Known as “That Which Holds Up the Sky,” Gorazke (go-RAHZ-keh) is a large roughly-circular range of mountains in the geographical heart of the Steppe. The haunted and accursed ruins of Helisanke, the fallen capital of Helicalis lie deep in the center of the mountains, the city remarkably intact for being the epicenter of an earth-rending curse of deific scale and the passage of three millennia since its Old God master was banished from the mortal realm. Around that cursed city the Tomarrans have turned the rest of the mountains into a holy and bountiful home. Though the mountains of Gorazke are not easy to produce food in, many rich veins of iron and Adamantine ore can be found by those who know where to look, and the something in the air and soil makes magical herbs remarkably easy to grow. The Province is home to the Tomarran capital city of Hostarovy, carved deep into the greatest of the peaks, as well as many Khramadzi, temple-cities run by the priests of the five Gods.
Many Kiths and Dwarven Clans have carved great cavernous settlements deep into the stone, and those who prefer to avoid subterranean life have built grand temple-cities atop the peaks. The nomadic Kiths take their herds along long and winding journeys between and through the peaks, grazing their beasts in hidden alpine valleys lush with grass and fruit trees. The maze-like cities in the mountains are lit by glow stones and bioluminescent flora, cultivated over millennia by the Gazelles and Caracals. Whenever a Shrike deems it necessary, they will remove and relocate glow stones so as to keep the shadows and reliefs of the carved walls ever changing. This is not intended to create more dark corners, but rather to prevent routine and order to settle anywhere within the mountain halls.
The people of Gorazke are a superstitious and religious lot, prone to thinking deeply about theology and philosophy and using ritual and prayer to drive away evil spirits and bad luck alike. Gorazke is also known as a hub of art and music within Tomarr; many of the cliffsides of the mountains and walls of the cities throughout the Province are covered in murals, painted by devotees of Eravae, and music echoes between the peaks, as travelers and guards upon their watchtowers sing ballads passed down for generations. There are many clowders of Snow Leopard scattered throughout the Province, drawn by the presence of the thousands of wise folk and Mystics who call the mountains home, and the Leopards’ presence in turn has led the average person in the Province to have a better appreciation for the tales of the past, the dangers of Old God corruption, and the delicate Balance that governs the Steppe.
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