The Hills of Meus are a transitional zone between the Cerulean Crests and the central Dalizi Highlands, a region of rolling terrain that provides the easiest walking in an otherwise difficult landscape. The hills are named for Meus, a legendary Dalizi prospector whose fate became a cautionary tale about highland wealth.
Geography
The Hills of Meus cover roughly forty square miles between the northern Cerulean Crests and the southern slopes of the Jackal Mountains. The terrain is gentler than anywhere else in the highlands—rolling grassland with scattered rock outcrops, elevations between 4,000 and 6,000 feet, and slopes manageable without climbing.
The Rivoleta River cuts through the eastern hills, providing reliable water along a corridor that sees most of the traffic through the region. The western hills are drier, with water available only from scattered springs.
The vegetation is primarily grass and low shrubs, with occasional stands of pine in protected valleys. The soil is thin but present—a luxury in the rocky highlands. During summer, the hills are almost pleasant: green grass, moderate temperatures, and visibility that extends for miles.
The Legend of Meus
According to Dalizi tradition, Meus was a prospector from the lowland state of Kagoro who explored the Cerulean Crests three centuries ago. He allegedly found a deposit of pure copper, not ore requiring smelting but native copper in sheets and nuggets, easily extracted and immensely valuable.
Meus returned to the lowlands with samples and organized an expedition to exploit his find. The expedition entered the hills that now bear his name and was never seen again. Subsequent searches found no trace of Meus, his party, or the copper deposit.
Theories about Meus's fate include:
- Lost in the highlands — The expedition died of exposure, starvation, or accident, and the bodies were never found
- Killed by rivals — Someone learned of the find and eliminated the competition
- Killed by something else — The highlands have many dangers; Meus may have encountered one
- The deposit was cursed — Some Dalizi believe Meus found something he shouldn't have
The legend has inspired centuries of prospectors to search the Hills of Meus and the surrounding Cerulean Crests. None have found Meus's deposit. Many have found their own graves.
GM Information: Meus was real, and he did find a copper deposit—but it wasn't natural copper. He stumbled upon one of the Vetharak civilization's abandoned mining sites, where they had extracted copper for their dream-channeling infrastructure. The "sheets and nuggets" he found were refined copper left behind when the site was abandoned.
The site is real and still exists, buried under centuries of sediment in a narrow canyon in the eastern Cerulean Crests. What Meus didn't realize, and what killed his expedition, is that the site is also a dream-node, and the refined copper is saturated with the titan's dream-energy. Extended exposure causes vivid hallucinations, disorientation, and eventually a waking dream-state from which victims don't return. Meus and his expedition are still there, in a sense—their bodies died of exposure while their minds wandered the titan's dreams.
Plot hook: Finding the Meus deposit would give access to dream-touched copper, which could be valuable for certain magical applications—or could be used to deliberately enter the titan's dream-space. The deposit is also evidence of the Vetharak civilization's presence, potentially leading to Vetharak proper.
Current Status
The Hills of Meus are technically unclaimed, like most of the Dalizi Highlands. No state has extended formal authority here, and no permanent population exists. The hills are used by:
- Travelers — Anyone moving between the Chull Lands, the Cerulean Crests, and the eastern highlands
- Shepherds — Occasional grazing during summer months, though the distance from the lowlands limits this
- Prospectors — Optimists still searching for Meus's copper
- Hunters — The hills support modest game populations
The lack of major hazards makes the Hills of Meus a relative haven. There are no chulls (too dry), no Moon Goblins (too far from the Foggy Mountains), and no ogres (too distant from the Troyan range). Dire jackals range through occasionally, and the usual highland hazards (weather, terrain, isolation) apply, but the hills are safer than most highland areas.
Strategic Value
The Hills of Meus occupy a central position in the western Dalizi Highlands, providing relatively easy movement between the major terrain features. Control of the hills would allow monitoring of traffic between the Titan Stairs, the Chull Lands, the Cerulean Crests, and the approaches to the Jackal Mountains.
No one has bothered. The traffic isn't valuable enough to justify establishing a presence, and maintaining any outpost in the highlands would be expensive. The hills remain a through-route, not a destination.
Several Dalizi states have discussed building a waystation in the Hills of Meus—a protected stopping point for highland travelers. The proposals never advance far. The cost would be shared among many states, the benefit would accrue mainly to merchants and adventurers, and the political complexities of joint ventures in unclaimed territory make negotiation difficult.
Related Locations
- Cerulean Crests — South, the copper-rich mountains
- Rivoleta River — East, cutting through the hills
- River of Petals — South, accessible via the hills
- Hills of False Rubies — Northeast, the disappointing crystals
- Jackal Mountains — North, the central spine
- Chalaari River — East, alternate route to the lowlands