Mt. Cloudcairn
When Europe split in two pieces after the Day of Fate France was left between two unstable tectonic plates. Over the millennia they have shifted wildly, but for the most part they have pushed towards each other. Since France is right in the middle of this it has been squished between them, resulting in a smaller landmass high above the ocean level. And in the center of all this is Mt. Cloudcairn, the fastest expanding mountain ever. Due to the rate the plates have been moving it has gone from relatively flat ground to about 8000 meters in height. Over the last 900 years the plates have settled a bit so it has remained the same height since then. With a silver medal in height (beaten only by the the immense Grand Ivertes in the Himalayas), a fascinating variety of wildlife around it and housing one of the only cities above the ground, Mt. Cloudcairn is truly a sight to behold.
Geography
Mt. Cloudcairn itself towers above anything else on the continent. It's extremely tall but also very narrow and pointy for a mountain of its size. Thus trying to climb it is very dangerous due to a lack of stable footholds and many steep walls at higher altitudes. When you get to about 4500 meters high, the mountain is covered in snow and permafrost. At this altitude wildlife starts to become sparse with only a few insects, heavily coated birds, small plants and microscopic life living there. The most peculiar thing about the mountain though is the fact that the lower half is actually hollow. At its base is a small cave leading to a huge vertical tunnel leading up to about 4000 meters in height with a large opal embedded in the ground. And by stepping on this opal and pointing upwards, you are teleported up to the city of Cloudcairn. Located in a huge valley between Mt. Cloudcairn and several smaller mountains while protected by a thick transparent dome, Cloudcairn is one of the most hidden cities on the globe. There are no humanoid creatures in the surrounding area that could point upwards, which means the only thing that could spot them are flyers that can't penetrate the dome anyway.
Surrounding Mt. Cloudcairn are several smaller mountains. The highest of them reaches about 2516 meters, nowhere near its sister mountain. These are generally a bit wider and more triangle-shaped compared to the more cone-like Mt. Cloudcairn, although like Mt. Cloudcairn they're covered in snow at the top (though unlike Mt. Cloudcairn only during winter season). One of the mountains, the 823 meter tall Blues's Peak, has a large lake filling up a crater at around the midpoint. This lake forms a river leading down the mountainside all the way out into the Atlantic. To the right of the mountain range is the huge Sun Jungle, existing only because of the sun tree's unique properties.
Ecosystem
The base and bottom 4000. meters of the mountain range is teeming with life. This part is surprisingly green, with grass, bushes and trees covering most flat areas. At the first 100 meters you'll even see a few sun trees. The higher you get the less greenery you see, and at around 3000 meters you'll only see a few dry bushes and smaller plants. Many animals live both in and out of the greenery. A few Solar Dimetrodon live and hunt at the base, but because of their heat requirements they don't go higher than the sun tree does. Around them live smaller dinosaurs like Compsognathus, Dryosaurus and Juravenator, with the biggest being the 7 meter long Plateosaurus. There are also some mammals like marsupials and goats around the area.
At higher altitudes the largest terrestrial animals are smaller furred critters like goats. They generally forage around the grassland that still exist up here, but they are prey to the top predator in the area. A creature about 9 meters in length and weighing about 4 tons, yet still able to fly at great speeds, possessing immense physical power and deadly poison with an incredible territorial ferociousness to back it up. The European Wyvern dominates the middle part of Mt. Cloudcairn with nothing to stop it except for another wyvern. They make their nests in hollowed out caves high up, where they keep their young safe and sound. The only way to be safe from a wyvern is to either live at altitudes to high and cold for it to follow, hide from it or just be small enough to evade its interest.
At about 4500 meters in height, the wildlife becomes sparse. Nothing larger than a rat lives here barring birds that occasionally fly over. Since the plant food is sparse at most and non existant at worst, nothing can grow larger. So mostly insects and microscopic life lives here.
Ecosystem Cycles
The biggest change around this area is the fact that the mountain gets colder during winter. Thus the smaller mountain tops get covered in snow and the permanently snow-capped Mt. Cloudcairn is covered in snow even further down. Since the heating sun tree drops its leaves during winter creatures like the Solar Dimetrodon and European Wyvern go into hibernation while others like Plateosaurus and badgers migrate south. Others remain over the winter like the goats, Dryosaurus and most insects at mid-range or higher. Since most predators migrate or go into hibernation several species use this opportunity to rebuild. Goats for example have their mating season during winter, since then they can be in the open without having to worry about the European Wyvern. And by the time spring comes back, so does the animals.
Localized Phenomena
Due to the unstable plates crashing and separating from each other constantly underneath the earth, the range is prone to earthquakes. In the last 900 years they have been few and far between due to the plates settling down a bit. However they do still occur sometimes, but mostly they're quite small with only a few minor shakes. During the most intesive point they reached deadly levels however. There are still a couple chasms and even some lava pools beneath the earth from that period. At least one species has been driven extinct by the quakes and their lasting effects on the area.
Natural Resources
The people living in Cloudcairn are dependant on the mountain's resources to live. They generally build their homes out of refined marble and stone with some iron parts, all of which can be found in or beneath the mountains. The vast mines underneath the mountain range is the only reason Cloudcairn has a teleport pad down in the first place, but mining trips are dangerous because of the subterranean creatures and the occasional surface animal that wanders into the cave. The water in the lake around Blues's Peak is used by the inhabitants via pipes leading to and from it, built by a very risky operation centuries ago. But while there is a vast jungle at the mountain base, wood is a rare shortage in Cloudcairn. To fell even a single tree still takes time, and the jungle just isn't safe enough to warrant the lumberjack coming back in one piece.
Overlook of Mt. Cloudcairn filmed via drone
Alternative Name(s)
The Sky Pillar, Cietage Grand
Type
Mountain / Hill
Included Locations
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