High Peaks of Zhattar

The Mountains that frame the world, the nest of civilization. Many people see the High Peaks of Zhatar, named after the esteemed Drow who led them in their antiquity, as many different things, however, one thing is certain. The mountains house much treasure, and even more danger. Those who travel up often never come back down, or if they do, they are changed. Only a fool underestimates the peril that awaits them in the High Peaks.

Geography

The High Peaks of Zhattar are an immensely tall and immensely large mountain range, the tallest of which stands under 30000 Meters in height. It spans all of known Diyu, separated into two parts by the great Zhaer Goungir Zhou. Many hundreds, perhaps thousands of rivers, waterfalls, and lakes are spawned from its withering heights, rolling down the mountainside where ancient settlements dot the face and the interior.

Ecosystem

Little is known about the ecosystem of the mountain, with few Drow records of their time in the High Peaks surviving. The best guess is that the ecosystem is similar to that of the low peaks, where birds of prey, hares, goats, and other mountainous prey animals feed on the plant life, being preyed on by predators who are preyed on in turn by those at the top fo the food chain. Snow Leopards, Eagles, Falcons, carnivorous animals who rely on the creatures lower than them to survive. Plantlife is sparse in some areas and close to a lush jungle in others, depending on elevation and location.

Ecosystem Cycles

If the assumptions of the High Peaks being similar to the low peaks are correct, then around the springtime, or as close as one gets high above the clouds, is when most mammals go into heat. Otherwise, there aren't likely to be any cycles other than the constant need to feed. Seasons are near non-existent in a permanent, arid winter, with only marginal changes in heat and plant life. Any flora which has survived that high in the mountains can survive any temperature, so likely has no change between seasons.

Natural Resources

Any idea as to the natural resources of the mountains was lost when the Drow fled, but one can make estimates. Many different types of stone are likely, considering the size and variation of the Low Peaks themselves. Minerals aplenty, with rare ores or crystals found in old Drow settlements selling for large fortunes.

History

The High Peaks of Zhattar are the ancestral homeland of the Drow, and adventurers who travel upwards can find their ancient sprawling cities carved into caves, built from giant hanging stalactites and up from even larger stalagmites. When the large caverns and open spaces of the Sotteran of the High Peaks end, the rock of the mountain are made to seem like an ant farm with long winding tunnels and sprawling complexes carved into the rock. 

After Mul-Zamain brought his wrath down upon the Drow, the subsequent infestation of monsters and beings unknown, who would warp and poison the minds of any who bore witness forced the long-lived people out of their homes and into the Low Peaks of Zhatar. Now the only settlement which remains in the High Peaks proper is the holy city of the Arakan Pantheon, Arakos. 

Since the Drow's expulsion, many beings such as Dragons have taken refuge there, and no one knows what now resides in the ancient cities. Many Drow make frequent attempts to force their way back, only to be met with failure, often due to the entire colonization party being slaughtered by the denizens of the mountains. Many more see it as an abandoned mythical homeland, an exodus forced upon them by divine purpose.

Tourism

Tourism is an incorrect way of describing visitors to the High Peaks. Visitors are either in the form of colonization parties seeking to reestablish a foothold of civilization in the High Peaks or adventurers and looters who seek to explore the ancient cities and make their way out with much fon the unrecovered treasure. Ever since Mul-Zamain people have tried to reclaim or get rich off the lost artifacts and treasure, and despite the millennia of looting, they have likely not made a dent in what could be found.

Alternative Name(s)

High Peaks; Lost Home; Haunted Peaks;

Type

Mountain Range