Glass Mountains

The **Glass Mountains** are one of the highest mountain ranges on the continent. The name is not a metaphorical but a literal description. The Glass Mountains are actually pinnacles of solid glass. Climbing is discouraged for anyone who is not a mountaineering expert, and even then you should know the terrain like the back of your pocket to avoid fatal accidents. If it is absolutely necessary to cross the mountains, the fastest option is the Splitter Pass. This pass leads dangerously close to the Needle Ridge, a particularly high and pointed glass formation on which many mountaineers have fallen and been impaled on the razor-sharp peaks. Nevertheless, the Splitter Pass is the "safest" way to cross the mountains, because every second counts here since the real danger when crossing are not the sharp and pointy glass rocks themselves, but the frequent and violent thunderstorms which occur due to the height and geographical location of the mountains and can reach apocalyptic proportions for the inexperienced mountaineer. Masses of rain pouring down from black clouds for days, turning the already slippery glass into a death trap with nowhere to hold on to. Ball lightning that bounces between mountain peaks, shattering smaller glass-rocks and turning them into devastating shrapnels. Deafening thunder that vibrates the mountains like the voice of a giant opera singer, which is equivalent to a violent earthquake and at the right frequency can also cause entire peaks to explode.

A phenomenon that has amazed scientists and made orientation in these mountains even more difficult is the fact that these mountains grow at an enormous rate, as if they were plants or crystals. After just a week, mountain peaks can suddenly have grown that no one has ever seen before. In addition, the weather phenomenon of freezing lightning can be observed. During this natural event, a particularly high-energy and large flash of lightning enters into a chemical reaction with the glass mineral and solidifies itself into a jagged glass mountain at the moment of discharge.

Against outrageous sums of gold, alleged escort protection is provided by the Nebelhutzen, an unpleasant-smelling troll species covered with thick black fur all over their body, which live in the mountains and are actually very familiar with them. However, these child-sized creatures are notorious for misleading the unsuspecting and deserting them at troubling moments. They have a bad habit of constantly cackling to themselves in their unsettling raspy voice. The strong echo in the glas mountains makes this habbit even scarier. If you ask them what's so funny, they just wave it off and say in an ominous tone: "You wouldn't get it!". Due to their devious nature and increasing rumors that they secretly feed on the flesh of stricken travelers suggests you should only enlist their help in the direst of emergencies. Be warned! Never give these trolls the entire sum before they have fulfilled their end of the bargain.

## The Shining Mountains

Between the Plains of the Queens and the Plains of the Kings, there lies a massive mountain range of unusual nature. The minerals and rocks that compose are unique in the world, and its bizarre properties can only show within the range. The material that makes up the lands is of a self-replicating nature, growing when receiving the light of the suns. Their coloration also contributes to this, since while it’s initially the same color as regular metamorphic rock, the more it grows it acquires a translucent shade, until it becomes completely transparent like pure glass. However, this also reduces its density and strength, so when the mountains reach certain heights and weights, certain parts of their inner structures can collapse upon themselves, causing a chain of events that could take down multiple mountains in a single day. The nature of the minerals in the range does not stop there: there have been tests and records of the rocks being able to store energy within them, once they have reached their peak of transparency. During particularly harsh thunderstorms, a lightning can strike a fully mature glass mountain and shatter it, but not without creating a massive debris of rock, now containing a fraction of the lightning’s power within it. These rocks are greatly appreciated by users of the mystical arts, and they will pay great sums to access them. Once the user spends the energy within, it will revert back to its original state, looking like a normal rock.

During the day, the Glass Mountains can reach tremendously high temperatures: since the higher altitudes are translucent to transparent, they are also somewhat capable to reflect light. The sunlight can also go through the prisms and concentrate its energy, reaching temperatures high enough to bend iron. This means that the Glass Mountains work like a desert of sorts in terms of weather, but with frequent thunder and snowstorms. The water never really coalesces into snow or ice, though, usually just being filtered underground.

The Glass Mountains divide the Kingdom of Waldemaria and Mossovoy from most of the Western Giantstep. Since the mountains are still safer to cross than the Manogre Princedoms and the crusaders from the Laurentian Strongholds keep the area guarded against the necromancers from Mossovoy, the mountains are the only potential entry to the Plains of the Kings. This doesn’t mean they are an easy pass, on the contrary. The constantly changing geography of the region makes it impossible to fully map, since every couple of months the range is completely different. New mountains will have risen from the previous collapses, and the more mature mountains will have crumbled from their own weight, creating areas full of debris and crystal dust, extremely hazardous to breathe. Climbing is possible, but heavily discouraged, since the higher the mountain, the more fragile it is, so even expert climbers can find themselves breaking the rock they are standing in and falling to their doom. There are some relatively stable areas, however. The Splitter Pass is an area in between the Needle Ridge, a space where the mountain growth results in stalagmite-like structures instead of regular-shaped mountains. This relatively stable area holds some of the few traversable roads, and even then these can be inundated during particularly heavy rains, turning them into rivers of crystal dust and shards, a deadly trap for those unprepared.

The only stable population of the mountains are the **Nebelhutzen**. The Nebelhutzen are a type of troll specialized in living in the Glass Mountains. Their incredibly thick skin is reinforced by bony scutes, protecting them from cuts and lacerations with the environment. This is even more protected by a heavy coat of black fur all over their body, though it can turn into a lighter shade depending on the amount of sunrays they receive. While not as strong and bulky as others of their kind, they are more agile and fast, being able to balance themselves easily even in uneven terrain. Their sight is very poor, though this is mostly due to the bright shinning of the mountains burning up their vision from a very early age. Instead, they have a great sense of hearing, essential to communicate throughout the mountains. The Nebelhutzen are the premier guides to those who want to cross the Glass Mountains, though getting their services is quite expensive. Nebelhutzen only accept gold as a payment, since they believe gold is made of pieces of the suns fallen from the sky, and it is sacred for them. Nebelhutzen hoard gold, often carrying their entire treasuries with them wherever they go, just in case their friends and families decide to take a portion of their wealth. When a Nebelhutzen dies in the mountains, the rest of the clan will search for it, not because of friendship of familiar love, but because their treasure is now free for the taking. They are extreme omnivores, they have to be, since the Glass Mountains have a very poor ecosystem, and not that many things can survive in this unnatural environment. This has caused many rumors to arise that they feed of the travelers, but they would reject that idea, saying that it would be bad for business. Travelers, however, are recommended to always pay the full sum to the Nebelhutzen at the end of their journey, just in case.