The Mountains of the Snowy Wind are the mightiest mountain range on all of Tangorea. Fully 2,500 miles long and 750 miles wide at their thickest point, with a huge massif topping 20,000 feet and one peak at 32,365 feet above sea level, the Mountains of the Snowy Wind are massive and imposing, transecting nearly all of Geirah. The most notable inhabitants of the Mountains are the High Dwarves, also known as the Dwarves of Vicor. However, the Mountains are also home to all sorts of other creatures and people, including stone trolls, boreal orcs, thunder giants, graeagles, and troglydytes. The Vlaastaad Empire of Teunorka also maintain outposts in the Mountains, although their presence in the Mountains has been greatly reduced by the disastrous outcome of the War of the Cup.
Vicor's Cup
One of the most interesting geographic features
of the Mountains of the Snowy Wind is Vicor's Cup. Created by a meteorite
impact aeons ago, the Cup is an crater approximately a mile deep and 30
miles wide. It was largely uninhabited and unheard of by demi-humans
until (according to legend) the dwarven gods led a great warrior-priest
named Vicor Quenchingblade from the lands currently inhabited by hill dwarves
to the Cup. The god told Vicor that he and his clan were destined
for greatness if they settled the Cup and mined it. Some of the hill
dwarf clans decided to migrate, but others, too accustomed to their common
lives farming and mining the hills, remained on their ancestral lands.
Thus, the dwarves of Tangorea were split, and remain split to this day.
The two subraces remain on reasonably amicable terms, though the high dwarves
can be ever-so-slightly prideful in their wealth, and the hill dwarves
just a little envious. Any common threat to the races unites them,
quickly and without reservation.
The Cup itself has a sharply-sloping rim, and a
floor that stretches for about 20 miles across. The bottom of the
Cup is a lake about 2 miles in diameter, with a surface about 9,000' above
sea level. The rim of the cup ascends to 12,000' in the south, and
about 14,500' in the north. Several dwarven cities are built into
the rim itself About three-fourths of a dwarven city lies underground,
because winters in the Cup are quite severe, and dwarves are more at home
underground than above it.
The High Dwarves are the richest race in all of Tangorea;
even the decadent splendor of the Vlasstaad Empire cannot compare to the
unpretentious wealth of the Vicorians. An orderly and disciplined
people, the Vicorians have successfully defended their fortune and way
of life against several adversaries. They managed to rout the boreal
orcs from the Cup fairly quickly, but the thunder giants proved a more
menacing foe. The Vicorians fought intensely against the thunder
giants, driving them back but sustaining heavy losses in return.
Finally, a major boreal orc offensive surprised a dwarven village, and
a platoon of thunder giants in the area saved the lives of over a hundred
dwarven females and young by attacking the orcs and driving them back.
Most of the platoon was slain by the horde of orcs, but the pig-nosed invaders
were turned back. The noble gesture by the giants earned the admiration
of the dwarves, and skillful diplomacy on both sides established a peace,
and later on, an alliance between the two races. The alliance proved
useful during the Battle of Falling Rocks, when a massive Vlaastaad force
bent on seizing the Cup was decimated by skillful dwarven maneuvers, and
hails of boulders and lightning bolts hurled by thunder giants. Today giant
and dwarf are close friends.
High dwarves are slightly taller than hill dwarves,
with an interquartile range of 4'6" to 5'0". Where the hill dwarves
maintain a keen interest in farming, the high dwarves focus their energy
and labors into the earth, and are Tangorea's pre-eminent miners.
Along with this acumen at mining has come an equal skill at stonemasonry;
high dwarf buildings are the most sturdy, durable structures to be found
anywhere--short on flourishes and superfluous artistry, but long on sound
construction and stout engineering.
High dwarves are city-dwellers, living in communities
ranging from several hundred to 10,000 or more. High dwarven cities
are efficiently run, with a strong central government, well-developed public
works, guilds for the major trades, and a fully-equipped and staffed city
watch. Any city over 750 or so will have fortifications, and cities
over 2,000 or so have a stone city wall. The cities in and around
Vicor's Cup are in a military confederation, with its own army, the Hammer
of Vicor, and even a mounted aerial patrol. This Hammer is charged
with keeping the Cup free of vermin and invaders, and is quite effective
at its job. The last organized attempt to seize the Cup failed miserably,
and orcs and other ruffians have learned to steer clear of the Cup.
Graeagles
Graeagles are a two-headed species of giant bird
indigenous to the higher reaches of the Mountains of the Snowy Wind.
Graeagles are roughly similar in appearance to eagles. They have
a wingspan of 20-25'. Possessing about as much intelligence as an
ape, they have a semi-organized society of aeries. Each aerie is
comprised of 3-7 mating pairs. Aeries are usually found in remote
areas; a greaegle can range fifty miles in a day looking for food, so the
aerie can be located safely away from potential predators.
In and around Vicor's Cup, the high dwarves and
graeagles have entered into a symbiotic relationship. Dwarven architects
have built aeries for the graeagle, enabling their numbers to increase.
The high dwarves have domesticated the graeagle, using it as a mount. A
graeagle is a formidable opponent in battle, able to inflict as much damage
with its 6" long claws as a long sword, and as much damage with its beak
as a long sword. A graeagle can take six times the amount of damage
in battle that a beginning warrior can before dying. The hide of
a graeagle confers as much protection to the avian as chain mail armor
does to a human.
Graeagles are a stout foe in battle, having good
morale in battle. (If they are mounted, their morale is excellent).