Gloamfire Ashlands

The Gloamfire Ashlands are a region within the Duchy of Aurpaznia dominated by the fiery mountains known as the Gloamfire Crags. When these volcanic mountains erupt, they spit ash into the air for miles around so thick that the ground is covered like an ashy snowfall. The ash is collected and used in several trades, most commonly in agriculture, cosmetics, and polishes, and the mountains are rich in minerals and gems.

Geography

The geography of the Gloamfire Ashlands encompasses the lands for several dozen miles around the mountains known as the Gloamfire Crags, a string of volcanic mountains that run in to the range surrounding Lake Solace to the north. The mountains themselves get their name from the fires that erupt regularly from vents, igniting the mountainside in blue-purple fires. The volcanoes along these peaks erupt rather frequently, upwards of three times in as many years, raining ash down over the region for several dozen miles around.
To the north of the main peaks is a low dip in the land that sits between them and the mountains that surround Lake Solace. This area often floods in the wet season with runoff from the north and becomes something of a volcanic swampland. It contains several geizers, hotsprings and acidic lakes that occasionally erupt with the same flames as the mountains to their south.
To the south, east, and west, past the edges of Trandrafia's border with the Principalities, much of the forest has been cut down on the Trandrafian side to make way for fertile farmlands regularly fertilized by the volcanic ashfalls. Beyond that resume the thick forests that grow stronger with the same nutrients that rain down from the distant mountains.

Localized Phenomena

Common occurrences within the ashlands accompany any volcanic activity within the region. Quakes and tremors occur regularly, increasing in intensity prior to eruptions. Ashfalls, for which the Ashlands get their name, often accompany eruptions as well, but smaller ashfalls still occur as the gasses of the volcanoes occasionally throw debris into the air.
Geysers, hot springs and acidic pools dot the landscape, created by the toxic gasses escaping from beneath the volcanic landscape, especially north of the main ridge of mountains where runoff from Lake Solace pools in a deep crater between mountains.

Gloamfire Rivers

A misnomer, Gloamfire rivers are the phenomena which the mountains are best known for. Very often, when gasses are released from within the volcanoes or they erupt, the mountains alight in lines of blue-purple, almost violet or deep purple fire. While the lava flows red as normal, the fires that it lights - especially on the mountains - are all the same blue-purple.

Lava Rivers

One of many hazards in the vicinity of the mountains, rivers of lava from the peaks, often meeting actual rivers or pooling at the base of the mountain. Some of these rivers have formed lava lakes which remain hot beneath the surface, and are a deadly hazard for anyone not familiar with the landscape.

Risen Constructs

The dwarves that once lived in these mountains were not the only threat that the Trandrafians faced when they assaulted their fortresses. These dwarves had a connection with the molten earth of the mountains that allowed them to mold constructs out of metal and fuel them with the fires of the mountain, creating automata of devastating power. In the ensuing battle, many of these constructs were destroyed or buried with their makers, but from time to time, there have been instances of reawakening constructs. Once they awaken they become a threat to the people of the mountain and emergency forces are needed to put them down before they cause too much harm to the region and its people.

Climate

The climate closer to the mountains seems warmer, but dryer. Rainfall doesn't often make its way as far north and west to this location, or perhaps it is disrupted by the constant smoke and ash in the air. When it does, rainfall causes the ash to become a slick and muddy and harden into a cement-like substance after it dries.

Fauna & Flora

Cinder Blossoms. Flowers that are the first to bloom after an ashfall or an eruption. These are blue flowers with curled petals that end in an ashen coloration at the tips as if they have been burned. They seem to react to the extreme heat of the volcanoes and are used in tonics and pastes that help workers resist the heat.
Geode Melons. A large melon fruit that grows on the warm inclines of the Gloamfire Crags, many times clustering around heat vents. The melon looks like nothing more than a large round stones to the untrained eye.

Fauna

Delmek Sheep. A species of sheep that climbs the mountains unbothered by the heat. They are named for their horns that end in long, thin points that have been proven to be capable of piercing even plate mail. They are often seen with stonelike growths over patches of their hide.
Frumast Lion. - A species of lion with horns that roams the ashlands and the plains surrounding the mountains. Their grace and strength were so bewitching to the founder of House Vaida that they took them as the symbol of their line.

History

Prior to the founding of Trandrafia, the mountains were the home of a sub-culture of dwarves. These dwarves were on good terms with the dawn elves, and were said to have been employed by them in the creation of several masterful pieces of weaponry, armor, and jewelry. According to most dwarves who hear the story, the Ashlands dwarves are rumored to have been exiled from the greater kingdom in the north long ago and had delved into strange beliefs.

The Trandrafians attempted to make peace with them during the War of Setting Suns, but their stubborn loyalty to their elven allies led them into conflict with the Red Queen. Due to their heavily fortified location, the dwarves remained late into the war and beyond, even to the time after the Red Queen had ascended. What battles came of the Trandrafian assault on the dwarven fortresses were some of the bloodiest battles with them fighting not only the dwarves and their remaining elven comrades, but the mountain itself. Though the Trandrafians were eventually victorious, the conflict ended in the destruction of many sections of the dwarven complexes at their own hands, the surrender of very few dwarves, and a Trandrafian death toll nearly triple that of the dwarves. The conflict with the dwarves halted the momentum of the any further assault beyond the western front during the War of Setting Suns, and the Trandrafians were unable to push past the natural border that remains today between the Principalities and Trandrafia.

Alternative Name(s)

Ashlands, Gloamfire Crags

Type

Region

Location under

Sanguine Lands

Natural Resources:

• Volcanic Ash
• Ores (gold, nickel, lead, copper, etc.)
• Ignium (elemental fire-infused ore)
• Obsidian
• Calearstone ("forge embers")
• Gemstones (crystal, agate, aragonite, diamonds, etc.)
• Volcanic stone