Montanhas de Immoren
WILDERNESS REGIONS OF WESTERN IMMOREN — IKUnleashed
Although dotted by the many urban centers within the Iron Kingdoms, western Immoren is still a wild place. Many people live in unspoiled regions of the natural world, as they did before the rise of cities.
Life in the wilds is not easy. With countless predatory beasts, natural disasters, and deadly hazards, even something as simple as securing a meal brings the likelihood of failure and the possibility of death. Nevertheless, the wilderness is home to many powerful, clever, and resilient peoples. These wild races have carved out a living in hostile environments, surviving and thriving in places citizens of the civilized world cannot imagine calling home.
GEOGRAPHIC DIVISIONS
This section contains information on western Immoren’s wilderness regions. It is broken down into four large geographic divisions: desert, forest, mountain, and swamp. Each division includes details about the regions and geographic features of western Immoren as well as information related to the specific forests, mountain ranges, swamps, and deserts found within it.
Only the largest and most prominent geographical features are described here. Innumerable smaller woods, glades, moors, hills, peaks, streams, and desolate stretches exist in western Immoren, their names not recorded on any map. Game Masters should feel free to invent new areas with unique features as needed for a campaign. The geography of an area can assume an important role in your story, whether as an obstacle, an area of interest for your PCs, a place to find allies and unexpected advantages, or a hostile location.
The mountains of western Immoren define its political landscape as much as they do its physical. From the frost-capped Thundercliff Peaks that give shape to the border between Khador and Rhul to the Wyrmwall Mountains that dominate much of Cygnar, the forbidding peaks and trackless reaches of these wild places form natural boundaries between nations and, until the advent of the rail, often effectively cut off neighboring regions within a country from one another. Perhaps most importantly, these inhospitable peaks create sheltered valleys and caves where the denizens of the wilds can thrive.
The unforgiving climate and hard, broken terrain make traveling through the mountains an arduous and dangerous affair at the best of times. Even well-worn paths are often little more than winding trails barely wide enough to accommodate a wagon, and they are regularly erased by avalanches and rockfalls that swallow all in their way. Moving large groups over knife-edged ridges, along treacherous cliff faces, and down narrow, twisting trails is all but impossible. It is part of what makes these regions effective as natural borders and prevents them from being tamed by the nations of the Iron Kingdoms.
The mountain tribes of western Immoren care little for the maps civilized nations draw across their territories. Travelers unfortunate enough to cross their path all too often end up as a meal, in an unmarked grave, or merely robbed blind and set free to wander lost until they die of exposure.
Nevertheless, the immense, untapped mineral wealth that lies within the mountains ensures these areas are never entirely ignored by civilized interests. A single major vein of iron or gold can bring an influx of human activity, including mining companies protected by well-armed soldiers. Many who dwell in these mountains fear this scenario more than dragons, trolls, or rampaging satyrs.
WEATHER
Even mountains rising from the scorching Bloodstone Desert become frigid at their upper reaches, which often remain capped in snow regardless of the temperature at their base. Blizzards can rip through the highest peaks even in midsummer, their howling winds tearing all warmth from those caught unprepared, and whipping snow can quickly conceal both fallen adventurers and natural landmarks. Winter gear, whether something as simple as a heavy, woolen cloak for the lower elevations or a full complement of layered furs for more northerly or higher excursions, is vital for anyone hoping to survive a trip into the mountains. Being unprepared for the sudden cold can result in frostbite and hypothermia.
Although lower elevations are less prone to unseasonable snowstorms and perpetual freezes, their weather should not be taken lightly. The mountains funnel and intensify storms, not only threatening those directly caught in them but also spawning devastating floods whose fury is focused by the natural shape of the valleys. The breaking of winter can provoke similar floods, a result of melting snow in the upper reaches or unseen rains miles upstream and deeper into the mountain range.
GEOGRAPHIC FEATURES
Height and mineral composition vary from range to range and peak to peak, but all mountains are imposing landmasses of incredible size. The wrinkled landscape surrounding them is packed with frigid lakes, winding streams, yawning gorges, and hidden valleys, all surrounded by walls of stone. A good number of these features are cut off from the outside world, and many of the valleys have never been explored by outsiders.
Younger mountain ranges tend to have sharper, better-defined edges and peaks. These features become worn down over time. The perpetually frozen, almost knifelike Shard Spires are an exception, as frozen sheets of rock splinter away, exposing the sharp rock beneath.
