Ragged Peaks
The Ragged Peaks (the Aegas to the Elves) is the mountain range between the plains of Mera and the Wolfswood Forest to the east. The Ragged Peaks Lay in eastern Mera rising up from the Fertile Plains of Mera and feeding water to the Aeges Loch. Passes cut through them at several points, the most famous of which are the Toringard Pass, the road for which begins at E'i Anore goes up the mountain through the fortress of Highgarden before descending to Ardenshear, and the Wailing Pass, which gives passage from Falconhurst to the entrance of Khulzadar and the Wolfswood Forest.
Geography
These peaks have an evil reputation and their shadowy crags are the source of many dark legends. Whispered tales are told of Blood Keep, legendary home to an order of ancient Vampire warriors, and of Helspire, a dread fortress garrisoned by an army of the dead. Other storytellers delight in the macabre tale of Dagmar Hold, a ghost-haunted ruin said to have once been the lair of a powerful necromancer. The ragged peaks are feared for the ever present trolls said to reside amongst the crags and valleys between Toringard and Wailing passes.
Outside of the few towns and mining villages, the Ragged Peaks are mostly populated by a few Dwarfholds, more common in the eastern range than in the west, where the mountains trail off into the valley of Irenham. The Dwarfs are a declining presence in the ragged peaks, however, as the mines play out and more and more of the population moves to the Human-dominated cities.
Localized Phenomena
The Wailing Pass gains its name from the legends of Mera, a woman of the Age of Wars who promised to wait faithfully for her warrior husband to return from an expedition against Seggath. When he did not return, she went to the top of the pass and built a hut to watch for him. There she died during a blizzard, mad with grief, having waited over fifty years. Locals say she remains there to this day as a ghost, waiting to snatch travelers she mistakes for her husband.
