The Yellow Mountains

The Yellow Mountains are a series of mountains located north of Dieppa, falling close to the city of Nuligo. They are incredibly extensive to the point that it is easier to trek around them than go through them.

Name
The name of the mountain range comes from the discovery that the very tip of them, underneath the snow, is made of yellow rock. Scholars have tried discovering why this has occured but there is very little information due to the difficulty of getting to the top of the mountains and the inability for anyone to mine it.

Some believe the name is due to the large reserves of golds found from mining the mountain.

Geography and key features
The mountains are small compared to the others in general length however they seem to reach great heights, even rising to around 8,000m peaks.

The yellow mountains were assumed to be discovered in the First Era where mines along with their equipment were found, though none of the tunnels reached very deep.

When adventurers reached the top of the mountains they found the rock had turned yellow but not in the form of gold but rather a naturally occuring dye. At the peak, the yellow material seems to be so strong that it becomes impenetrable to both magical and physical means.

When magical scholars have reached the area they have noted a heavy magical energy flowing through the wind, though what magic it was could not be identified.

Hydrology
The Yellow Mountains have hidden lakes and springs within the range, being placed inbetween the different mountains or above on the higher land. Scholars believe that this was caused by some magic due to the climate not allowing any fresh water.

There are two small lakes within the range, they are surrounded in heavy vegetation and some have found the soil nearby perfect for growing any form of food if it was not so difficult to get there.

The springs are plesant for adventurers looking for a bath but they have found if they take too long they may grow blisters on their body.

Climate
Unless they are around the lakes or the springs, it is beyond freezing when you get a bit higher though on land it seems normal. Snow stroms are rare but not exactly impossible. It's fecking cold and snowy.

Ecology
The flora and fauna are tough, surviving the snow and harsh cold from the environment. The plants seem to have an inner warmth that melts the snow and allows them to absorb the nutrients from the water. If found nearby the lakes and the springs the trees always seem to be wet, absorbing the water from the melted snow and getting more nutrients from the sun.

In the form of animals there is goats, deer, sheep who are hunted often by snow leopards. A strange animal that is often found hanging even at the higher altitudes is the red panda.

Culture
There are three types of people that live on or close enough to the mountain range that they are incredibly active. There are miners, monks or the small village that has made its home on the rise.

The miners are cold and hard labourers who give little care to the outside world, simply going through and doing their job. They have been toughened by the weather, and suspicious of newcomers.

The monks come from the 'Snow' monastery, usually teaching different elemental principles or the drunken way. They are very reserved and one of the only people that use the lakes and springs regularly.

The village of Haku is also very secluded. It is unsure where they get their food and resources from but they are isolated from most of the world. When adventurers arrive they often dont talk.

A common thought of the creation of the mountain range believes that the mountain range hold the souls of powerful sorcerers who hid away. It is hard to discount the theory from the strong yellow material and the magical winds that sweep through the area.