Spine Mountain Range

From The World of Layonara
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This sprawling and rugged mountain range crawls across the middle of Tilmar like a three-clawed hand. It is volcanic in origin, with two pinnacles bookmarking the dark basalt peaks; the pyramid-shaped Mountain of Titans in the Telish Throne, and the conical (and still active) Cyclops Peak in the Kingdom of Bilkan. The stone face of the range alternates lighter colored granite with dark basalt, with the darkest rock around the peaks contrasting the snow that covers them year-round.

In the foothills the tree cover is thick with stubcone pines and the more isolated sun-loving burr oaks, with a ground cover similar to the Forest of Voices; rock and scattered dirt, leaves and needles. At higher altitudes, hearty but small white oak rule the open spaces while the tall, blue-green needle fir hugs the walls of the range where there is shelter from the wind. All across the range in addition to mosses and lichens are the short stalks of wheatgrass that are medicinal for animals and humans alike.

Life seems to be drawn to this place of soaring winds and cold. Along the peaks and on the Mountain of Titans, giants make their home; dwarves, reclusive and rarely seen, live inside the mountain; down in the valleys and hills, those animals that survived Bloodstone's rampage wander through the sparse trees; wolves with fur as white as a polar bears and a hunger that verges on rage wander the higher elevations all across the mountains on both sides of the border; and deep beneath the mountain things lumber, crawl and walk that make even the giants nervous at times.