The False Cry Mountains

The False Cry Mountains

The eastern Caldera Mountains as they are more professionally known, are one of the first sights some see on entering the new world. These mountains appear massive, noble, and timeless. On coming closer, however, one can hear a continuous howling sound coming from them. With every step, the sound becomes ever more maddening, until all one can hear is the wailing cries of the suffering and the damned. For this reason, none of the new explorers ever felt the need to go east, until the hedonites arrived. These explorers felt themselves drawn to the sounds, as they reminded them of home. The screams, the cries, they did not feel as though they were lost, they felt found.

On closer examination, however, it became clear that these sounds were not made by anything living. The Eastern Caldera Mountains are shot through with eroded out dykes and sills, with lava tubes stretching throughout the mountains. While this is likely true of most of the mountains in the region, the Eastern Caldera Mountains are perhaps somewhat unique, as their position over the inlet to the The Scalding Sea has eroded some of the mountains at water level. As the water level of the Scalding, Sea rises and falls, the flooding of the openings within the False Cry Mountains forces air in and out, causing the howling sounds.

From this comes their less formal name, the “False Cry Mountains.” While a source of regret for the Hedonites, the wails of the mountains are unmistakable. Perhaps it is an appropriate welcome to the barren continent of Aqshy, however.

The mountains themselves are mostly empty of larger fauna. The scrubs are blackened, hard, and bear fruits with extremely hard pits. These bloom only at extreme heat, and the firestorms which sweep through the Mountains are necessary for the lifecycles. The rocks themselves seem to move, and it’s unclear if it’s a trick of the light, tectonic activity, or something else.

The skies over the False Cry mountains are occasionally blackened by the wings of dragons. It is clear that these are not their nesting grounds, but they are at least used for hunting.