Mountains are home to extreme geothermal activity. Volcanoes in the heart of the Upper Wyrmwall Mountains and the Thundercliff Peaks lie dormant for years at a time before spewing noxious clouds of smoke and ash into the air. Near these volcanic ranges, fumaroles — cracks in the mountain that emit steam and hot gases — cloud the air year-round. Most of western Immoren’s mountain ranges contain numerous hot springs warmed by subterranean groundwater. Even the desolate mountains of the far north have these springs, which tribal people often use for bathing and rituals.
Some high mountains, particularly amid northern mountain ranges, are topped with glacial ice. Created by the compaction of snow and ice, these glaciers form gradually over thousands of years. The crushing weight of the ice spreads the glacier down and out, pressing into the mountain with inexorable force. Glaciers inevitably deform, sections breaking off and slowly grinding down the mountainside, carving new features into the rock before melting away.
HAZARDS
In addition to the freezing temperatures, unpredictable blizzards, flash floods, dangerous creatures, and marauding savages they might encounter, travelers through the mountains must keep a wary eye out for avalanches. Huge slabs of snow can break apart and thunder down a mountain with incredible force, a common threat in the winter and on the higher peaks where snow rarely melts. These avalanches are capable of erasing entire settlements or swallowing a caravan whole without leaving a trace. Rockslides routinely destroy roads and block rail lines, leaving travelers stranded and wreaking destruction on anything or anyone unfortunate enough to be in their path.
The air becomes dangerously thin at higher elevations; eventually, breathing is a strain regardless of constitution. For those not acclimated to such heights, the sudden onset of danger or an attack by hostile creatures can spell a quick doom. Moreover, even those familiar with a particular range can experience sudden shifts as the weather and other natural conditions change. Volcanic activity and earthquakes can alter the very topology of the mountains, marring or erasing old landmarks and destroying once-reliable routes.
Sudden snowstorms can be deadly, turning the mountain into a field of uniform white. Becoming lost is all too easy during a snowstorm, and a traveler can blindly fall into a treacherous ravine or crevasse or wander into the lair of a large predator. During cold months, starvation becomes a real danger as vegetation withers and animals leave the area or hibernate in hidden caves and burrows.
Warmer weather brings new dangers. Snowfields melt unevenly to create areas strewn with dangerous pits, while rivers flood their banks to spill into valleys and down mountainsides, which can lead to deadly landslides. Fires are particularly dangerous during summer, as the flames race with deadly speed through the dry forest, funneling inhabitants over rough and difficult terrain that can end at impassable walls of rock and sheer cliffs, leaving no escape.
FLORA AND FAUNA
Although the uppermost peaks of many ranges are barren, snow-wreathed wastelands, the lower slopes and highland valleys are home to all manner of plants and animals. On the ascent, the shifting climate gives rise to a diversity of species greater than that found in many of the nearby lowlands.
Plants and animals that love warmer weather congregate closer to the base of the mountain, where temperatures are closer to those of the surrounding area; other species more acclimated to cold make their homes higher up the mountain. Seasonal changes have a strong effect on these creatures. Berries and wild plants flourish in warmer months, providing food for animals that in turn become prey for predators. The plants disappear as the seasons turn, leading to animal migration that affects hunting and survival.
The species at higher elevations have adapted to the cold that permeates the heights. Even these disappear in the upper reaches, replaced by low-lying plants and lichens that cling to life just below the point at which nothing can survive for long. Some animals, such as mountain goats, take advantage of the difficulty of their terrain to avoid less nimble predators.
Areas that seem the most favorable for establishing a camp are often also most likely to be claimed by territorial creatures. A well-sheltered cave almost certainly houses a family of bears or wolves, and intelligent creatures such as bogrin often claim choice ground for their small villages, some of which are cunningly camouflaged and nearly invisible from a distance.
SETTLEMENTS
Despite the harsh conditions and constant dangers, the mountains of western Immoren are home to many communities. Scattered throughout isolated villages and individual farmsteads, these hardy mountain trollkin, farrow, bogrin, and humans are not overly fond of visitors. Gaining the trust of hardened mountain folk as an outsider is difficult, but they can make formidable and stalwart allies.
