Hill Peaks
The Hill Peaks are by far the largest range of mountains in Shardar, stretching
as they do from the icy tip of the Northlands to halfway down the Southlands. They are split midway by the deep Barrier Bay and could in
truth be termed as two separate ranges, but by long standing tradition, they are
simply known as the Northern Hill Peaks and the Southern Hill Peaks.
They are, in fact, one of the very few things that the Northern Clans
have in common with the Southerners.
The base of
the Southern Hill Peaks is riddled with mines and tunnels that, over the years,
have grown into a vast network of underground paths.
These mines were created in the search for precious metals and gems and,
for a long time, they were quite profitable.
Unfortunately, the mines are starting to run dry now and it is more and
more expensive to bring the goods back to the surface.
Some miners and locals believe that within as little as ten years, the
gold will run out and the economy of Shardar will be badly hit by a disaster of
huge proportion
To
compensate for this possibility, there have been a few exploratory digs made up
in the Northern Hill Peaks and certain foothills discovered there hold deposits
of gold and silver at least as rich as those in the Southlands originally were.
The problems with opening mines in the Northlands are many, not least of
them being the Northern Clans themselves. The
Clansmen are not on very friendly terms with Southerners and would be most
unhappy to have Southern miners coming up and raping their land.
But the Northerners have never been great miners and have little skill or
aptitude in that field. Unless some
sort of compromise can be come to, it is possible that the mines will be sites
of conflict and bloodshed, but the gold has to come out of the land – there is
no other option!
Huge flocks
of nimble mountain goats live midway up the Hill Peaks, the ones in the Northern
Range slightly larger and much hardier than the ones in the Southern range.
Both breeds of the goats are valued for their hair which can be woven
into extremely warm and water repellent clothing.
There are tribes of hunters who live their entire lives on the sides of
the mountains, trapping and following the goats as they roam the craggy and
rocky paths. On many occasions,
enterprising farmers and merchants have tried to capture the goats and breed
them in pens and fields, but each time the goats have pined, fallen ill and
dropped dead within a few months. No
one has been able to come up with a reasonable explanation for these animals
refusing to live in captivity, but it is a fact that makes life extremely
difficult for those whose livelihood depends on these creatures.
The highest
peaks of the Southern mountain range is home to a breed of bird called the
Elkorn Hawks. These beautiful,
grey/silver birds are deadly hunters and when they can be captured as fledglings
or even as eggs, they can reach an incredibly high price in the open market.
It is a great status symbol amongst the Nobles of Shardar for them to
have a tamed Elkorn Hawk as a hunting bird and only the richest of them can
afford this. The bird has a wing
span of over three feet and it’s bill and talons are impressive weapons. The birds normally feeds on small mammals and rodents but
will eat other birds and can even be trained to attack people.
In this case, the bird will always attack the eyes of its victim and
their speed and diving attacks make them very difficult to avoid.
The Elkorn
Hawks do not live in the Northern ranges of the Hill Peaks, possibly because of
the greater cold and winds, but more likely because of the White Rats that
infest the tops of these cold mountains. These
rodents are about twice the size of a normal rat and they hunt in packs,
bringing down anything they come across.. Their
pelts are a dirty white colour, as are their eyes and tongues and it is almost
impossible to see one of these rats as they scurry across the snowy mountains.
More than one traveller has found themselves being attacked by creatures
that they didn’t even know were anywhere nearby.
There have
been a few attempts to capture and breed the White Rats to use them in the way
that ferrets are used, but none of the attempts have been successful.
It is simple enough to catch them and breed these creatures, but it is
next to impossible to train them in any way.
This is not because of lack of intelligence, but possibly because the
creatures are too intelligent and they harbour a great hatred for everything and
anything other than themselves.
Apart from
the goat hunters, there are very few people who live in the Hill Peaks.
There are almost always rumours of Mages and Academies being situated in
the high and barren mountain tops but this is unlikely to be true.
What reason could any Arch-Mage have for setting up an Academy in a place
as inhospitable as the Hill Peaks? And
while nobody will tell a Mage where they may or may not dwell, what possible
reason could any Mage have for making their home in the mountains?