Shadow Mountain
This is by far the tallest mountain on the continent of Yrth. No one knows for sure exactly how tall it is. We do know that it extends above the air envelope of The Wold. Special strains of lichens and mold help renew the air supply at higher altitudes, while others help deal with attitude sickness. Some of the most magical and fantastic creatures call the upper reaches of Shadow Mountain their home. The most notable of these is the Winged Folk. Half men, half bird, they until recently, were believed to be extinct.
Several years ago two siblings left their mountain nest-city to explore the low-lands. They became adventurers with The Chosen. Most of what we know of the Winged Folk and Shadow Mountain comes from them. The first of these is Hawkmoon, captain of the King’s Personal Guard in Plateau City. The second is Miss Clarissa, former High patriarch of Alemi in the Floating City.
The Winged Folk originally joined the Free-Staters and defended the staters many times from Aisildurian skirmish units attempting to bypass the Wall of Kaazul by climbing the lower reaches of Shadow Mountain. The Aisildurians eventually recruited the Hawkmen of the lower southern face of Shadow Mountain to attack the winged folk at the mountaintop. All of the “Folk” were supposedly killed. Actually they took very heavy losses, rethought their associations with mankind and withdrew for many years.
The lower regions of the mountain are divided according to the facing of that region of the mountain. The south face, up to a height of 10,000 feet is ruled by the Hawkmen. The Hawkmen are the antithesis of the Winged Folk. They are predator/hunters. The east face is home to giants of all kinds. Bigtown is there on the western route from New Elenna. A great trading town, everything there is built on a giant scale and visitors must adjust. The west face is divided by the Wall of Kaazul into the Northwest and Southwest faces. Both areas are full of Monsterkind. Bizarre is the term that best describes this “The Wildface” of Shadow Mountain. The North side is actually being settled slowly but surely as the See of Windbourne Hills continues to expand into the surrounding wilderness.
