Scarmoor Temple

Once bustling with life and the constant chatter of conversation, the temple is now a quieter and more reserved place of worship. Visitors are far and few between, with only those willing to brave the dangers that passing through or along the Serpent Cliff brings. The only constant now are the men and women of faith who keep the temple from falling into ruin.

Purpose / Function

Before the Great Scourge, Scarmoor Temple used to be a one of the grander places of worship for the Iridan Pantheon. Now, with the dangers presented along the nearby mountains, the temple is an echo of what it once was.
There are still those who call the temple their home - the priests and priestess' of Iridan, as well as the monks who pray alongside them. Their dedication to the temple's upkeep means that Scarmoor Temple is one of the few remaining places of worship throughout the land where each and every god - even the Mad King himself - has a shrine dedicated to them.
For many who dare to make the pilgrimage to the temple, it is a great honour. They get to see the dedication and work put into the temple over the recent years, and they get to learn a great deal more about the history of the Iridan Pantheon than they would anywhere else in the world. In that regard, Scarmoor Temple's purpose has moved from solely being a place of worship, to becoming a place of not only protecting the world's religious history, but also rediscovering it.
It is also noteworthy as being the only temple that built in and dedicated shrines to each of the Elusive ones, in spite of backlash from the rest of the religious community.

History

Long ago, before the Great Scourge changed the land forever and stole away a large portion of magical energy, Scarmoor Temple was one of the prime places of worship for the Iridan Pantheon. It still is to this day, but back then the crowds gathered in hundreds, with common folk from all over Garlan making the pilgrimage to the temple. It was easier then, when so many had magic to protect them from the dangers that wandered the Serpent Cliff.
Over time though, the popularity of the temple began to dwindle. It began to decline when magic started to become chaotic in nature, uncontrollable by those who would seek to protect pilgrims on their journey. Then numbers decreased dramatically when the Great Scourge occurred and magic was torn from the world in masses. For almost 2 thousand years afterwards those numbers continued to decline, but at a much lower rate. The priests hoped that eventually the decline would stop and that perhaps the people would once more return to the temple en masse, but unfortunately they were devastatingly wrong.
When the Gods vanished from Garlan, the people grew disillusioned with the pantheon, and so to with the temple itself.