LOCKSMOORE

Although the worship of fire and its corresponding elements has its roots in the primitive tribal cultures that thrived before the Age of Entharion, the modern form of the religion, known as Zorkastrianism, traces its origins to the time of Locksmoore. That long-lived wise man, though his intense study of the ancient secrets, gradually found his way to the truth regarding the purifying religious power of fire, and even recovered both Yoruk’s shield and journal.

During the seventh century, before the armies of Pseudo-Duncanthrax invaded the Eastlands, the ancient town of Kivolli was little more than ruins within a huge hollowed-out mountain, stacked on cliffs at the base of the Temple of the Ancients, which lay on the northwest corner of what is today known as the Valley of the Sparrows. The town was connected to the surface by earthen tunnels. This Temple of the Ancients was archaic, dedicated to the pseudo-god Athena. From what the researchers could tell, the religion apparently had an animistic nature and its ritual involved the worship of elements and base metals. Some said that the ruins went back to the days of Yoruk, but there was no definite way to confirm this assumption. Locksmoore had saw this place fit for his experiments and religious dedication.

When Pseudo-Duncanthrax invaded the Eastlands in 666 GUE, Locksmoore was one of the first to establish friendly contact between the conquered tribes in the Eastlands and the armies of Pseudo-Duncanthrax from the west. He was well-versed in the lore and religions of the primitive society, and shared this information with the Quendoran newcomers, even befriending Pseudo-Duncanthrax and Cornelius Agrippa during their visits to the east.

One of the most noteworthy projects in 668 GUE was the Temple of Agrippa, said to be the roots of the secret alchemical society. In that year, the mountain was further hollowed out, the original inner sanctum that had been used by Locksmoore was rebuilt and expanded, and the Frobozz Magic Construction Company connected the temple to the rest of the underground at Mile 735 of the Southern Highway. Some say Locksmoore was responsible for the reconstruction; others claim that this was highly unlikely. The head of the Agrippa family in the seventh century was the only person outside of Duncanthrax himself that could have afforded the job. Even so, it appears that Locksmoore heavily imbued the temple with magical powers—the magical symbols and emblems woven by the sorcerer into the very architecture and fabric of the temple.

Locksmoore's holy and ascetic nature had won him the approval of spiritual forces (which are suspected to be demonic), who granted him an extremely long span of life. He would manage to outlive the first six ruling members of the Flathead Dynasty before being executed inadvertently by one of Dimwit Flathead’s overzealous governors. Before his death, he would found an ascetic order of monks that still survives even today, which included Satchmoz the Incomparable. Perched high atop the lonely mountains of the Steppinthrax Peninsula, the Steppinthrax Monastery would keep alive the fire of his ancient beliefs for many centuries to come.