Khador, with its expansive ranges and resilient people, has the greatest population of independently minded human mountain dwellers of any of the Iron Kingdoms. Most of these are of Skirov, Kossite, or Ruscar ethnicity. Even Cygnar hosts scattered pockets of rustics, such as the reclusive Gnasir of the northern Wyrmwall Mountains and the Clamorgans of the southern ranges. Additionally, the Circle Orboros maintains a number of secluded sites in remote mountains. They often situate these places such that any approach is watched over by allied villages, including those inhabited by Wolves of Orboros.
MOUNTAINS AND HILLS OF WESTERN IMMOREN
DRAGONSPINE PEAKS
Situated just south of the Dragon’s Tongue River, the Dragonspine Peaks are a small but noteworthy chain of mountains rising from the plains of eastern Cygnar. Made of granite and basalt, the mountains are shot through with deep caverns and close canyons.
Standing behind the new front line of Cygnar’s northern border, the roads and rail lines that cross these mountains are of inestimable strategic value. Cygnar’s most important northern trade hub, Bainsmarket, is sheltered by these mountains, and passengers, goods, and war materials bound everywhere from Corvis to Point Bourne pass through the Dragonspine Peaks every day.
Many bands of farrow dwell in this area, and the craggy peaks and valleys serve them well. Although farrow bandits and raiders sometimes emerge from these hills to harass lightly armed trade caravans or even small ships on the Dragon’s Tongue River, they are wary of drawing military attention.
The recent discovery of gold deposits in the arid, gravelly basins at the base of the Peaks has brought a flood of prospectors and miners looking to strike it rich. Some have even begun heading into the mountains proper to seek out the richer veins they are convinced lie there. This influx has caused a sharp increase in conflicts with the local tribes. Many explorers, especially those foolish enough to travel alone or without escort, do not return. The occasional tale of unbelievable wealth ensures there is never a shortage of new prospectors.
TOMB OF LOST SOULS
This lost crypt deep in the Dragonspine Peaks was rediscovered in 602 AR. A large mercenary army was interred here with great honor for services they provided to Cygnar in its battles against the Tharn in the early Border Wars. Rumors say this army rose from the dead to march against the skorne invaders during the Battle of Corvis in 603 AR, although those who did not witness this miraculous event have a hard time accepting such a wild claim. Locals insist that not only did the dead army march to war, but some also returned afterward, retreating to their resting places and closing the great tomb doors behind them.
Attempts have been made to study the tomb’s contents, but escalating conflicts in Cygnar have confounded such efforts. Human researchers from Corvis University have launched several small expeditions over the years in an attempt to catalog and study the tomb. The site remains very dangerous due to both its crumbling architecture and the intrusion of creatures, such as crypt spiders, that have been drawn to its dark and dusty chambers.
ERUD HILLS
The Erud Hills run from Imer down the eastern border of the Protectorate of Menoth and are a resource of incalculable value to that nation. Rich in basalt and granite gneiss, the hills were quarried by the Protectorate for material to build the capital city of Imer. The hills are also an ample source of ore, which runs rich and deep throughout the region. Citizens of Imer deemed guilty of indolence are assigned to hard labor in mining camps in the Erud Hills, the western edge of which is dotted with these camps and quarries.
The hills provide much-needed protection from the arid winds of the Bloodstone Desert. Without the Erud Hills to the east and the Boar Hills to the north, the sands would bury what little arable land exists in the Protectorate. Watchtowers along the hills also warn the people of Imer of imminent dust storms and other dangers coming from the desert, such as the forces of the skorne. When a threat is spotted in the distance, the warning bells echo through the valley, giving the people a chance to clear the streets and shutter their homes.
Until the last century, the Erud Hills supported many Idrian tribes, who would winter in fastnesses carved into the hills. To this day, some Idrian families choose to dwell here as their ancestors did. The burial mounds of tribal kings and chiefs lie hidden deeper in the hills. Many Idrians living beyond Protectorate borders still revere these great men.
The Protectorate of Menoth has been less interested in claiming the eastern slopes of these hills. As a result a number of farrow tribes have settled here and sometimes come into conflict with the local Idrians. Both better armed and more numerous than the Idrian settlers, the tenacious farrow have successfully seized valued waterways and the larger caves.
HELMSREACH
On the northwestern border of Cygnar, Helmsreach is part of the Upper Wyrmwall Mountains. It is a treacherous range of peaks surrounding Haltshire Lake. The region originally contained only a vast plateau that held a massive, shallow sea, but the constant accumulation of ice over thousands of years formed powerful glaciers that eventually carved out this unique mountain range. Hungry night trolls emerge throughout Helmsreach after sundown, luring prey into their waiting claws with the glow of their luminescent spines.
