Assai Mountains

It is a vast expanse of icy peaks broken up by the occasional valley and glacier.

— Artur Neha, Traveler

Overview

The Assai Mountains is the largest, iciest, and variegated expanse of mountains on the Continental Island of Dammerung, and perhaps the Quassus Continent (the Q is silent). Between the peaks are massive glaciers believed to have formed from the massive ice storms that occurred during the The Great Collapse. There are also plenty of hidden valleys and caves carved out from the great mountains by the great upheavals of the collapse. The very rocks seem to change from place to place as one travels from one end of the Assai to the other. The various colors and patterns of these rocks show that even during the most chaotic of times great works of art can unexpectedly arise.
The Assai are the easternmost mountains of Dammerung. One can clearly observe the chaotic expanse of the Continental Island of Valjeta from the easternmost peaks.

Glaciers

Between many of the peaks of the Assai are what seems from a distance to be tall and broad walls of ice. These walls are in fact the outer boundries of large glaciers that reside between the peaks. The lingering wild magics from the collapse continue to preserve these glaciers in spite of the changing of the seasons. Some of these glaciers slowly shift from one end of a valley to another over the course of the year. Some, those on the very fringes of the Assai Mountains, melt only for the water to reconstitute into a newly born glacier. The ever changing nature of the ice of the Assai creates temporary windows of opportunity to investigate any ancient ruin that is uncovered; or rather the pulverized fragments thereof.
These massive blocks of ice house caves within them that appear and disappear over the course of the year. Those brave enough to venture into one may find unearthed artifacts from the past at the risk of becoming trapped with the next quake. Some entrances do not appear to show any signs of going away leading to speculation that something or someone has made a home and is preventing their cave from disappearing.

Valleys

Many of the valleys in the Assai Mountain are hidden from view from most vantage points. Most of these valleys are hidden by the massive permanent glaciers. Others are not, though they are usually far apart from one another. These valleys are deep and usually host a verdant oasis. There are tribes that call some of these valleys their homes and fiercely guard their borders.

Caves

Many caves are dispersed throughout the Assai Mountains. Many of these are small and isolated while others are larger. The largest of these caves are a connected network that provide underground paths through the mountains. Goblins and trolls are the usual denizens of these caves and usually present a danger to the daylight loving tribes above ground. Some believe that a great and thriving underworld exists under the Assai but that few have ever found it let alone returned from such a place.

Springtime Streams and Rivers

Despite the perma-glaciers snow still gathers in the winter season and then melts off during the warming days of spring. This produces plenty of rivers that feed into the valleys and beyond the Assai Mountains. The number of streams and rivers that are fed by the melting snows are innumerable around this mountain range. This highlights the now fragmented nature of the continent after the The Great Collapse.

Alternative Name(s)

The Ice Peaks

Type

Mountain Range

Location under

Continental Island of Dammerung

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Common Flora

• Quaking Aspen
• Narrowleaf Cottonwood
• Assai Mountain Maple
• Wild Rose
• Wax Current
• Boulder Raspberry
• Mountain Big Sagebush
• Common Juniper
• Shrubby Cinquefoil
• Lodgepole Pine
• Ponderosa Pine
• Limber Pine

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Common Fauna

• Mountain Goat
• Mountain Lion
• Wolf
• Lynx
• Coyote
• Snow Leopard
• Moose
• Vulture
• Hawk
• Harpy Eagle Stellar's Jay
• Snow Mouse
• Snow Rat
• Spectral Skunk

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Typical Magic Fields

• Icy
• Terra
• Aero

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Note(s) from the Archivists:

Those spectral skunks are no joke. They can appear anywhere and spray you for any reason. - Archivist Theta
Does the spray wash off? - Archivist Enna
It took a week in my case. - Archivist Theta.