The Brokenstaff

The Brokenstaff Mountains

The Brokenstaff are named for their curious placement in regard to each other, not forming in a straight line, but if one were to trace the peaks from above, they kind of zigzag back and forth. A line of for now dormant volcanoes that stretch in a generally SE to NW direction, they form somewhat of a shield between the more arctic and mountainous northern reaches, and boreal/coniferous forests to the south, largely comprised of the Wodenweald and the Mistwoods. The further north a peak is in the Brokenstaff, by and large, the higher it’s summit will be. The shortest member of the range is called Larchmont by humans, and the largest, when it can be seen through the clouds, is The Father, with a summit 25,000 feet above sea level. Because of the arrangement of the mountains, the range is known for containing innumerable small valleys that can be quite deep, even to the point where some claim to have found freshwater springs and thriving grasses and trees between the storms howling on peaks to either side of them. There are a number of passes one can take through the mountains, though they are often winding and confusing tracks that are hard to keep up with, as snow or wind quickly covers traces of passage within hours if not minutes. There are great beasts that live in these mountains, aurochs, cavebears, regular bears, mighty dire elk bleat from the rocky foothills, tribes of orcs and bugbears carve out their existences, and the legendary Goliaths are thought to have settlements in some of the more remote regions. Bison can be found on either side of the range, giant eagles and wyverns circle storm-tossed peaks, and if one waits long enough, they may be able to see a white dragon passing between a lair and whatever foolish errand it could conceive of. In addition, there are tales of strange things, which one may not be able to entirely classify, deep within the roots of the mountains, sometimes a trapper or hunter will tell that they heard strange piping melodies in the night, distinct from the sound of the wind.