed the Trial of the Cities at the Altar of the Cosmos, Cardinal Ricardo Mendoza reported that Felix Rasmussen was working to ensure that the first mountain would be ready for the Trismagi's arrival when the alignment event with the moon's pedestal began a few weeks later.
After Sphinx and his forces obtained the Siren bells from Moscow, he sent Mendoza and Dion DeSaxe ahead to the first mountain to finish the preparations before his arrival. At the same time, Jack West Jr and his team began preparations to head to the first mountain in the hopes of stopping Sphinx and performing the Fall, and so Jack and Iolanthe Compton-Jones headed to Mont Saint-Michel to rendezvous with Brother Bertie de Montreuil.
Once the pair met with Bertie, the old Jesuit led them to a viewing balcony overlooking the Falling Temple while explaining the nature of the Fall to them and soon they were watching as Sphinx himself arrived. Declaring that he would undertake the Fall by himself, Sphinx took his place atop the Falling Temple, and once the lunar alignment began, the Trismagi initiated the drop into the shaft. Upon completing his race from the upper altar to the lowest level, Sphinx received the burning key to allow him entrance into the Supreme Labyrinth.
Once the Falling Temple was raised back to the surface, Mendoza suggested to Sphinx that they let Dion do a Fall as well in case any of their adversaries also managed to gain entry into the Labyrinth so that the young king could back him up. Agreeing, Sphinx prepared to head to the ancient maze, but first ordered that Rasmussen and his subordinates killed, had the intruding Hades killed by one of his Silver Guardians, and taunted Jack when he realised the Australian was present. As Sphinx departed and his forces began their assault, Jack recovered Bertie and then destroyed one of the winching chains holding the Falling Temple up. As the Temple fell and crashed into the shaft, Jack, Iolanthe and Bertie made their escape and fled the first mountain.
The One Impossible Labyrinth[]
After the Omega Event was averted, the world learned of the ancient trials, leading archaeologists and historians to head to the ancient sites such as the first iron mountain to study them. Though it became a popular tourist destination as a result, the iron mountain was recognised by the world being as crucial and in need of preservation so that it could be used for future runs of the trials and Omega Events.
Attributes[]
Purpose[]
Like the other four mountains, the first iron mountain contains a massive underground Temple-Shrine that is a center-piece of the Trial of the Mountains, where claimants to the ultimate throne in the Supreme Labyrinth can prove their worth by performing a Fall during an alignment event with the moon.
Description[]
The Falling Temple of the first mountain is 16 stories tall and eight wide, like its fellows, and constructed in a top-like diamond shape, built perfectly balanced so as to not tip during the Fall and cause damage to itself against the shaft. This Falling Temple is also positioned directly above a 3.8 kilometers-deep shaft.
Trivia[]
- In the epilogue of The One Impossible Labyrinth, it is suggested that the four remaining iron mountains were needed to be kept secured for use in future runs of the trials, even though the first Falling Temple was destroyed during the course of The Two Lost Mountains.