The Abiral Range

## Summary

The Abiral Range, also known as the Never-Ending Mountains, are a mountainous region of the **Venswood** located south of the **Toba Expanse**. Notably isolated from the main Venswood, its coastal towns became major trading hubs for goods such as textiles, spices, and valuable metals, the last of which were sourced from the towering mountains inland.

Though **Kihai**, **Hjen**, and **Spears** all lived within the Mehr Lowlands and the Abiral Foothills, the most famous cities and towns within the expanse of the Never-Ending Mountains were those of the **Cuthail**, whose resourcefulness found them plentiful in even the most impassable peaks and valleys, their houses built on and within the teetering cliffsides and jagged summits that had earned the region its name.

## History

It was the Kihai who first inhabited the Abiral Range, though their numbers were few and their villages scarce. They flocked mainly to the lowlands of the coast and the foothills behind them, where the flora was not so meager. The most isolated of them took to far-away valleys in the heart of the range, tucked away between steep faces of rock, where they settled below the point where the trees would disappear and made what they could of the trees and other plants that grew there. Not ones to venture up the peaks, where the flora was far and few between and where the living was harsher, the Kihai dubbed the highest of peaks inland the Far Reaches, and remained in what villages they had.

For a time, no other peoples made much move to inhabit the region. The mountains were treacherous, and the whole region well-removed from the rest of the Venswood. A handful of Spear families would patrol the foothills, and even fewer would settle in the expanses of land between the reclusive settlements of the Kihai. Hjen dotted the coast, forming small cities rich in trade and art, alongside the Cuthail's comfortable coast and hillside settlements, but those who had settled within this portion of the Venswood were disconnected, going about their lives comfortably on their own. The push that made the region prolific came later, from an unexpected source.

The Thornvales - Though their exact name is disputed, and frankly, lost to time - were a very large, extended family of Cuthail who left the Venswood's mainland many centuries before the undead hordes came to plague the continent after their home was ravaged by a series of horrible storms and subsequent floods. Having set sail from a far-away coast, they came to find the Never-Ending Mountains mostly untouched, with their fellow Choirfolk scattered sparsely amongst the massive expanses of land. Here, they saw opportunity. Some of their numbers moved to the coasts, joining the Hjen to create bustling hubs of trade and commerce. Yet others went further inland, to the foothills and lowlands, where they turned the high-up grasslands to pastures and the fertile lowlands to farmland, joining some of the Kihai to cultivate the land and provide the coastal region with the goods of their livestock and crops. And but a handful of their numbers dared to venture into what the oldest of Kihai called the Far Reaches, scaling above the trees to cut their homes from the steep cliffsides and mine the mountains. No longer were the high peaks just the inhabitable, inhospitable Far Reaches - They were part of the Abiral Range, the Never-Ending Mountains, and the Cuthail-founded city of Gamya sat at their crown, and with time, became the most famous city of the region.

As the centuries marched on, more flocked to settle in the new, growing society that flourished so far away from the mainland. The growing numbers brought positive change - The expansion of what had already been. But with time, and the arrival of some particular swathes of Cuthail, some small part of the people there came to be even more resourceful, clever, and removed from the rest, and the cities atop the peaks came to house more than just the comfort-loving, yet capable halflings, but the flipside of their folk: Crime families.

## Geography

### Natural Features and Regions

* **Abiral Range Proper** - The Abiral Range's namesake, a chain of towering, jagged peaks and high-sitting valleys. It's intensely cold here, and gets an abundance of snow each year. Unlike the Far Reaches, some swathes of forest cover the mountainsides here, save for their summits.
	+ Daxa Valley - A large valley located between two relatively tall peaks, bordered by the Far Reaches on one side and overlooked by the town of Ghothra. A large lake and winding river mark the valley floor.
* **Far Reaches** - A portion of the Abiral Range proper that hosts its highest mountains and most secluded cities. It's near uninhabitable and impassable, save for the tunnels and roads created by the Cuthail. The Far Reaches are bitterly cold and prone to avalanches and blizzards. No trees grow here, but mushrooms and other plants thrive in cities within the mountains like Gamya. Beyond Mount Ehani, the mountains are wholly unscaleable, with nobody knowing what lies beyond.
	+ Mount Ehani - The highest peak in the conceivable Far Reaches, and the location of the city Gamya. It's made up almost entirely of sheer cliffsides and narrow, avalanche-prone chutes.
	+ Mount Tvesha - The second-highest peak in the Far Reaches. Many natural caves wind through its base, rich in valuable mining.
* **Abiral Foothills** - The smaller peaks and hills that border the mountain range, mainly made up of high-elevation grasslands crossed by narrow, winding creeks. Cold, but relatively dry, it's proven ideal for the raising of livestock and transporting goods from the Mehr Lowlands and coastline.
* **Mehr Lowlands** - A region of low-lying land bordering the coast, rich in farmland and forests. It's notoriously rainy here, and the chosen home of most Kihai in the region.
* **Atayan Bay** - A large bay, notable for being the name sake of Port Atay and the home of a few other harbors. More sheltered from storms than the main coastline, most trading - And sometimes, smuggling - of goods is done here.

