Usan Uuls
"You don't know the half of it, I'll give you that the Glass River is a might bit strange, but at least it stays in its banks and flows downhill. You aint seen nothin till you sailed the Usan Uuls" - Jasper Cameron, Leader of The Bronze Ravens replying to a scholars comment of "Water is weird"
Geography
You wouldnt know it looking at them, but the Usan Uuls are (peak-to-base) technically the tallest mountain range in the world. Several peaks in the range rise to over 19,000ft (5,800m) above sea level, and extend down an equal distance to the oceanic basin on the western edge of the Twilight Abyss. This in and of itself would be an awe inspiring sight to behold, rising out of the northern seas, but the wonder does not stop there. You see, however impossible it may seem, the Usan Uuls are mountains made of water.
Localized Phenomena
Water currents behave strangely in the area, driven by a combination of the extreme temperature differences caused by the elevation changes, the undersea volcanic activity, and the workings of the ancient magic to ensure the area remains covered in water. In summer it is possible for the schooners with knowledgeable captains and skilled crews to navigate through the Usan Ulls, bringing exotic goods to lands they otherwise would not normally reach for a hefty profit.
However, while water behaves in strange ways, Ice is still at the mercy of gravity. Being located in northern latitudes and reaching fairly extreme heights, the formation of glaciers and icebergs is constant, and they move significantly faster than anywhere else in the world.
"This," the wizard said, holding up an small grass boat, somewhat intricate, but similar to one a child might make and float down a stream in summer, "this is you." and he floated the boat in among the swirling cones of water that had been raised out of the stream for this demonstration. "And this" stated the wizard, pulling out a wand, "is why it is dangerous to even attempt to sail the Usan Uuls." With that he started to randomly stab the wand into different cones of water, creating ice chunks of varying sizes to be carried away in the swirling currents, all the while falling ever downward. Eventually he reached the area the boat had managed to get to. "Needless to say, in normal seas, icebergs are fairly easy to avoid, but trying to avoid icebergs falling down mountains faster than your boat can move, well... you can see the results," at this he waved further downstream, where we could see the strands of grass that were all that was left of the boat floating along.
History
I am ................ Incarnate........... as was meant to be, ................. these lands will always belong to the seaThe creation of Usan Uuls is a mystery. What is known is that in time immemorial, there was a conflict,some scholars say that it was between gods, other argue that it was between primordial elementals, a third group points out that due to the time that has passed since the event and the magnitude of powers involved there is effectively no difference between the two arguments, but I digress. What is known is that at some point, the region became volcanicaly active and mountains started to rapidly grow up from the sea floor. At some point, as the seas grew shallower, a being or group of beings took exception to the disappearing oceans and crafted a working of magic that would ensure that the region would always be covered in at least 160ft (50m) of water.Recovered fragments of the Shattered Epic
Alternative Name(s)
Upsndowns (smuggler name for the route through Usan Uuls)
Type
Mountain Range
Location under
Very interesting landmark, that must be quite the sight to behold! So there are 'land' mountains underneath them them with a large layer of water on top? The explaining of the dangers of ice quote is fantastic ^^