Godherja Encyclopedia

Northern Kharadan Mountains (concept)

Biozone: Northern Kharadan Mountains

The North Kharadan Mountains are home to some of the tallest peaks on Aeras, with even most of the "lesser" ones making otherwise impressive mountains in the rest of the world seem like paltry hillocks in comparison. Predictably, the environment is inimical to most life - terrain so treacherous so as to require either magic or specialized equipment to traverse, permanent snow cover and wildly unpredictable weather mean that the only inhabitants are a scant number of highly specialized mundane animals and, more significantly, elementals.

Hunting in the Northern Kharadan Mountains is unusual, to say the least. It is generally accepted that even the most ferocious of elementals that dwell atop its snowy peaks pale in terms of danger in comparison to the environment itself. Even if the weather stays clear throughout, the terrain means that in some places we're likely going to have to make fully vertical climbs, and if we happen to get caught in one of the monstrous blizzards that regularly consume the area we are likely as good as dead.

We have taken great pains to ensure that we are as prepared for this journey as one can be - and still, we feel woefully unready for the undertaking at hand. As the last of the forests around us are replaced by bleak stone and we encounter the first patches of snow, we are finally allowed a completely clear of the mountain range in front — nay, above us — we are left with one last chance to reconsider whether this endeavor is worth the risk.