Stoneheart Mountains
Stoneheart Mountains
Type: Mountain Range
Continent: Wildlands
Location: Separating the Icy Wastes from the rest of the Wildlands
The Stoneheart Mountains are a vast and ancient range of jagged peaks and deep-cut valleys stretching like a granite wall across the northern spine of the Wildlands. These imposing highlands form a natural barrier between the frost-lashed desolation of the Icy Wastes to the north and the more temperate regions of the Wildlands to the south. Their blackened, iron-rich stone gives the range its name, and their perilous passes have long served as the only viable route between the two regions.
Carved by elemental forces and time beyond memory, the Stoneheart Mountains are treacherous and unforgiving. Sheer cliffs, sudden avalanches, and subterranean quakes are common. Massive glaciers crown the higher ridges, and ancient, wind-carved spires rise like sentinels watching over forgotten trails and ruined fortresses.
The range holds immense strategic and symbolic importance. To the south lie the kingdoms and settlements of the Wildlands, while to the north stretches the icy frontier. The mountains are home to Stoneheart Hold, a mighty fortress carved directly into the rock, and numerous dwarven halls, frost-shrouded ruins, and sealed tunnels filled with secrets and ancient forges.
The Stoneheart Range also bears scars from past conflicts—chief among them, the War of Ash and Ember, when fire-born forces from Emberfall in Noctavia surged across dimensional boundaries and clashed with frostbound defenders in the region. Though Emberfall lies across the sea on a separate continent, its fiery reach once scorched these peaks, leaving behind obsidian-streaked ridges and dormant craters.
Legends speak of primordial beings who once shaped the range, and of ancient forges hidden deep within, including the mythical Elderforge, said to lie somewhere beneath the roots of the mountains.
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