GREYBRANCH MOUNTAINS
The Greybranch range is a horseshoe-shaped mountain chain stretching from the Castle of the Keys in the north to Fort Falk in the south. It closely follows the course of the Black River for most of its length before hooking sharply into the Bloodstone Marches. The mountains shield the northern expanse of Cygnar from the Bloodstone Marches and desertification. Tough scrub brush and grasses cover the western faces of the Greybranch’s arid peaks, giving way to exposed rock on the eastern.
Most of the mountain range has historically been sparsely inhabited. The skorne recently established a number of holdings, several watchtowers, and a few small forts along their patrol routes here. Skorne cohorts have also seized several small mining operations formerly run by people out of Ternon Crag.
The mountains to the south are home to a mixed population of human prospectors as well as many farrow tribes. The farrow have resisted the skorne’s efforts root them out of the mountains, instead abandoning old villages and establishing new ones deeper in the range. The southern spur of the Greybranch Mountains is known as Caerly’s Craig, which is riddled with caves, abandoned mineshafts, and desolate ghost towns — ideal hiding places for brigands and gangs.
KOVOSK HILLS
Lying in the volozk of Umbrey, the Kovosk Hills are located in east-central Khador. These hills are characterized by the gentle, grassy slopes of their northern faces and the jagged, steep declines that mark their southern sides. The hills have long been the domain of the Umbrean horselords and the nomadic Yhari-Umbreans as well as scattered tribes of bogrin and hives of the wretched, subterranean dregg.
During the Orgoth invasion, the Umbreans retreated into these hills. Most leveraged the area to hide and to harass invading forces. When the fighting subsided, many stayed to establish a new life. These hills are also home to the massive Karpathan destriers and Pozdyov warhorses bred by the horselords of old. Herds of wild horses still range across the Kovosk Hills to this day, much as they did in the era of the horselords.
The Kovosk Hills are home to both the horselords’ aging manors and many forgotten ruins. The most significant fastness here is Castle Tzepesci. Nestled deep within the hills, this massive fortified estate serves as the ancestral home of Great Prince Vladimir Tzepesci, ruler of Umbrey.
MURATA HILLS
The Murata Hills form the rugged northern border of Ord. They have long been used as defense against the expansionist ambitions of Khador to the north. Large rock formations and dirt earthworks from many eras of conflict lie scattered among the hills, and they grow more numerous with each generation. Centuries of warfare have left the Murata Hills filled with relics of the past. Rare artifacts hidden among the rocky landscape are sometimes revealed during long periods of rain.
The hills are nearly uninhabitable. Very little vegetation grows here, and the lack of water makes for a mostly desolate landscape. Adding to its hostile appearance are the stout fortifications of the Ordic military. High, turreted walls run through the Murata Hills, and all nearby trees have been either cut down to open up sight lines for Ordic cannons or harvested for the construction of palisades and forts. Despite the bleakness of these hills, a few small bands of farrow have settled along the northern foothills on the Khadoran side, creating fortified villages amid the rocky crags. Neither Ordic nor Khadoran border patrols have been willing to root them out.
NYSCHATHA MOUNTAINS
The Nyschatha Mountains lie south of the Shard Spires in central Khador. This range is lower and more rounded than the younger Shard Spires and lacks their sharp peaks. Although harsh and remote, these mountains are more accessible than those to the north, and Khador considers them an important site for future mining expansion.
In the summer, the lower slopes are filled with verdant deciduous forests and plentiful ground covering, but they experience regular snowfall in the winter. The tallest peaks remain snow-capped throughout the year.
Animal life is abundant throughout the Nyschatha Mountains. Mountain goats, ulk, and snow leopards are common. Winter trolls regularly emerge from their lairs high up in the mountains to plague the people living in the lower valleys with their yodeling cries, which can presage either violence or mating rites. Dotted throughout the range are areas filled with specters left behind from Priest-King Khardovic’s crusades to purge the region of its original barbarian inhabitants.
The northern reaches of the Nyschatha Mountains are home to a scattered handful of Nyss who returned here, as close as they dared to their former homeland. They have sought to restore some semblance of their former lives, but doing so has required them to compete with other groups native to the region. The remote corners of these mountains are already home to bogrin tribes and certain isolated tribes of human barbarians. The Circle Orboros has also taken an interest in the region, although its sites here are less significant than in other places.
