Star Mounts

The Star Mounts were an impressive and forbidding range of peaks, located in the center of the High Forest. They were an inspiration for many fanciful tales and wild stories created by local troubadours and woodsmen of the North.

Description
The mountains were very difficult to traverse. The overland terrain was incredibly steep and no known passes extended into its interior. In fact, the center of the mountains contained an elevated valley that was hidden away from the surrounding world.

Snow and inhospitable weather that continued year-round made climbing hazardous, in what was an already remote location. It was impossible for creature less powerful than a dragon to approach the Star Peaks safely by air, due to incredibly high winds which were constantly whipping across the peaks.

Some rumors told that, during the peaceful nights among the Star Mounts, strange flashing lights appeared that attracted or banished dragons and other flying creatures that dared to fly nearby. According to other rumors, the elves created mysterious crystals that illuminated the mountains, while some unknown, sinister constructs emitted beams of light when they were exposed to the moonlight.

Inhabitants
Some lonely peaks that stood on the mountains' top had a sharp cusp shape. Many people thought that these protuberances were the dwellings of powerful wizards and formidable sorcerers. The vast mountains contained Onthrilaenthor, an abandoned Eaerlanni settlement.

Somehow, aarakocras had manged to bypass the peaks' strong winds and built their nests on them not too far from where the dragons found shelter in nearby caves. As of 1370 DR, their only remaining settlement was Khle'cayre (Last Aerie), situated at the headwaters of Unicorn Run.

Geography
The geography of the lands surrounding the Star Mounts were noteworthy. The land north of the range was unusually flat for the most part, while the southern reach was gnarled and extensively twisted.

Both the Unicorn Run and the Hartblood River sprang from the Star Mounts, before they snaked through the surrounding High Forest.

History
The curious nature of the surrounding terrain and the sudden abruptness of the mountain range, seemingly out of place in the middle of the High Forest, has caused some to speculate that the Star Mounts were not naturally formed. If that was the case, their creation dated back to a time before elven recorded history.

The earliest recorded names for these mountains have been attributed to the elves of Earlann, who named them for the stars in the northern skies. While Bard's Hill, Mount Vision and Hunterhorn possessed the rough translation of their elven names, Far Peak, Mount Journey and Shadowpeak were still occasionally referred to by their original names, respectively Y'tellarian ("The Far Star"), Y'landrothiel ("Traveller's Star") and N'landroshien ("Darkness in Light"). It was believed these names hinted at some larger mystery that lay within the range.

Despite the dangers of traversing the Star Mounts, the elves of Earlann were known to have mined nearly-pure veins of iron and nickel within the Star Mounts.

In the 14 century DR, the ancient green wyrm Elaacrimalicros awakened from within his lair and consumed most of the mountains' aarakocras. Since then the majority of their villages were left abandoned and they have deteriorated beyond repair.