Balur Mountains

The Balur Mountains - aka the Balurs

These Mountains form a natural barrier that sequesters the harsh plains of Xulamet from the rest of the Empire and these cold peaks and highlands further insulate from the unnatural heat of the Venztenquin Jungle to the East and the Plains of Heat to the west. The climate of the Balurs varies drastically throughout its full length, mostly due to its diverse elevations. Many of the peaks in the range are dormant or dead volcanoes, although their volatile activity in the distant past gave Balurs one of its names as ‘The Jaws of Obsidian’.

Running across the middle of the Empire, the Balur Mountains are home to some of the richest mineral veins in all of the Empire. Most attempts at mining are plagued by evil giants and their kin, who consider the Balur to be an ancestral homeland, sacred to their kind. Ruins of giant-sized tombs and long fallen palaces bear testament to this theory, as does the profusion of ancient creatures and dire beasts.

It is only the truly brave, stupid, knowledgeable or unlucky who venture off the trails through these mountains as the risks rise every mile away from what can loosely be called the civilisation of the trails. It is well known that a family of Dragons of unmatched age and ferocity doze somewhere beneath the Balurs guarding many a trove of ancient treasure. The dread beasts haven’t been seen (not reported and lived to tell the tale) for a century or more (if they still live) but if mighty magic once more engulfs the region then they are certain to stir once more.

There were several passes in days gone by that enabled reasonably efficient passage between Palmirna in the West and Castle Montfychet in the East but almost all of these are destroyed or lost now. The last low pass going east to west was lost in 778wk when the great quake of 78 happened which caused huge shifts in the area covering the paths. There are 2 high passes which allow passage but at a slow rate although if you’d dare travel the high passes you’d likely make it to your destination.

There is the Nord pass which goes north from Castle Montfychet to the city of Bareryat near Khatty Pass and this is a middle elevation pass, passable almost every year unless nature has other plans.

There is a last middle pass the Sud Pass which enables passage to Lake Fajr and the fertile Antolle Valley area deep in the southern Balur Mountains.