Ashkeeper Peaks

This grand mountain range extends northward from the Lucidian Ocean through the center of Wildemount, marking the boundary between the Dwendalian Empire and the wastelands of Xhorhas. The Ashkeeper Peaks reach skyward in a jagged array of steep mountaintops, like the pikes of a shadowy army looming over the Marrow Valley. The mountains house the treacherous paths to the Gehen Basin and the hidden valley of the Verstglade-secret lands that only the truly courageous or truly desperate attempt to reach.  The range bisects the continent's central region of Wynandir, with the Dwendalian Empire ruling the lands on the western side and the eastern side forming the region of Xhorhas. The southern base of the mountains is dominated on the southwest by the massive green Quoraska Jungle, and on the southeast by the Lotusden Greenwood.    As of 835 PD these passes were guarded on the south by the Ashguard Garrison and on the north by the Rockguard Garrison. The hostile landscape of the Ashkeeper Peaks has prevented any attempts to install an imperial presence, and the peaks are teeming with all kinds of monsters and terrible beasts. Most of the cities bordering the Ashkeepers request a reinforced assignment of Crownsguard to protect their citizens from the many roving mountain predators.   Beneath the surface of the mountains, huge networks of caverns and tunnels weave between subterranean civilizations and the deadly shadows of the Underdark.

Many dangerous creatures find their home amongst the Ashkeeper Peaks, far from the forces of the Empire or Dynasty. These creatures are adapted to the mountainous terrain, traversing the difficult environment with their climbing or flying skills. Due to the tunnels that run beneath the mountain, there are some subterranean creatures that climb their way upward into the areas around the mountain bases.

Once, the Peaks were contiguous with the Dunrock Mountains to the north, but during the final battles of The Calamity, two passes were created, separated by the Brokenveil Bluffs.