A range of dry, pale hills running through Aal Salma's interior, named for their ash-colored stone and thin, dusty soil. Little grows here except scrub grass and hardy thornbushes. The hills are hot in summer, cold in winter, and unpleasant year-round.
Despite their barrenness, the Ashen Hills hold value. Salt deposits in the eastern reaches supply Aal Salma's preserving industry. Ancient caves riddle the rock, used variously by hermits, outlaws, and—allegedly—pre-human cultures whose carvings still mark the deepest chambers. Miners and scholars both venture into the hills, though neither finds exactly what they're looking for.