### Cities and Towns

* **Gamya** - The first city to be established in the Far Reaches, inhabited almost exclusively by Cuthail. Located on and within Mount Ehani, its houses have been built to cling to the sides of steep cliffsides, and tunnels established within the mountain itself lead to a bustling city full of shops, inns, taverns, and even patches of cultivated mushrooms - And the few Kihai who might keep them. The city's underbelly is rife with criminal activity, home to a handful of crime families and even a black market. It's horribly difficult to get around as a non-halfling - The tunnels and houses have been built with the small folk in mind.
* **Ghothra** - A town of mostly Cuthail bordering the edge of the Far Reaches and overlooking the Daxa Valley. Far smaller than Gamya, it houses populations of miners and their families. Its buildings balance on a thin ridge, with others lifted up from a steep hillside on either side. Many staircases and rocky paths weave through it and to the mines below.
* **Isatis** - A small village in the Abiral Foothills, originally one of the old Kihai. It sports vast pasturelands, namely those of cattle and yak, but its shepherds tend to a wide array of animals beyond that. Due to its past inhabitants, it also contains many areas of cultivated flora.
* **Lyari** - Another one of the old Kihai towns, located in the Mehr Lowlands. Goods are farmed and exported from here in great abundance. The thick grove of trees it once stood in has been mostly cleared, but some older Kihai still inhabit the small groves left outside of its wooden walls.
* **Port Atay** - A bustling hub of trade, fishing, and art, Port Atay is mainly occupied by Hjen and Cuthail and located at the mouth of the Atayan Bay. Dense markets occupy the city's docks, where you might most of the fish, but also goods sourced further inland - Textiles, tea, spices, minerals and metals. Galleries are scattered about the streets, full of sculptures, murals, and more classical paintings.
* **Hayal** - A coastal town similar to Port Atay, located relatively close to the Toba Expanse compared to most others. Though it seems a quiet spot for fishing and sailing, many criminal organizations and families smuggle goods in and out of the area, and it even hosts a few prolific names in the ways of trading information.
* **Camp Fowler** - Once a nameless Spear hunting camp, Camp Fowler is a haphazard collection of cabins, tents, and perhaps an inn or two centered around a small campsite, located where the Abiral Range borders the Toba Expanse. It's mostly fowl that is hunted in the region, hence the name Camp Fowler. Though its population is small at best, it's a prominent stopping point when traveling through the region.

## Culture

### Religion

It was the belief in the **Mojudan** that held sway over the region before the time of the **Verse and Weave**. Old circles and settlements of Kihai, alongside some Cuthail in the Far Reaches, held these beliefs alive and well in the Abiral Range.

### Clothing

**Far Reaches, Abiral Range Proper** - The occupants of the Far Reaches and general Abiral Range donned namely furs and other insulated materials when outside, wearing long coats with big, heavy hoods and fur-trimmed pants and boots. Beads and other embroidery decorated their sleeves and hoods. When not fighting the cold, colorful patterns and long layers were common, with prominent styles being colorful satin and cotton layers over plain-colored shifts and tunics. Single, long necklaces of large, colorful beads were donned often.

**Abiral Foothills** - The attire of the Abiral Foothills reflected their most common profession - Tending their livestock. Their fabrics were similarly vibrant to those further inland, though less patterned, and clothing was cut with an ease of motion and warmth in mind, with trousers, decorated walking boots, and layers of wool common over loose-fitting cotton.

**Mehr Lowlands, Coastline** - Colorful, patterned, and extravagant when out of work, it was those in the lowlands and the coast who dressed most grandly. Hjen artistry transferred to the production of particularly intricately embroidered, almost mural-like shifts of satin and silk. Textiles such as straw were woven into hats and plentiful accessories.

Wedding attire is heavy due to its beaded and embroidered intricacy, and often red in color. White is a color of mourning, worn to funerals and in the time afterwards.

### Cuisine

The cuisine of the range is richly flavored and hearty. Staples such as rice - Wild rice, in more isolated regions - yak, beef, lamb, dumplings, and a wide variety of different curries and noodles are the most prominent of what is eaten in the region. Potatoes are a particularly important vegetable in cooking. In some regions, the ability to keep food is particularly important, with preserved meats and long-lived vegetables being the main nourishment in areas like the Far Reaches. Desserts are often made with different yogurts, milks, fruits, and even cheeses, often turned into sweet dumplings or puddings.

### Art

The creation and display of art, particularly in coastal cities of which were originally settled by the Hjen, has long been a part of the society of the Never-Ending Mountains. Sculptures of people, animals, and all in-between were often made and put in galleries in cities like Port Atay. Murals were frequently found in those same cities, painted to the sides and entrances of homes and shops. They were even found in mines and on the ships of sails on occasion. More traditional painting was also quite common, with whole galleries and markets dedicated to the showing and selling of canvases.

### Holidays

**Fall's Wane** - Usually occurring in early **Goldencrown**, Fall's Wane is not so much a festival as a day of work and resignment. The harvest of the fall is put away to be preserved for the winter, animals slaughtered before the winter are set to be smoked and dried, winter clothes are brought out and repaired, and those of the Mehr Lowlands set to one last grueling trip to the mountains and foothills to provide the isolated towns with what materials they need before travel becomes difficult. The inhabitants of the Far Reaches and Abiral Foothills prepare in similar manners, gathering what firewood and clothes they require, and stocking their pantries for the long nights ahead.