The Shield Mountains
The Shield Mountains are an imposing mountain chain, rising abruptly from the flat plains of Shield Island to dominate the landscape. They form a near impassable barrier between the east and west sides of the island from both land and sea, the only known access controlled by the Shield Mountain Dwarves.
History
The origins of The Shield Mountains are unknown, but a number of scholars assert that they cannot possibly be natural. They rise shockingly abruptly from a flat plain with no foothills or smaller mountains, the narrow, towering formation is composed entirely of high, steep sided peaks. The unique nature of the lands to the west have always brought greater prominance to these mountains than they might have otherwise held, given their position on the far corner of the continent.
Before the Serpentfolk
In ancient times, the dwarves of the Shield Mountains forged a small empire, crowning The Shield Mountains with their sky citadels. The impregnability of their mountain homes and the lands beyond allowing them to prosper.
The Reign of the Serpentfolk
It took some time for the serpentfolk to turn their attentions to the Shield Mountains, but once they became aware of the "Thunder Lizards" which existed on the western side of the mountains, they did so with a fanatical fervor. Falling upon the single known passage through the mountains, the spectacular tunnel known as "The Thunder Road", they laid siege to the dwarven defenders with overwhelming force. While the dwarves held out valiantly, it was only a matter of time before the powerful sorceries and unending slave armies of the serpentfolk broke through, sacking the dwarven holds immediately adjacent to the tunnel and gaining access to the lands beyond.
The Dwarves weren't ones to sit back and allow their enemies an easy victory, and while they lacked the ability to retake their lost territory, they made sure that the journey through The Thunder Road was a perilous one, filled with traps and ambushes. Despite their best efforts, high ranked serpentfolk mounted on massive scaled beasts became the scourge of battlefields across the continent
After the Cataclysm
Whether it was secret dwarven magical protections or something innate to The Shield Mountains, the magical backlash from the cataclysm was stopped in it's tracks by the mountains, leaving the lands behind them untouched, and the last place that reptiles could be found aboveground on the continent. Once it became clear what had happened, the dwarves began to retake the old holds, build memorials to the clans which had fallen to the serpentfolk, and re-establish their hold on their traditional lands.
Modern Times
Today, the dwarves have rebuilt their fortresses around the Thunder Road, but their reduced numbers have lead them to abandon a number of the more remote citadels in favor of the most important holds around the tunnel. Their lands on the western side of the mountains were all retaken by jungle, but they are slowly reclaiming them and working on rebuilding their herds of "Thunder Lizards"
Geography
Soaring skywards from a flat plain with no foothills or smaller mountains, The Shield Mountains are a striking geographical feature. The steep, high sided peaks have an average height of 18,000 feet and are visible as far away as the hills to the east over 170 miles away, dominating the entire western horizon in an unbroken line. They extend several hundred miles out to sea on both sides of the island, forming a near impassable obstacle to naval travel in a westerly direction. There is speculation among scholars as to their origins, natural or otherwise, but if the dwarves know they arent telling anyone.
Regardless of their origins, they form a near impassable barrier between the western side of the island and the rest of the continent, with the only known passage being the dwarven tunnel known as "The Thunder Road".
The Thunder Road
In a forgotten age, the dwarves of The Shield Mountains undertook a construction project which was titanic in both ambition and scale; a tunnel running straight through The Shield Mountains, providing a reliable path for freight and people to move between the eastern and western sides of the island. Tunnel is perhaps an insufficient term for the result of their labors, a thirty mile long passageway, two hundred fifty feet across and with a seventy foot tall vaulted ceiling. A fifty foot wide strip runs down the center, bare in places but containing rows of statues, buildings, and occasionally even forts, outposts, and other buildings. The dwarves refer to it as "The Thunder Road" after the massive "Thunder Lizards" which travel down it when the dwarves send caravans to Waylon's Landing.. or march to war.
Along it's thirty mile length, there were historically a number of holds, mostly belonging to prominent clans. Today they largely sit empty, left as memorials to the clans which were wiped out by the serpentfolk, or at least reduced to the point that they could no longer maintain their status as clans. Other than the fortresslike holds at either end of the tunnel, most of the remaining dwarven holds are deeper in the mountain, making travelling down the tunnel an eerily silent trip past the empty edifices of abandoned holds.
The Dwarves
Residing in the Shield Mountains since ages untold, The tunnels and holds of the dwarves stretch nearly the entire length of the chain, from coast to coast of Shield Island. Many humans refer to the dwarves of shield mountain as if they are a singular entity, even occasionally incorrectly referring to the nonexistant "Shield Mountain Hold", but the shield mountains are home to a large number of clans, living in a number of different holds throughout the range.
Defending the road
The dwarves of the shield mountains have always defended both ends of The Thunder Road with imposing fortifications, but in the centuries following the fall of the serpentfolk, the dwarves seem to have resolved that the sacking of their holds will never happen again. Today, the fortifications at the ends of The Thunder Road, the only gaps in the seemingly impregnable wall of The Shield Mountains, have been build into mighty fortresses.
The Sunrise Citadel
At the eastern end of the thunder road, the entrance to the only known way through the shield mountains, the dwarves have built a truly formidable citadel. Thick walls form the first layer of defense, backed by a pair of mighty keeps mounting siege weapons far larger than any attacker could hope to bring to bear. Behind these defenses sit thick doors set directly into the stone of the mountain, the flat face bristling with more powerful siege weapons and all of the defenses are manned by stalwart dwarves, determined that the territory that they protect will never again fall to enemy forces.
The Sunset Citadel
While the citadel guarding the western end of the thunder road may not be as formidable as it's eastern counterpart, the need to house many massive thunder lizards and the facilities needed to train, armor, and equip them and their riders has resulted in a fortress with a much larger footprint than The Sunrise Citadel.
The Sky Citadels
Long before the rise of the serpentfolk, the dwarves had an empire stretching across the entire expanse of the Shield Mountains and all the land to the west. During this time, perhaps simply to secure their borders, or some speculate to combat some unknown enemy, formidable "Sky Citadels" were built along the entire length of the Shield Mountains, fortresses crowning the mountain peaks, all facing to the east. These ancient fortresses feature broad flat platforms and are studded with ballista and other siege weapons, all mounted so that they can fire skyward.
Today, most of the sky citadels sit empty, the dwarves unable to fully man them with their population so much lower than at the peak of their empire. Enquiries about the original purpose of the citadels are usually met with a gruff dwarven shrug, or occasionally the verbose response of "Nothin' you need to worry 'bout"
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