Carpathian Mountains

The Carpathian Mountains is a range that is found in south eastern Europe. It is the third largest after the Urals, and the Scandinavians. It is primarily in the regions populated by Slavs especially the Eastern & Southern Carpathian Mountains. The Western Carpathians is partly in Austria, running into some of these countries. It gets it's name from the old Dacian tribes the "Carpes" or "Carpi" who originally lived in the Transylvanian plains.
Many animals, including wolves, bear, lynx, as well as prey species is found throughout the mountain range. It is not uncommon for snow to be present on the highest peaks for a good part of the year. Many major towns & cities belonging to the Slavs are found throughout, especially in both defensible positions with strongholds, or in plains adjacent to the mountains.
In the Western Carpathians, iron, gold, and silver are found in great quantities and this has led many mining operations to spring up. There is also alpine forests & meadows present to farming and wood production is possible, allowing for industries relating to them to spring up too. Hunters are regularly employed too, as there is brown bears, lynx, wild cats, and eagles present.
What is not much known is the hidden strongholds of magic users and vampire kin throughout the Carpathians. The latter especially is commonly linked to the mountain ranges here, and shows no severe drop in numbers. Many local communities know of stories relating to them and regularly organize pogroms with trained professionals to keep numbers in check. The former is harder to keep tabs on, as many appear just as normal persons going about the business of exploring the mountain ranges. Rumours abound of clans of Goliath living in some of the mountains are common too, and a rare few times they are encountered, usually just a single Goliath wandering through a town or village.

Type

Mountain Range