Kahraman
Overview
The mountains of Kahraman rise from the great grasslands of Soroche to the south and the Mournwold to the north. It's a treacherous land of broken rock and barren mountainside. Fast-flowing streams spill down deep jagged-edged valleys. There's precious little in the way of vegetation, only scrub that clings to the slopes. However, there are riches in the mountains; here the Freeborn find precious metals and minerals, often as sediment lying in the streambeds. Scattered settlements shelter in the valleys, with the remains of stone fortresses and watchtowers decaying on the heights above, remnants from the days before Empire when the Freeborn warred with the Marches.
To the south of the mountains of Kahraman lie sweeping grass plains, a seemingly desolate landscape dotted with strange rock formations shaped by the wind. Here the Freeborn graze the bulk of their herds of goats and sheep. The wind from the west, the Delés, is constant and bitingly cold at night. As a result, for shelter, Freeborn communities settle in bowl-shaped depressions cut from the earth, their tents sunk below the plains surface.
Minor Settlements
Fort Braydon
An old fortress dating from the days before the Marchers, when the Brass Coast kept watch against the barbarians and the Feni. The recent barbarian incursions have led to the the rebuilding of its walls and strengthening of its defenses.
Briante
Known for the rich open cast mines around the Briante valley, this is now home for a number of displaced Navarri steadings, pushed out of Liathaven by the barbarian incursions.
Damata
A trading centre for the surrounding peaks, where rich deposits of Oricalchum are still found, Damata is famed for its walls. Every metre is covered in finely calligraphed script, recording stories that have been told amongst the Freeborn for generations, each story different. One day, they say, there will be no more room for writing, and then the town will perish, its life written. In the meantime, troubadors and scops travel for some distance to read the walls.
Nestor’s Bounty
As with Briante, well-known for its mines, particularly precious stones and tempest jade. Named for a scrivener who made a vast fortune writing contracts for the sale of rich claims found in the hills.
Rojota
Sunk into a natural depression in the rock-slopes that mark the southern limits of the Kahraman mountains. It’s surrounded by goat-farming land, a hard place to scratch a living. Its fame is for a peculiar method of foretelling the future. Precious - for the Brass Coast - scraps of wood are left to weather in dust blown by the Delés and interpreted by sutannir skilled in such matters.
Places of Interest
The Gilded Peak
The mountain that separates the valley of Briante and the ancient stronghold of Fort Braydon bears a most peculiar summit, which at sunset or dawn gleams as if the rock is made of gold. The mountain is treacherous, and no-one has yet achieved it, although many have tried. “Climbing the Gilded Peak” has passed into local parlance as a phrase meaning “a fool’s dream”.