Small communities of Skirov and Kossites live across this range. These towns are numerous, but few of them have more than a modest population. The people here live a simple life far from the interference of the Khadoran government. Their communities are self-sufficient, with permanent buildings, ample water sources and gardens, plentiful hunting grounds, and large herds of domesticated yak used for food and as beasts of burden. Although such people consider themselves Khadorans, they are not enthusiastic about the appearance of mining operations under the direction of powerful kayazy.
SHARD SPIRES
An imposing range of sheer-sided mountains topped with glacial ice, the Shard Spires stretch south from the northernmost reaches of the Khadoran Empire. They are a craggy expanse of steep, jagged peaks and twisting, narrow valleys, all covered in deep snow and ice. Cold and dense, the Shard Spires drip with snow that lasts year-round at a surprisingly low elevation. Frequent avalanches sweep down their slopes, and the region is often cut off from the outside world by savage winter storms. Parties seeking to explore here have often vanished into blinding storms on the mountains, never to be seen again. This monumental near-arctic range provides both a buffering shield against the cold winds of the north and a natural spine to the nation of Khador.
These mountains were once home to the Nyss, who held this ground tenaciously for over a thousand years. Winter stones adorned with Aeric runes still flank the narrow pathways that led to Nyss territory. The former halls and shrines of that people are scattered throughout the range, but all now lie abandoned and covered with a heavy blanket of snow. When catastrophe struck the Nyss and drove them from their home, they left almost everything behind.
Slowly, other creatures have begun to return. White mountain goats are a common sight in the Shard Spires, traversing narrow paths and seemingly impossible precipices on sure hooves. A few winter trolls have moved into the region in pursuit. Eagles and hawks claim entire mountain peaks for their territory, and thick-pelted bears spend long months hibernating in caves here.
Plant life is sparse at higher elevations, but hardy trees and brambles thrive in ravines and on cliffs in the lower reaches of the mountains, offering shelter to any smaller game that can stand the cold. Native squirrels, marten, and deer have adapted thick coats to survive the rugged conditions.
Tall and imposing, the Shard Spires host some of the highest known peaks in Immoren. Among these mountains is Nrynrr Lyss, “the Top of the World,” where an expedition of Iosans imprisoned Everblight’s athanc after his defeat. The site was chosen because it was, as far as the Iosans knew, the highest and coldest peak in Immoren.
The Shard Spires are a rarely active volcanic range, although they saw a great deal of activity long ago. Smooth sheets of dark stone on many of the mountains give certain peaks a striped look. After the destruction of the Nyss, few of the mountain folk will venture back up into the accursed Spires. In truth, this region was considered too inhospitable for settlement even before the Nyss claimed it.
THE LEGION OF EVERBLIGHT
When the dragon Everblight awakened and spread his dark influence through the Nyss, he annihilated their culture and claimed them for his own. Corrupted by the dragon, these blighted Nyss became the Legion of Everblight and are now focused on serving his will as the foot soldiers of this horrific army.
The Legion of Everblight remained here only during their early, formative months. The blighted ogrun Thagrosh, host to the dragon’s consciousness and heartstone, sought other candidates among the blighted Nyss to host portions of Everblight’s athanc. Once the blighted army had grown strong enough, it began withdrawing from this region.
Although the majority of Everblight’s forces have left the area, some draconic influence remains. The blighted Nyss still hold some locations, which they use to spawn all manner of draconic horrors. The dragon has taken care not to concentrate his forces in any one place. No substantial force of blighted Nyss currently occupies the Shard Spires, but small groups might be encountered here or in the nearby areas.
THUNDERCLIFF PEAKS
The Thundercliff Peaks form a natural barrier between Khador and Rhul. Known for its many lucrative but dangerous mines, this range is valuable to Khador, and much of what it produces goes to fuel the nation’s various war efforts. Parts of the mountains have largely been picked clean of native firs and pines, leaving behind only exposed rock and stumps. Rockslides are common in these overharvested areas, as are mudslides during inclement weather. Hellspass is the largest and most important city in the Thundercliffs and is the center of Khadoran power in the region.
Animal life is relatively scarce in the Thundercliffs, having been chased away or hunted to near extinction by extensive settlement and mining operations. Birds of prey, including eagles and falcons, control expansive territories, and most of the bears that once roamed these mountains have migrated across the border into Rhul. As a result, attacks by the local wildlife on the human population have become frequent. The long-furred mountain goats of this range are an exception; many towns have domesticated these animals, which can subsist on wild grasses and thistles that grow in hard-to-reach places.
