Continentbuilding V
The Rings
An impressive set of dead volcanoes stretching up to the sky with desert on one side and temperate rainforest on the other. They are named for the huge ringed clouds that cluster about their shattered peaks. The mountains are interspersed with hills that would themselves be mountains in any other part of the world, all so high that travelers tend to lose their breath far from the top.
41. The Fair Folk
Today’s word is Beautiful. The people who live near the rings are known as some of the most beautiful in the entire world, and call themselves (vainly) the Fair Folk. They are goblins, and while they were once violent and warlike, they now turn their attentions to other pursuits. They live on both the desert and jungle sides of the mountains, and keep trade routes through the mountains with the help of traveling people like the Setenethel.
What can be found or done here
The source of many fashions that end up traveling widely, the Fair Folk are known as artists with their own form and appearance.
42. Heaven's Lighthouse
Today’s word is Holy. The volcano that stands closest to the sea is the most active, constantly spouting lava into the sky, and known to shed light even on the darkest nights that can be seen across the ocean. Though lava destroys it frequently, devout descendents of once-violent goblins maintain and rebuild a temple facing the sea.
What can be found or done here
The temple keeps records of ancient wars and even more ancient religions; members of the temple use the lava to run an impressive forge where they create magical armor imbued with the power of forgotten spirits.
43. Scorched Heights
Today’s word is Death. A broad saddle of blackened land exists off the roots of Heaven’s Lighthouse, where the deathly fumes make it impossible for anything to live. This stretch of mountainous terrain is a haven for spirits who have been banished from other lands.
What can be found or done here
Any time a spirit is scared away from somewhere else, they come here, so it can be a good place to seek dark answers about the past or the afterlife, but only for truly daring adventurers.
44. Mighty Sky
Today’s word is Sky. The greatest of the Rings, known simply as Mighty Sky by those few people who live nearby, may be the most impressive and awe-inspiring in the world, its perfect cone unbroken and pure.
What can be found or done here
Mountain spirits with memories stretching backward thousands of years; pools of hot lava, some infused with magical elements; views of heavens and earth to humble even the haughtiest of men.
45. Treasured Sands
Today’s word is Treasure. The high deserts are littered with treasures from the long-ago days of the Fair Folk’s raiding, as they often could not bring home everything they looted, and they would throw away anything not quite pretty enough for their high standards.
What can be found or done here
Discarded treasures and decorations from old conquests, and the bones of those who could not make the journey. Many spirits linger around the memories attached to both the treasures and the bones.
46. Last Scrap of Luck
Today’s word is Luck. The only true large-scale settlement of the Fair Folk on the desert side of the Rings is named for the desperation that visitors often face if they travel here unprepared. Part of that desperation is because of the harsh environment, but plenty is also due to the natives, who have no compunctions against taking advantage of unwary travelers.
What can be found or done here
A handful of rare resources are mined or extracted from the land around Last Scrap of Luck, and can be necessary for the casting of rare spells or the creation of rare potions.
47. Sacred Promise of Tears
Today’s word is Idol. On the jungle side of the mountains, there are many prominent settlements, but the greatest is Sacred Promise of Tears, an impressive array of large stone structures built directly atop a steep precipice, now sprawling across and down the nearby cliffs. All of these buildings, and the many paths that lead to the city, are decorated with idols to the many small gods of the Fair Folk. A bustling center of trade and religion, anything can be found here, although some people can be distrustful of outsiders because of how beautiful and precious they find their home.
What can be found or done here
Many exotic spices and materials; spirits who are welcome to walk the streets alongside the living; stolen idols, for those who dare offend the gods of this place with robbery.
48. Temple of Smoke
Today’s word is Incense. The Temple of Smoke stands at the heart of Sacred Promise of Tears, where the priests never stop burning incense in offer to the gods, continually shrouding the town in smoke. Rain is frequent enough in the jungle that a common form of divination is to observe whether clouds and rain or smoke is a greater presence over the city.
What can be found or done here
Incense is valuable anywhere, and the priests are always willing to sell a little, along with demanding obeisance to their gods. They also have a tacit cultural stranglehold over the city, which can mean there are rumblings of discontent, or double-crossing from the devout who are pretending discontent to flush out willains.
49. Bridges of the Past
Today’s word is Bridge. The heights are well known for bridges, and they arise from three distinct eras. The oldest are great, magical bridges that leap from clifftop to clifftop, hailing from the distant past when the Fair Folk’s ancestors wielded the might of the gods who walked beside them. Half of these are still standing and in perfect order; half have broken, leaving stark ruins. Next are stalwart constructions of concrete that impose brutally on the landscape, from the expansionistic and warlike period; most of these have decayed with time, the making and repairing of them forgotten. Last of all are the most recent bridges, made of rope and blending better with the natural environment; these can look rickety and terrifying, but are kept in excellent repair. The Fair Folk view all bridges as sacred, and patrol them regularly to prevent bandits from cropping up.
What can be found or done here
The bridges that work still sometimes suffer mishaps, and brave adventurers could descend into the depths to liberate missing goods and equipment. The older bridges that have crumbled hold mysteries: why did they break, and why has no one rebuilt them?
50. Slumbering Shoulders
Today’s word is Sleep. The last of the truly giant volcanoes is nestled against other mountains, so it can look less impressive. It is also much sleepier, and it has not erupted in living memory. The goblins who live in the sparse hills worship it as a sleeping giant, making countless offerings to prevent it from ever waking again.
What can be found or done here
The lava tubes beneath Slumbering Shoulders are huge, extensive, and intertwining, and play host to an impressive natural underdark ecosystem of strange worms, fungi, and predators.