Keepers of End Mountain
The Keepers of End Mountain are an unusual and elusive sect of Dragon blessed. They live on End Mountain, an active volcano they claim is the mouth of the world dragon. The world dragon is based on an ancient dragon blessed idea that everything is made up of dragons of varying sizes. It's a philosophy that fell out of favour when the Dragons were stripped of their power.
Though they claim to be a well respected religious cult, most other dragon blessed see the Keepers as dangerous radicals, crazy, or straight up blasphemous. They are often accused of stealing land and sacrifices and killing other cults' members (this is taboo in many dragon blessed cultures). Some even say they worship the elementals above the dragons, and seek to bring the dragons' ruin.
The Keepers do follow many common tenants of Draconic Cults , such as hunting and sacrificing magical animals, praising the glory days of dragons, and claiming to follow a dragon's cue. The problem for the other cults is that the Keeper's dragon is the earth itself. They give sacrifices by throwing them into the volcano, and praise eruptions, earthquakes, and rock slides as their dragon hunting.
Structure
The Keepers of End Mountain are unusual from other dragon blessed societies in that they are a Cult only. There is no further society, and each person within the cult is expected to fulfill hunting, survival, and religious ceremonial roles.
A council of elder priests leads the Keepers as their family matriarchs, high priests, and generals. These are the leaders in every part of Keepers' lives.
Culture
The Keepers look after their world dragon by feeding sacrifices to the volcano, celebrating their dragon's hunts in the form of seismic activity, and attacking those who are hurting their dragon by mining, farming, and building.
All of their weapons and armour are constructed from animals and plants. The Keepers do not wear clothing aside from their armour.
Interestingly, the Keepers do not have a preference towards a particular ethnicity like other cults. Instead they are made up of many cultures, including a number of exiled Krigi. While it has been argued that they were clearly not created by one dragon and their world dragon hasn't blessed them, the Keepers disagree.
"The world dragon has made us all, and we shall serve it. It has blessed us not with wings or tails or magic foul, but with the knowledge to live at peace with its greatness. We do not rip open our dragon, for we have no need to. Is there any gift greater than that?" Statement from the Council of Elder Priests
History
The Keepers leave very few archaeological traces, so it is hard to say how long they have existed. Suspected references to a similar group have been found on pottery throughout the region, and less-than-flattering stories of volcano worshipers are common in {Mountain 1}, {Mountain 2}, and Krigi culture.
It's safe to say the ideas they worship as well as the group themselves have been around in some form for a very long time.
Art is mine.
Type
Secret, Brotherhood
Alternative Names
Elemental Zealots (derogatory), Cult of the Volcano (unfriendly, insulting)
Location
Related Species
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