Raum Khala, the anvil of Wayn

A mountain of unimaginable size rises from the cold ocean, far in the frigid, monster-infested southlands. Do NOT go there. That is a bad idea.

-The travelers guide to beyond civilization, By Ral Sykes

Location and climate

Raum Khala is located in the Wintersea, amid the Forbidden Isles. The air is perpetually frigid, with temperatures ranging from -30C° during winter to 10C° in the summertime.

Ecology

The steep and rocky sides of Raum Khala provide little for life to flourish. A hardy strain of hydrae moss covers the ridges in patches of green, providing food for extremely territorial scorn goats. Creatures called fymids make their nests in the natural caves near the waterline. These large isopods are scavengers and opportunistic predators, able to deliver a rather painful bite. Many kinds of seabirds nest in and around the mountain. One should wear a hat, the talons of an angry saltgull can take patches of scalp off disturbingly effectively. The food chain becomes less friendly under the waves. The sea around Raum Khala is able to sustain an unlikely variance of large predators. Creatures that would be apex predators anywhere else are commonplace in the Wintersea. From aggressive, silver-scaled glaivesharks to ship breaking Fireworms; one should not go sailing here without a very good reason. The Isles around the mountain offer a much more varied ecosystem, with untamed boreal forests and long shorelines of rock and sand. Some notable species are the poisonous maiden elk, which can be identified by its bright purple fur patterns; And the monk scorpion, an arachnid the size of a wagon which, thankfully, hibernates for most of the year.

Climbing attempts

There have been a total of thirty six noteworthy attempts at reaching the summit of Raum Khala. Two have succeeded. Broken hulls of ships lay scattered along the rocky shoreline and the surrounding isles, proof that most who sail here don't make it back. There are simply too many things that can go wrong, as if the whole place were designed to be as hostile as possible. The ocean winds carry disease, massive monsters frequently attack ships, and the whole area is covered in sharp stone reefs. The first living human to reach the summit was one Albarn Dolem, a scholar from the Thora barony. Unfortunately he refuses to share details. In fact, he hasn't said anything in forty years, simply sitting and staring at the wall of his bedlam cell. Something he experienced at the highest peaks took away his sanity, as well as leaving him physically deformed. The rest of the climbing party all died soon after, each in a different way, all seemingly accidents. The second person to reach the peak was none other than The Radiant Baron. Official curch canon states that the god-king of Raum Tenes was born when a celestial artist spilled a pot of golden paint upon the earth. This is, unsurpisingly, not true. Rigorous cross referencing has suggested that The Radiant Baron was once a man named Vkyn a't Haum. He climbed the mountain some four hundred years ago and went on to found a theocratic autocracy soon after. Some bits of the story are still missing however.

The Pulse

Every twenty years or so a bright light begins to shine from the summit of the mountain. Faint at first, it soon grows in intensity. After few hours of rivaling the sun itself, the glow vanishes like a snuffed candle. The whole anomaly takes a month to complete, during which the Wintersea itself seems to come alive with hateful energy. All life goes into a frenzy of killing and mating, driven by the golden shine of Raum Khala. Mutation is rampant, with entirely new species being born and dying in a matter of days. This is the main reason why founding a colony on the isles is impossible. Humans react... poorly to The Pulse.

Type

Mountain / Hill