Fire mounts

The fire mounts are a range of volcanos located in northern Kra and the native habitat of otterlings, one of the four sapient species in this planet. Being surrended by water in the north and a desert in the south, it's one of the most isolated places in the whole planet surface. And yet, it's also a place brimming with life, despite its numerous lava lakes and rivers.

Geography

Stepping in the fire mounts is like walking on a different planet for the first time. Nature in there is alien. Plants with fire-resistant shells, fish that swim in lava, animals that have somehow adapted to this constant climate of fire and ash.

— From Min-aniara Laita's travel journal.

The whole area's surface measures about 700 square kilometers, with around fifteen volcanos, of five are regularly active. The area is surrounded by a huge desert that makes the mounts inaccessible to outsiders without a proper guide. But once you get there, you notice that despite the constant eruptions, life has found ways to survive.
Some areas withing this region do have a more normal look. The oasis, as they are called, are small pockets with sort of regular life forms that surround a water lake. These lakes have underground sources, and while some of them create rivers, water in these rivers quickly evaporates when they run closer to a lava lake.

Life

Flora and fauna

Most of the ground is barren, with no visible plan life. But what might seem a dead place, it's actually full of life, albeit in a different form. At night, when the weather is colder, the shells on the ground open, just like the hatch of an airlock, and for just a couple of hours, the otherwise gray ground explodes in a thousand different colors. Flowers, bushes, and grass reach to the sky, taking in the relatively fresh air and gathering whatever small amount of moisture they can find.
Aside from that, and the trees that look like bare stone pillars most of the day (but join the night celebration with the rest of the plants), the animal life is also very present everywhere you look. Most animals have sturdy shells or fire-resistant skins —and those who don't have other methods of protection, such as the flat rats, which hide under the grass shells for most of the day.

Ottelings

Otterlings are one of the four sapient species on Kra. In their own language, they are called "fur skins", as they are pretty much the only species with fur-covered skins in this region. However, I named them otterlings due to their resemblance to Earth's otters.
They live in loosely structured communities all around the mounts, especially around and inside volcanos. As a matter of fact, they tend to have a nomadic lifestyle and when their volcano stops being active, they move to another one, often merging or splitting their communities.

Contents

Inhabiting Species

• Otterlings