The Second 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 second of their iron moutains beneath what would later become the Aiguille du Midi mountain of the Mont Blanc Massif in 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.
Over the eons since its construction, the second mountain's moon shaft was subjected to the elements resulting from the Massif's icy climate, becoming filled with ice and snow.
In 37 AD, the mad Roman emperor Caligula ordered that the "bronze" globe, along with the obelisk it was mounted on, be relocated from the Siwa Oasis to Rome. The priests of the Cult of Amon-Ra were outraged and decided to deface the globe to keep its knowledge from the mad emperor, but were only able to file off the locations of two of the iron mountains before they were caught. While the second iron mountain's location on the globe was untarnished, its exact location beyond being in Asia was unclear.
Prior to 2016, the exact location of the second iron mountain was confirmed to the highest ranking members of the Four Kingdoms, notably the Kings of Land, and their closest advisors. During her father's brief period as King, Iolanthe Compton-Jones learned of a hollow core located in Mont Blanc, which she came to suspect was the Altar of the Cosmos, and asked permission to examine it. However, apparently knowing the truth that Mont Blanc contained the second iron mountain, Iolanthe's father refused her request.
The Two Lost Mountains[]
After Hardin "Sphinx" Lancaster successfully performed the Fall at the first iron mountain, he decided to have Dion DeSaxe also perform a Fall in case any of his adversaries also managed to gain entry into the Supreme Labyrinth so that the young king could back him up. However, after Jack West Jr was forced to destroy that mountain's chains holding up the Falling Temple, Dion and Jaeger Eins headed to the second mountain so that they could have Dion perform the Fall there instead.
While waiting for a clearing pod to drill through the blockages in the moon shaft, Dion and Eins's forces came under attack from a group of Order of the Omega monks and Romanian soldiers led by Brother Esrael, so that they could make their own attempt to perform a Fall. Having also learned of the second mountain's location, Jack West Jr, Easton and their palemen made their way into the second mountain's Hall of the Falling Temple in the hope of also undertaking a Fall. Though the Omega/Romanian group managed to shoot down one of Dion's Super Stallions, which got it caught in the winching chains, the clearing pod cleared the moon shaft in time for the mountain to come into alignment with the moon pedestal and Dion released the Temple into the shaft. Accompanied by Eins, Dion raced down to the lower altar, where the young royal successfully completed the trial and received the burning key.
Not wanting one of their enemies to do a Fall after him, Dion and Eins had their remaining Super Stallion pick them up from the shaft and then fired a missile at the Temple. As they prepared to leave, General Garthon Rastor, having also come to perform a Fall, arrived, blocking Dion and Eins's primary exit and forcing them to leave via a priest's entrance once they confirmed Rastor had no intention of joining them. Rastor then proceeded to execute the Omega monks and Romanian soldier before calling out Jack, who along with Easton managed to get onto the crashed Super Stallion and ascended the moon shaft using the abandoned clearing pod to escape the second 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 second 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 second 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 second 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 second Falling Temple was destroyed during the course of The Two Lost Mountains.