The Devils’ Teeth
One of the first things that any traveller to the Imperial Colonies on the continent of Zastral will see are the unwelcoming, spiky pinnacles of the Devils’ Teeth Mountains. These foreboding peaks represent one of the harshest climates in the whole of Kelbonnar and they are the prime reason that the colonists and most of the creatures that dwell in Zastral prefer to inhabit the continents underground spaces.
Geography
Almost the entire surface of the continent of Zastral is covered by the Devils’ Teeth, whose tall sharp peaks have given the mountain range their name. Millenia of enduring the strong bitter gales that broil around the island have worn the mountains down into jagged peaks with wickedly sharp edges and sides so steep that many of the peaks are thought to be impossible to climb. There are numerous volcanoes dotted throughout the mountains, many of which continuously spew rivers of lava down the slopes and into the surrounding ocean, the rapid cooling of the lava produces billowing clouds of steam that wreath the surrounding peaks.
In between the mountain peaks are steep valleys, carved out by the winds and the lava flows, that are often found to be impassable a combination of their steep sharp sides and the large amounts of scree chipped from the mountain sides and chunks of pumice thrown out by the volcanoes.
The cold, stormy conditions of Zastral, compounded with the volcanic activity of the Devils’ Teeth mean that for most of the year the mountains are covered with snow on their jagged peaks, with their lower slopes and valleys being blanketed in ash.
Fauna & Flora
The unique conditions created by the mountains means that relatively few creatures can survive there. The ash deposits in the valleys do create a fertile soil bed on top of the scree, but the only plants that are able to cling to life there are mosses, lichens and the occasional hardy shrub or bush.
The lack of vegetation means that most of the animals that live on the surface of Zastral amongst the Devils’ Teeth are semi-aquatic and rely on the surrounding sea for their food. Enormous colonies of sea birds populate the mountains that abut the coast and other larger predators use the mountain peaks as a refuge in between their hunting trips below the waves.
Natural Resources
The Devils’ Teeth have rich veins of precious and mundane metals beneath their surface and it is the presence of these resources that has driven the establishment of Imperial Colonies across the continent and that tempts people to abandon their lives and head to Zastral with the hopes of making their fortunes.
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