Noian Range
The Noian Range is the name given the mountains in the far northwest of Varenval, extending from Pumna Bay out into the shifting mudflats of the Noroi Plains.
The Noian Range has no significant peaks, but rather has a series of nearly equal peaks towards the northern end of the range. This section, known as Umar, features distinct rock formations and very few cave features. The rock in the Umar section is comprised of a deep red, onyx-like stone that is extremely hard but also brittle. Within this rock, veins of precious metals such as gold and silver are common, though extracting these metals from the larger onyx surrounding can be extremely difficult and likely to cause injury to any such miners. Among the rest of the range, the geological formations are mostly granite and gneiss, though significant pockets of precious stones and semi-precious stones have been discovered. Likewise, sections of onyx are present throughout the southern portion of the range, though cave systems are more plentiful in these areas and avoiding the difficult of removing onyx is easily accomplished.
Within the range, there is little vegetation or greenery aside from small shrubs, bushes, and wild grasses that grow in the dips and plateaus throughout the range. The notable exception to this low biodiversity is within the entrances and early portions of any of the caves in the range. The mouths of caves in the Noian Range are often filled with diverse and plentiful plants including vines, mosses, flowers, and trees (but trees only very rarely). These plants tend to form a thicket that chokes the rest of the cave but that collects and filters a great deal of water that runs down into the cave depths. Some of the plants that grow in these thickets, including refec moss and tura moss, will consume insects and even small animals through a combination of surface adhesion agents and strong basic sap that flows into the lowest parts of the moss. The refec moss, which is more plentiful that tura moss, also produces a neutral sap mixture that has a much higher viscosity than the basic mixture, causing it to flow away and into the rest of the cave entrance. This neutral liquid is often absorbed as nutrients by the other plants, thus creating a symbiotic environment where the other plants attract animals and insects and the refec moss provides food to the other plants nearby.
Because of dangerous environment, most animals actively try to avoid the entrances to caves. However, during severe weather or when they are being hunted, small animals such as mice and rabbits will often get trapped in refec patches. In the northern areas within the Vale, it is common for parents to warn their children that the cavers will eat them, and that the more enticing a cave looks, the more likely you are to die there. In truth, refec moss could not kill a human unless that human was incapacitated on top of a patch of moss for a prolonged period. More likely, the basic substance will cause skin burns and the deterioration of thin clothing. Those who harvest refec moss (for a variety of uses and purposes) do so with thick clothing and durable hand protection (only those who are forced to harvest it under duress would consider doing otherwise).
Aside from these small animals, the Noian Range is home to a variety of dangerous beasts and predators who are not afraid of attacking humanoids, even those who are armed or who coming bearing fire. These creatures have long been hardened by the prolonged periods of sun and intense heat waves during the summer, coupled by a near total darkness and freezing temperatures in the winter. The two main predators that hunt within the Noian Range, the vana and the sarpe, have both developed thick hides to deal with the wild variance in temperatures. Both creatures have also developed a tolerance for some level of acidity or alkalinity given that they are likely to consume animals that have themselves consumed some refec moss or to eat creatures that have been trapped in refec moss. Interactions between vana and sarpe are very uncommon: while the vana tend to hunt in the higher elevations of the mountains, the sarpe find homes throughout the lower portion of the mountains. However, some documented stories of fights between vana and sarpe do exist within the Vale, with many noting that the sarpe is always the winner in these engagements.
Given the plentiful presence of medals and gemstones, the citizens of the Vale do mine the Noian Range, though only under the strict guidance of preots, the cleric caste who yield power in the northern Vale. These mines are often poorly maintained and frequently abandoned (especially when large onyx formations are found), leading to small evidence of occupation throughout the range. The reason that preots oversee all mining operations is that, according to the preots, the Noian Range is actually the fallen body of sleeping godling who could wake at any time. However, they believe that the godling will still be asleep for some four hundred eoch. These preots see mining as a strange gesture of deference and recognition that hinges on a belief that the gems and ores taken from the mines are literal pieces of the godlings body and the godling is allowing them to harvest from his body.
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