Mount Sekot
| Mount Sekot | |
|---|---|
 Mount Sekot from the south | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 6,638 m (21,778 ft) |
| Prominence | 1,319 m (4,327 ft) |
| Naming | |
| Native name | [Sekotozh] Error: {{Native name}}: missing language tag (help) (language?) |
| Geography | |
| Country | Varshan |
| Climbing | |
| First ascent | Antiquity |
Mount Sekot (Sekotozh) is a high peak in southeastern Varshan. It is considered the second most holy site in Orthodox Arzalism after the Solar Temple in Anzo and was the site of the faith's major non-urban monastery. Its peak was a major site of human sacrifice according to the Arzalist practice. Accordingly, non-priestly caste members were forbidden from climbing the mountain on pain of death. Within Varshani culture, it was considered one of the towers allowing the material world to persist. The site was largely destroyed or otherwise rendered inoperable after being hit with four YOLO bombs as part of Operation Ascendant Justice.
History
Pre-history
Little is known regarding the history of Mount Sekot, but modern historians and archaelogists believe it has been the center of deity worship for thousands of years in Crona. Many foundation myths of central and southern Crona are based on the Gods hurling a "great stone" to the Earth from which animals and humans originate, and most scholars believe these stories originally referred to Mount Sekot. Consequently, limited archaeological expeditions allowed by Varshan in the 1950s found evidence of various worship items - including non-Arzalist idols - dating back to the first century BC. These discoveries lead to the expulsion of the expeditions and, consequently, serious scholarship about the pre-historic period is extremely limited.
Modern monastic foundation
Scholars believe the modern monastic organization was established in the 2nd or 3rd century AD, gradually displacing other religious and mythical worship sites at the base of the mountain. A large stone monastery-pyramid was constructed in the 5th century, but an earthquake in the early 8th century rendered it unstable. The pyramid is believed to have either collapsed or been purposefully destroyed by 915 AD, after which time work began on the modern stone-hewn monastery, which was completed by the end of the century.
Ascendant Justice
In 2022, Urcea launched Operation Ascendant Justice in retaliation for the Atomic bombing of Zakan Rot. As part of the Operation, the site was hit with four YOLO bombs ranging from a direct hit to the top of the mountain to a strike a few hundred meters in front of the monastery. These detonations rendered the site largely inoperable and killed almost all of the Varshani priests on site. Access to the top of the mountain was rendered permanently impossible as a result of the strike.
Sekot Monastery
The Sekot Monastery (Sekotozhanistanisania) was a large stone-cut structure at the base of Mount Sekot. It served as the training place for members of the Arzal priesthood from the most significant genealogies as well as those personally chosen by the Zurg himself to enter into the Monastery. Entry into the Monastery was considered both a coming of age process for the highest tier of the priesthood caste as well as the prerequisite for any priest to be able to perform human sacrifice. Consequently, the priests at the Solar Temple in Anzo all spent years at the Monastery. The current Monastery was constructed hewn out of stone during the 10th century, although various wood and other structures have existed on the site for thousands of years, even predating Arzalist belief. Scholarship suggests that priest trainees spent more than a decade and a half at the Monastery before returning to their homes or going on to serve in Anzo, and most members of the priest caste who enter the Monastery do so at age fourteen.
Both as part of the training of the priesthood caste and as part of Arzalist practice, the peak of Mount Sekot was used for human sacrifice. The structure was nearly completely submerged by landslides resulting from Operation Ascendant Justice in 2022 with most of the priestly caste members inside killed as a result of the strike.
Mountaineering
Climbing Mount Sekot was a practice reserved exclusively to members of the Arzalist priestly caste and any intended human sacrifice victims, and consequently the details of climbing the mountain were not widely known. Based on descriptions by Arzalist priests and aerial observation, an "intricate and ancient" stone stairway was hewn out of the northern face of the mountain going up approximately two thirds of the way. The remaining climb was accomplished on foot as the harsh face gradually slopes off to a walkable path, although the path was considerably dangerous due to the presence of persistent snow and ice. Occidental scholars believed the conditions of the mountain are the way they were, in part, to prepare priests for the lengthy climb up the Solar Temple in Anzo, although a minority of scholars believe that most Arzalist temples were constructed to their considerable height in emulation of Mount Sekot. Access to the top of the mountain was rendered impossible due to the strikes as part of Operation Ascendant Justice in 2022.