Map of Ulthuan.
The Annulii Mountains are a range of titanic cloud-piercing peaks which separate the Inner and Outer Elven Kingdoms on the island of Ulthuan. The highest valleys and plateau of this region disappear into a strange, glittering mist of raw magic so strong it becomes visible even to those without the wizard sight.[1a][2a]
Within this realm the stuff of dreams and nightmares can coalesce from the very air. The sun is never visible, it is eternal twilight. Time flows strangely and travelers become lost for years although they think they have been walking only hours. Even the use of magic becomes unpredictable in the mountains. This unstable region of Ulthuan has a strange other-worldly quality more akin to the realms of Chaos than to mortal lands.[1a][2a]
The Mountains are riven with magic because Ulthuan itself acts as focal point for the winds of magical energy which blow across the known world from the Northern Wastes. These drifting energies are drawn to Ulthuan, like water in a whirlpool, forming a vortex of magic. In this way, Ulthuan drains magic out of the known world and prevents the tide of it overwhelming everything and turning it into a seething realm of Chaos.[1a][2a]
The Annulii is near impossible to cross save by certain passes and tunnels guarded by massive fortified gates. Many wild and evil creatures are spawned in the mountains or drawn there on the winds of magic, taking shelter in the crags and catacombs. For the most part they are confined there by the same spell which draws magic to Ulthuan, but some things manage to find their way down to ravage the lands below. Griffons, Chimerae, and other monsters find their way into the hinterlands of the Inner Kingdoms where they are hunted for sport or captured as war mounts by the High Elves.[1a][2a][3a]
So few passes breach the near impenetrable mountains that most communication between the inner and outer realms takes place by sea. Thus, the Inner Kingdoms are mostly unspoiled wilderness, covered by huge, ancient forests or grassy, rolling plains, utterly free of the stamp of habitation.[1a][2a]
No Elf has ever scaled to the very summit of even one of the Annulii and spoken of it, but legends abound of an otherworldly realm beyond the clouds, where ancient gods hold court.[3a]
Trivia
- It's noted that upon reaching high enough, the wind becomes charged with magic, bearing Great Eagles aloft with minimum effort. Warm air from the Inner Kingdoms rises from the eastern flanks of the mountains to be met with a cold barrier of wind blowing inward from the sea. Mingled with the raw, powerful magic, the resultant thermals make racing through the sky an exhilarating experience, though the mighty birds seemingly care little for the sensation.[4a]
