“The smell of cold sulfur was the worst part of the trip. The Elder had me go to one of his crystal mines to check up on things. He gave me a map but it was completely useless. A storm came the other day and it seems as if a large landslide covered most of the path he has marked out. I decided to draw a small map from where we traveled but the day I decided to return home, Mount Varcin pushed out a large ash storm that made my new map useless. We had to wait a day then we ended up stepping on some small thorny bushes that were just barely visible under the three feet of ash that covered that ground. It just happened that it was the warm season so there were no sheets of ice everywhere. I can’t image slipping on the trail and tumbling down the side of the mountains for an hour.”
~ Darsinin, Novice of the Order of Mophu
Weather
Clouds always seem to cover the skies for most of the year. Often, Mount Varcin lets out tons of ash into the sky that mixes into the clouds. When precipitation does fall, it is often in the form of frozen slushy ash that is fairly acidic. The clouds can be over mophu for days without any precipitation then one clear day clouds can roll in and sprinkle two feet of ash in one night. Mophu’s mountains freeze over at night creating ice-covered cliffs and then during the day all the frozen water turns into slippery mud that rushes down the sides of mountains unexpectedly.
Mohpu is made up of many closely packed and jagged mountains. The land has many clifts, cracks, and landslides that make up the region. Many of the natural paths one can travel are narrow and tend to have a mile-long drop on one side. To the north are the frozen seas of Modalum, to the west is the Dargo sea and south is a large gulf with the island of Livso. In the center of Mophu is the volcanic mountain, Mount Varcin. To the East close to the end of the mountain range is Mount Ithmar where it is believed that the god Ithim gather humanity before great destruction then released man back into the world from there. Mount Ithmar is the largest mountain in the world with its peak being constantly covered by clouds. When traveling, one can find many small geysers and volcanic gas vents spraying out of the ground. Under the surface is an elaborate cave system that connects many parts of the region closer to the coastline.
On the surface, the plants tend to be small bushes and thorny herbs that grow just above the layers of ashy mud on the ground. Under the surface, the caves often have mushrooms and cave vines that line the walls and floors. Many of the plants have noticeable levels of toxins that the inhabitants of Mophu have built up a tolerance for.
The mountains of the land have ore deposits that run deep into the mountains. All of the hardest and rarest metals can be found within the mountains. Coal can be found in large quantities close to the surface and has been quarried by the Empire for many generations. Mophu has the largest Dunamis Crystal deposits in all of the world allowing the Empire to use crystals more freely than other places.
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