Xishan

"Upon the western seacoast lies :/:The verdant spike that pierces skies :/: I wish my skill, like gods', was keen :/:Such that my garden was as green :/:"- Classic of Piety

Xishan lies to the west on Dragon's Foot, in the middle of the Nanhe

### Age Created

Age of Creation

Xishan is a small natural group of mountains on the Dragon's Foot. They were long part of the rather uneventful western coast of the continent; they were mainly just being tall rocks in the middle of the newly planted Nanhe jungle. That was until Saluran Mendidih was created. The steam created in the strait between the Kick and the Dragon's Foot gathered around the mountains, causing great amounts of rain to fall in the surrounding region. This caused the jungle in proximity to Xishan to grow exponentially fast until it overtook the entire western coast. There is, however, still a large patch of drier grasslands east of the mountains, as the rain is not as prominent there.

Furthermore, the mountain chain constitutes the headwaters for the biggest tributary to Nanhe, unofficially known as Xihe.

## Topography and Climate

The Xishan mountains is a very small mountain chain, consisted only of two peaks: Gaoshan and Dishan. Gaoshan reaches roughly 1500 metres into the air; Dishan reaches 1200 metres. The space in between the two peaks is home to the headwater lake for Xihe, known as Xihu.

The mountains are very steep, so reaching the top can provide challenging for any animal not capable of flight. The very peaks are covered in glaciers.

The overall climate on the top is cold, yet humid. The humidity rapidly increases as one nears the foot, with the temperature also contributing. On the eastern part of the mountain, the humidity is present, though not as pronounced.

## Lifeforms

Xishan itself has a broad selection of various jungle species that enjoy life among the mountains, ranging from gorillas and tigers to birds.

#### The Xishan Plains, also known as the Knucklelands

The savannah-like plains behind the mountain range are host to a myriad of animals suited for dry grasslands. The ecosystem was created by Shengshi in the Age of Lords, 57 years after the Alma incident. While there are a large number of different species, the mentioned ones are the following:

> *He flicked his hand and tall pillars of mud and clay rose out of the ground, sparsely covering the whole of the plains as far as the eyes could see. From within the pillars, curious termites crawled out to behold the surrounding world. The snake flicked his wrist again and many of these termites metamorphed into wild bees, flies, wasps, mosquitoes. From the ground sprouted hundreds of acadia trees, scattered around the savannah. Fat-trunked baobab trees sprouted in small groups. From the roots of these magnificent plants spawned buffalo and wildebeest with colossal horns. Antelopes and gazelles bounced out of the grass, eagerly skipping at the joy of creation. Alongside them came zebrae and small horses. Watering holes and rivers running off the Xishan tributary filled with birds, both flying and landbound, small hippos and crocodiles.*
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> The snake put his hands on his hips and hummed. The plains would need some carnivores. He picked up a nearby boar bone, snapped it in half and dropped it on the ground. Out of nowhere came packs of wild painted dogs to battle over the marrow. The skies above filled with naked-headed vultures, and small badgers began to stalk the grasses in search of newly spawned mice, rats and meerkats.
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> Finally, the system would have its apex predator. The snake went over to a boulder and placed his hand upon it. There came a deafening roar from within and the stone cracked to reveal a pack of enormous lions, nearly seven feet tall. The males had manes of bloody crimson and sprouted long, black, menacing horns out of their foreheads. The females had smaller horns, though they were still a sight to behold. They immediately began to skulk towards the shade underneath an acadia tree, where some bees already were making hives.
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1. ↑ https://www.roleplayerguild.com/posts/4953951