Kadagard
Kadagard is the continent of the northwest and is the coldest of the continents, being furthest north. This landmass stands as the bastion of the north: snow is as blessed as the spring buds, the wind howls louder than the wolves, and the waters of the rivers as as cool and sparkling as the glacel ice. Of course, it's not all frigid wasteland, in fact most of it is in the temperate latitudes, but the reputation of the cold lands certainly preceeds it.
Geography
Kadagard is mountainous, with many a Crumbling having crashed multiple landmasses together until it formed into the continent seen today. Easily the greatest of these ranges are the Allfire Peaks, with slopes unmatched across the world and ever stained white with glistening ice and snow. The Allfire is also home to the glorious, awe striking Thunderbane, the world's greatest peak scraping the edge of the sky. While it is the most well known and expansive, the Allfire is far from the only range on the continent, with three smaller ranges across the continent south of the Great Divide. The Jaws of Sand is a twin range consisting of the mountains to the north of the Karnica Stretch and those further north in the western realms of the Korgosht plains, and another range is found along the western coast of the south eastern peninsula.
While not entirely mountains, it is undeniable that Kadagard is a rugged land, with many hills rolling across the central regions. Flat land is hard to come by, as the constant push of plates underfoot from Crumblings long past creates a scrunching and deformation of the lands between them. As with much of the world, most of the coasts are elevated and rocky, with the few areas low in elevation enough to settle being hotly contested in areas such as those along the southeast penninsula or the southern most regions of the Karnica Stretch. Naturally, mountains and hills result in a great number of winding rivers across the land, though not all are large enough to note on a map. By far the largest is the Ælen River of Brianey, the prime river and its tributaries flowing like a life vein through the region to provide clean water for drink and farm.
While both southern peninsulas have many islands scattared around them, the island that gains the most renown, in no small part due to how well it fits into the reputation of Kadagard as a place of frigid wilderness, is Hadorstadir, among the most northern of the north. This subcontinental island features a great mountain range entirely encompasing its northern third, known localy as Jöttinhol, upon which is a great, everlasting glacier seen gilstening atop the mountains even in the warmest parts of the year during the midnight sun. From this glacier pours the Hilgar Falls from which many a river flow to feed the, comparatively, more fertile south.
While not entirely mountains, it is undeniable that Kadagard is a rugged land, with many hills rolling across the central regions. Flat land is hard to come by, as the constant push of plates underfoot from Crumblings long past creates a scrunching and deformation of the lands between them. As with much of the world, most of the coasts are elevated and rocky, with the few areas low in elevation enough to settle being hotly contested in areas such as those along the southeast penninsula or the southern most regions of the Karnica Stretch. Naturally, mountains and hills result in a great number of winding rivers across the land, though not all are large enough to note on a map. By far the largest is the Ælen River of Brianey, the prime river and its tributaries flowing like a life vein through the region to provide clean water for drink and farm.
While both southern peninsulas have many islands scattared around them, the island that gains the most renown, in no small part due to how well it fits into the reputation of Kadagard as a place of frigid wilderness, is Hadorstadir, among the most northern of the north. This subcontinental island features a great mountain range entirely encompasing its northern third, known localy as Jöttinhol, upon which is a great, everlasting glacier seen gilstening atop the mountains even in the warmest parts of the year during the midnight sun. From this glacier pours the Hilgar Falls from which many a river flow to feed the, comparatively, more fertile south.
Climate
While it has a reputation as the frigid north of the world, that is really only true of the regions north of the Allfire and the southern realms are more temperate, with Karnica even stretching into the tropical latitudes. Most of the continent is temperate to subtropical, partiuclarly along the southern coasts which are fed by a warm ocean current
Fauna & Flora
All of the plants and animals of Kadagard are adapted to cold weather to some degree. The beasts that call the continent home are usually hairy, fat/blubbery, both, or have developed some sort of behavior to work around the frigid temperatures of winter. Grasses and shrubs become fewer the further north you go, with only the hardiest of plants even taking root in the permafrosted soil of the tundra.
The animals that first come to mind for many when they think of Kadagard’s wildlife are wolves, bears, mammoths, and other large, cold weather animals. The common traits one thinks of when they imagine what beasts found in Kadagard are ferocious, savage and fierce, similar to how one might imagine the frigid landscape.
Plants native to the continent are hardy and resilient to the cold. The grasses are short, but thick, so thick in some areas that one doesn’t need a bed roll at all. Bushes are mostly found around water sources and in forests and wildflowers are common on the open grassland. The forest are dominated by conifers to the north, with the broad-leafed deciduous trees not able to withstand the cold like the conifers, while the south has mostly coniferous evergreens, with a oak, beach, ash, birch, and other broad-leaf deciduous trees mixed in. In the northern forests past the Allfire, the dominant tree is the Skywood, with forest full of trees as old as 3 thousand years and easily reach into the hundreds for their height.
Natural Resources
The cold climate of Kadagard gives it the reputation of being a frigid wasteland, but is only among places that are either isolated or have a low education rate, as the average person may have heard of at least some of the continent’s resources, depending on locaton. Much of the trade between locals and of other continents is that of lumber or precious metals.
Those who dare to live in the Allfire often live in massive mining colonies that strip the mountains of their rich deposits of minerals and ores, within their great caverns. Iron is a common export, but so too is Foch, a special type of stone-like mineral that is common to certain mountains in the Allfire. This material is also cold Snow Stone for its milky white color and is known for being stronger than normal stone making it a valuable material for building. When ground up it is the key component for Oracledust, a strong, intoxicating substance said to allow those who ingest it to allow one to do wonderous things. Such powers include lifting mountains, seeing the future and/or past, communicating with animals, spirits, and gods, and casting powerful spells. Some powers happily by and sell this substance, but others strictly outlaw and destroy it, seeing it as a hallucinogen that is highly addictive and makes people crazy. Shamans and spiritual leaders in some of the primitive or tribal parts of Kadagard use Oracledust to preform their miracles and ceremonies and some openly distribute it during such ceremonies, as when mixed with certain substances it can additionally create a great ecstasy and can even be used as a powerful aphrodisiac.
Lumbar is a common export for the northern areas as trees come by easily in areas were trees are especially bountiful. A particularly common lumbar export is Skywood, a type of evergreen tree common to the northern regions of Kadagard named for its immense height: some are believed to be thousands of years old and can be 130 m tall. Even young trees produce incredibly tough, high quality wood, with the oldest trees producing wood that makes some of the strongest shields in the world.
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