If a violent, powerful force brought two land masses smashing together, the result would surely resemble the jagged, broken peaks of the Galena Mountains. Two hundred miles north to south, and over 300 miles east to west, this narrow dangerously tall mountain range averages only twenty five miles in width. When breaching them from the
Damara side,
Bloodstone Valley offers the only sensible way through. Distantly in the far west of
Vaasa there are lesser used and more dangerous pathways through. Adventurers walking in the range itself find themselves plodding 10 miles up, down, and around for every mile they move in their desired direction.
The North Galenas define the border between Vaasa and Damara as sharply as any border to be found elsewhere, while the
The West Galenas completely separate Vaasa from
Thar, and the Moonsea Region. The mountains are laced about with ice and snow, with a year-round wind howling down from
The Great Glacier. Pockets of volcanic activity are found in parts of the Galenas.
The Galenas are home to perhaps a hundred thousand orcs, goblinoids and giants... and countless other monsters. Thankfully they are lawless and disorganized. Now that the Second Bloodstone War is a memory thousands more each year come to the Galenas seeking fortunes. They cannot ignore the lure of wealth promised by some of the richest mines in the world. Miners bring out millions of gold pieces worth of bloodstone, and tons of iron and silver, all used in the commerce of both Vaasa and Damara.
The Galenas are jagged dangerous mountains - practically made for Dwarvenkind! In ancient times, there were over a dozen Shield Dwarf halls, but that was a long time ago. As the 1300's close, the following halls are all that remain:
- Delhallis (small town, 1200), the western Dwarven citadel of Gold Dwarves
- Firehammer Hall (village, 300), the newest settlement of Shield Dwarves on the border to Soravia
- Granite Tower Hall (village, 500), located somewhere in the Western Galenas
- Hammerhanded Hall (hamlet, 200), an ancient Shield Dwarf hall restored during the Second Bloodstone War
- Hillsfar Hall (town, 1800), home to xenophobic and sullen Dwarf Lords
- Ironspur (small town, 1000), the Shield Dwarven hall of Damara
The residents of these dwarven settlements mine the Galenas for iron, silver, and bloodstone. Well-armed dwarf patrols keep the monsters at bay. The stone here is hard and pure, and dwarven hammers chime silvery notes worthy for the ears of Moradin. Only the strongest survive, be they dwarf or human. Miners constantly run the risk of breaking into the lairs of the denizens of the Underdark. But the lure remains, and the hammers ring. The dangers of the Underdark are troublingly close by, including the threat of murderous Drow, chaotic Derro, and selfish Duergar, all of whom build cities and mine deep veins under these mountains too. Territory is always being contested.
