Shanindar (region)
The Starfall Mountains
The Shanindar is a large mountain range and the name of the region that surrounds it. It is primarily made up of dry mountains, hardy coniferous forests, and bitter snow-capped peaks. Much of the region's population lives in small, isolated communities with many of them partially built into the rock and mountains themselves. It is almost entirely ruled by the ancient Shanindar Empire and is famed for being the world's great bastion of the Zwahi religion.
Geography
Shanindar makes up much of Nioa’s northeast. It is bordered to the east by the Phantom's Strait, which connects the continent to Iroa. To the south, the slopes of the Shanindar Range meet the cresting of the Blinding Cliffs in the Mashiq. To the west, the Shanindar descends hundreds of feet. In these foothills, the Niru River begins and continues down from the Shanindar, cutting through the Marrow Desert and forming the Niru River Valley. The northern most part of Shanindar is linked to the dreaded Ghostdune desert.
Shanindar is best characterized by its hilly countryside. Basins dot the landscape and act as hubs of civilization in the rugged hill country. Much of the country is dry scrubland and hills, with certain parts featuring vast steppe plains, dune-covered desert, and even snowy mountains.
Fauna & Flora
Beasts:
Cheetahs, gazelle, rabbits, crag cats, panthers, lions, eagles, owls, lizards, bats, mongooses, jackals, wolves, foxes, leopards, lynx, brown bears, cave bears, black bears, wild boar, deer, sheep, goats, cattle, horses, donkeys, mules, camels, pheasants, partridges, storks, falcons, buzzards, hedgehogs, turtles, cranes, venomous snakes (vipers, cobras), dolphins, ibexes, elephants, aurochs, sand seals, giant badgers, giant bats, eramanthyoi, giant eagles, markhors (giant goats), giant cobra, scorpiox (giant scorpion), giant spider, giant wolf spider, giant vulture, and giant weasels.
Monsters:
Behirs, chimerae, chamroshes (hybrid: fox/falcon), cockatrices, imperial gryphons (hybrid: lion/golden eagle), harpies, hippogryffs, manticores, perytosn, rocs, anhkegs, bulettes, gricks, hydras, purple worms, rust monsters, simhata (hybrid: horse/lion), stirges, wargs, wyverns,
Unique plants:
More than one-tenth of the country is forested. The most extensive growths are found on the mountain slopes rising from the Phantom's Strait, with stands of oak, ash, elm, cypress, and other valuable trees. On the plateau proper, areas of scrub oak appear on the best-watered mountain slopes, and villagers cultivate orchards and grow the plane tree, poplar, willow, walnut, beech, maple, and mulberry. Wild plants and shrubs spring from the barren land in the spring and afford pasturage, but the summer sun burns them away.
Natural Resources
Coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, sulfur, timber, stone, grain, wool, animal products.
Biomes:
Hills, steppe, grassland, pastureland, farmland, badlands, mountains, snowy mountains,
Alternative Name(s)
The Starfire Mountains
Type
Mountain Range
Location under
Included Organizations
Owning Organization
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Inhabiting Species
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