World-Mountain Agartha
"To reach up where the air is thin and the sky reflects in blue and black. To stand at the edge of reality and reach up to touch where the Gods once flew. It is to know the truth of the world."At the center of Agartha, at the center of Edda, there exists a titanic mountain. Standing at more than 30,000 feet tall and twice as wide, it is the single greatest mountain in not just Edda but all of Arcanoterra. On the outside, it is covered in snow, life in the form of plants, animals, and monsters, and precious minerals. Inside, it houses the beating heart of Agartha City, the capital of the eponymous nation where hundreds-of-thousands of people live within and beneath. No one quite knows how it formed. On a spiritual level, The Mother Dragons Faith describes it as a titanic funeral pyre to the titular Mother Dragons who sacrificed themselves to help the world grow. For the scientific minds, there are least three distinct ancient sections, implying that it is not merely one mountain uninterrupted in it's involvement, but also that any concrete answers lie far, far in the past. Either way, it is a towering beacon of life in Edda, and a wayfinder for many sailors and travellers, as reliable as the God's Star in the far north of the skies.-- Final journal entry of Tomomi Yamamoto, expert climber who vanished at the peak of the World-Mountain. Journal recovered by Mountain Guards with the rest of her equipment, left abandoned.
Geography
While the exact terminology behind World-Mountain Agartha might make some believe it is a singular titanic mountain, it's actually a small circular mountain rage, with a particularly massive one in the center. Geological reports done on different parts of the mountain revealed there were at least three portions of distinctly different ages at the same rock level, implying that the titular World-Mountain was a part of some once-in-a-lifetime geological event.
After the full 68,000 foot diameter of the World-Mountain there exists another 20 miles of relatively smaller mountains in a ring around it, affectionally referred to as Creathal, meaning The Cradle. After that, a series of low rolling hills gives way to the fertile Agarthan grasslands and forests.
Ecosystem
Due to its high elevation and it's presence smack dab inbetween constant cold and warm fronts, the World-Mountain stays rather frigid, layers of glacial ice and snow present on many of its peaks as well as the peaks of Creathal. At the midway point this starts to level off into cold yet dryer environments, but still with harsh winds and sometimes even more frigid temperatures depending on the season.
While some settlements of people live on the external cliffs of Creathal and even the World-Mountain, it's far too dangerous, leading for the majority of the inhabitants to be natural and magical creatures. Dragonkin of various kinds, mountain goats, predatory hunters, giant avians, even some breeds of fungus and ivy that only grows on the World-Mountain, it's an entire world of an ecosystem just on the outer shell of where hundreds-of-thousands of people live unaware.
Ecosystem Cycles
The World-Mountain is most affected by the Spring and Winter seasons, as during the Winter it gains more and more snowpack on its peaks, often blocking the essential airvents and passageways into Agartha City, requiring constant monitoring and maintainance. Then, when Winter begins to melt into Spring, the water flowing from that same snowpack can cause flooding that requires constant monitoring as well.
This does result in many gorgeous and pristine waterfalls, lakes, and flowing rivers down from the mountain into the Creathal and plains below, most likely the reason parts of Agartha are not as barren as they should be given the massive mountain blocking rainfall to the East, and with a constant warm air current scorching nearby Boncly and the 'Oki Islands to the West.
By the time Summer hits, the worst of it has melted and passed, and while the increased rain in Autumn can reassert some of these issues, they stay mild enough on average until Winter hits properly.
Localized Phenomena
Due to it's high mana levels, all kinds of minor magical phenomena occur on the cliffs and peaks of the World-Mountain. Some of the most sought after are the Aurora Crowns, circular shimmering lights that appear in ring-shapes around the peaks, Dragon Dances when new clutches of draconic creatures are born, and Prism Flares when sunlight shimmers off of particularly resplendent glacial peaks.
Natural Resources
Aside from the leagues of naturally forming plants, and hordes of various creatures, The World-Mountain has a plethora of naturally forming mineral, metal, and gemstone deposits. While a majority of them are temporary, some are a part of the magical phenomena known as Cridhe-Cusail, veins of metal or gems that regenerate and regrow from healthy Leylines. These Cride-Cusail are often manned by permenant mining teams, but lately mining seasons have been assigned to prevent too much damage to the non-regenerative parts of the rock and environment.
It is also said that one can find many curious deposits and formations in the water formations that come from the nearly snow melt, with dangerous adventurers and explorers frequently making the trek to see what they can grab.
Tourism
While many people live in and visit the bustling Agartha City within the mountain, just as many people travel to the World-Mountain itself to visit it's scenic outlooks, it's natural beauty, and often to harvest the many flourishing pieces of flora that grow in it's peaks. However, going too far up the mountain or too far off the beaten track tends to be much more dangerous, and so only experienced travellers or those led by a skilled guide can make it too far without injury.
One frequently attempted challenge are hikers who wish to be the first to reach the highest peak of the World-Mountain from the outside. While transport technology from the inside within Agartha City has made it possible to see the peak, with supervision of course, no one has accomplished it from the outside and lived to tell the tale. The only person who got close vanished mysteriously.
Alternative Name(s)
Sky Spear, Dragon's Nest, Dwarfheim
Type
Mountain / Hill
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