Much more developed than other nearby mountains, the Thundercliffs host a series of mining towns and small outposts on a network of dirt and gravel roads. The mines in these peaks are an important source of the red powder required for the alchemical creation of blasting powder. During the many recent years of war, wagons loaded with ore have been a constant sight on the road to Skirov. Every few hours a supply train headed west or empty carts returning east can be seen. Iron, silver, copper, and several other valued metals are also mined in this region.
Skirov workers and prisoners from khardstadt labor camps mine the Thundercliffs. Most miners keep to their own kind, and towns along the supply roads are often divided strictly along racial lines. Entire settlements of ogrun — valued for their strength and endurance in the tough mining conditions — can be found here.
MINING IN THE THUNDERCLIFF PEAKS
The Thundercliffs are rich in copper, silver, gold, and iron, which feed the ravenous Khadoran war machine. Mines in the region are dank, unstable, and deeply risky, but the gain is worth more than the hundreds of workers who perish every month. Mines left unworked or unguarded too long often become infested by bogrin. These creatures have plagued the local miners for generations, usually returning a few years after being forced out of a mine.
Over the last few years, dragonspawn have launched vicious attacks on sites of Khadoran interest in the Thundercliffs, including several important mines. Khador has responded by hiring Rhulic mercenaries, which has kept many mines safe, but the region is by no means secured. These difficulties have been exploited by other groups in the region, including several hardy tribes of bogrin.
WATCHER PEAKS
A section of the northwestern Wyrmwall Mountains situated south of the Gnarls and northwest of Orven, the Watcher Peaks are, for the most part, shorter and less sheer than the rest of the range. Although sparsely populated, they are home to more people than other sections of the nearby mountains. A number of Gnasir villages pepper the region’s milder mountain passes and valleys. Even more cluster along the Twelve Day Road, a major trade thoroughfare that connects the great city of Ceryl with Orven in the east.
The Watcher Peaks were named after a legend that spirits here watched the departure of the Orgoth and remain vigilant against their return. Some insist these mountains are haunted by the Orgoth’s victims, including those slaughtered at such places as Nine Stone and Henge Hold. Packs of ravenous wolves and worse rule the deeper parts of these mountains.
WYRMWALL MOUNTAINS
The Wyrmwall Mountains dominate southern Cygnar as a physical barrier between its west coast and eastern interior. A number of fortresses and the formidable city of Highgate have been built in the most accessible passes to safeguard them. This range of mountains is vast and sweeping, and Cygnaran patrols cover only the barest portion of it. Small, furtive groups find the area easy to penetrate and traverse without interference.
Warm and dry, the Wyrmwall is home to all manner of wild creatures. Dense brambles choke the rocky cliffs, and the gnarled roots of yew and oak trees clutch at the granite. Snow falls regularly on the high, jagged peaks that lie deep in the unsettled reaches of the range. Huge swathes of the Wyrmwall remain unexplored, populated by savage beasts and wild races. Feral bogrin, trolls, farrow, and satyrs carve out territories for themselves in the wilder stretches of these mountains, and intruders are rarely heard from again.
Cygnar has grown rich from the natural resources buried in these mountains. Numerous veins of iron and coal run through the Wyrmwall. Minerals key to the Cygnaran war machine, including copper, zinc, gold, and silver, can be found in abundance deep in the range, and the occasional discovery of precious gems draws swarms of miners to the area. Rhulic miners are a common site alongside Cygnaran citizens in the mountains, living in local enclaves considered extensions of Rhul by dint of old treaties.
An interconnected series of train stations supports these mines, and Cygnar runs an effective (if not always punctual) series of supply runs day and night. Even wilderness races marvel at the sixty-mile Wyrmwall Tunnel between Steelwater and Ironhead Stations. Only ten miles of track are open to the sky along this route, which was otherwise carved through the rock of the mountains.
Train robberies and ambushes were more common in isolated stretches of the railway system before the recent wars, when the trains became increasingly well armed. Now, these trains are often defended with mounted chain guns and numerous military sharpshooters. Farrow bandits seeking spoils have better luck with the slower wagon caravans that sometimes travel along the treacherous roads here. Many mines and small towns in the Wyrmwall do not have immediate access to a railway, and goods must be sent across difficult terrain to reach the nearest station.
