The Writhing Spine
Ridges like a dragon spanning the globe...
On any other world, mountains represent stability, timelessness, majesty. On Planet Thunthen it is quite the opposite. If the planet can be viewed as a cosmic stress-ball, the Writhing Spine could be viewed as the part that squeezes out between the fingers of a clenched fist. Named for a variety of reasons-its tendency to shift very rapidly in a short period of time chiefest among them-it spans the length of the surface between the poles. Longer than the Winding White on Planet Thanged, taller than the roof of Thananagreia, the jointed peaks eclipse every landmark for miles around. Most rock-loving races are depicted as building their homes in mountains. The Thunthen actively avoid it. It is the one region even the little Peasants avoid when excavating new mines. The only Thunthen who go out of their way to visit the Spine are bored Commons seeking to Ride the Mountain.
Geography
Rock rich in iron and other valuable minerals, the peaks lie cloaked by a heavy dusting of sulfur. The ridges are marked by prominent notches caused by jointing as the stone moves frequently. Nobeyls and Pesaks avoid it, but the energetic Khamens visit it frequently for recreational purposes, the thrill of scampering along the ridges the closest they come to freedom under the rule of the Daggur Clan.
A layer of softer earth on either side of the Spine helps cushion surrounding stable rock from tremors. More a product of centrifugal stress produced by the Twin Suns than tectonic, there are no large-enough subduction zones to generate the Spine in its entirety. It is not uncommon for chunks of jointing along the ridges to break off and tumble down the slope, so the peaks never remain stable for long nor grow any larger. None of the peaks are volcanic save for a few brief cinder cones near the poles.
WrithingSpineShiftMap.jpg
Mountain Range Activity Study
by
Mardrena
Made with Inkscape
Ecosystem
Aside from partying Commons, none of Thunthen's prominent species call the Spine home, the range too unstable for beasts to feel comfortable establishing burrows on the surface or below. There are no airborne species of note, so not even the highest peaks are occupied. On Thanged the Northern Ring is too cold and bitter. On Thunthen, the Spine is too unstable.
Ecosystem Cycles
The skies above remain mostly overcast, heavy with clouds of sulfur and nitrogen, and occasionally rays of distant Thuruk 2 will peek through. Seasons are hot, windy, hotter, cold, stormy, and stormier.
Localized Phenomena
Earthquakes are extremely frequent along the range with electromagnetic storms gracing the peaks towards the poles.
Climate
The air is very dry and cold most of the time due to the scarcity of sunlight and the wind stinks eternally of sulfur like a hellish landscape.
Fauna & Flora
Beasts avoid the Spine on Thunthen for the same reason they avoid the Northern Ring on Thanged. The exception being when ancient Men took refuge in the Northern Ring during the Dread Winter. No sane Thunthen (Commons excepted) would take refuge on, in, or under the Spine.
Natural Resources
As rich in ores and minerals as the Spine is, nothing found there cannot be found anywhere else on the planet's surface, namely more stable locations that don't break apart under one's feet so quickly.
History
The precise origin of the name is obscured with conflicting legends claiming it was named by the queens in ancient times or that Das Anazhar dubbed it as such to give the Thunthen an awesome landmark to surpass the Winding White. The name refers to its appearance and movement, the jointing resembling the back of a vast slumbering beast, and its shifting making the crust seem alive as if a colossal dragon is preparing to erupt from the surface of the entire planet. It was initially seen as a curiosity, but in recent times it is observed as an indicator for the health of the planet itself. The arrival of Planet Runjen compounds the stress generated by the Twin Suns, and the shifting of the range has grown incrementally over the years.
WrithingSpineb.jpg
The Writhing Spine
by
Mardrena
Made with color pencils
Spoiler Warning: Upcoming Content!
Spacequake Ch. 15"The Commons on the Homeworld claim they can see the Spine moving in real time... They've been 'conducting geological surveys' and studying 'tectonic stability' as a pretense to Ride the Mountain when we're not looking. If the data they retrieved weren't so valuable I'd have the Obsidian Guard shell the lot of them..."-Myr Chedryn
Tourism
On Thanged, City-dwellers go freelanding, on Earth, Humans visit the beach. Or parks. Or more stable mountains. With Mal Daggur and the bulk of his fleet abroad and Myr Chedryn more obsessed with flipping the bird to the Queens than keeping tabs on the Homeworld, Commons take what time they can to Ride the Mountain while the Obsidian Guard has their eyes elsewhere. Because of the range's movement, observation posts are impractical to construct as they'd simply tumble down the slope.
Thunthen.jpg
Planet Thunthen
by
Mardrena
Made with Lunarcell
Alternative Name(s)
The Spine, The Twisting Peaks
Type
Mountain Range
Location under
Related Traditions
The Writhing Spine by Mardrena
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