Settlers have carved out quite a few well-defended villages near Highgate as well as on isolated plateaus and in gullies in the Wyrmwall. They cater to prospectors looking to start up new mines, woodsmen who hunt and trap in the mountains, and those who prefer a peaceful existence away from Immoren’s constant warfare and struggle. Such settlements vary widely from culture to culture. Some owe strict allegiance to Cygnar and obey its laws, while others follow the will of local bandit warlords.
The Wyrmwall also has a number of significant religious sites. High up in the mountains northwest of Clockers Cove stands the Divinium, also known as the Holy Place of Virtue or the First Church, the oldest center of the Morrowan faith. Wilderness groups steer clear of this well-guarded place, knowing its monastic Keepers are as skilled in the arts of war as they are well-read. Six monasteries consecrated to the Order of Keeping sit in the mountains. Built to withstand the Menite Purging, the Divinium has never been seriously threatened, although ambitious farrow warlords dream of pillaging its halls.
Even in the civilized reaches of the Wyrmwall, Cygnar’s 14th Division constantly patrols the mountains for signs of hostile forces. Their first priority is watching for Cryxian raiders attempting to infiltrate the mainland and establish bases in the mountains. Despite these efforts, rumors persist of several hidden Cryxian caches and outposts high in the Wyrmwall.
The greatest power lurking amid these mountains is the dragon Blighterghast, although this being seems to have little interest in lesser creatures. The dragon perches high in the mountains and keeps a constant vigil over the water, always looking for signs of Toruk the Dragonfather. Blighterghast moves so little he might be mistaken for a great statue, but his spawn are another matter. These monstrous creatures descend periodically from the peaks to hunt, sometimes falling upon — and subsequently obliterating — anything in their path.
The Circle Orboros is keenly interested in Blighterghast and maintains a watch on the dragon, supervised by Omnipotent Lortus. Highgate routinely dispatches forces of the Third Army to hunt marauding dragonspawn. Locals have developed many superstitions to avoid the dragon’s attention, such as leaving offerings of recently killed game a few miles outside a village or whispering prayers to Morrow upon hearing the words “blight,” “wings,” or “dragon.”
The druids of the Circle Orboros maintain numerous sacred sites among these peaks, including several that are considered major nodes of power. Great wolds stand watch over these sites, where some of the Circle’s most impressive rituals take place at certain conjunctions of the stars. Amid the valleys live numerous hidden herds of satyrs and other creatures tended by the blackclads. Wolves of Orboros are gathered from many of the remote mountain communities, particularly among the Clamorgan and Gnasir peoples. The Tharn who settled here from the Thornwood during the Orgoth Occupation are also allied with the Circle. These mountains are one of the few places where warpwolves have settled into small packs, producing many purebloods, a resource the blackclads guard jealously. Despite the Circle’s power, its sacred sites are contested by the Convergence of Cyriss, which has created well-fortified temple complexes beneath several ley line conjunctions, thereby securing them for their own use.
Trollkin are sparse in the Wyrmwall, but kriels are scattered throughout these peaks. Mountain trollkin are isolated and less involved in affairs affecting their kin elsewhere. Many ancient krielstones carved with wind-worn Molgur runes still stand in remote villages, preserving lore and legends that have, in some cases, been forgotten among the larger trollkin communities.
UPPER WYRMWALL MOUNTAINS
The Upper Wyrmwall is a wild place of jagged peaks and trackless forests where civilization holds little sway. Trollkin kriels, feral bogrin, and Devourer-worshiping tribes inhabit the unmapped interior of the region, clashing with each other over limited resources, including the best hunting grounds. Only the blackclads tread these lands with anything approaching impunity; ancient pacts sealed in the blood of generations and incomprehensible powers leave them free to carry out their mystic rites or call upon old debts among their allies.
Massive dire trolls whose hunger for flesh knows no bounds, numberless packs of cunning wolves, and intensely territorial bands of satyrs all roam the stony peaks and untamed glades of this region. Despite these dangers, the unimaginable mineral wealth contained within the Upper Wyrmwall tempts those willing to risk lives — theirs or others’ — in search of riches. Some of the most productive gold mines in the Iron Kingdoms are located here. More than gold can be found in these peaks, though — deposits of the incredibly rare trace materials required for the manufacture of military-grade cortexes and mechanikal wonders such as warcaster armor have been unearthed here as well. Cygnaran Army patrols regularly check on these mining operations as part of their patrols.
