The Bone Hills rise from the southern edge of the Salt Flats—a low range of weathered ridges that mark the transition from salt pan to true desert. The name predates Kuzagt settlement, though the elves have certainly contributed to its appropriateness.
Geology
The Hills are composed primarily of limestone and chalk, the compressed remains of ancient sea life from when this region lay beneath an inland ocean. Erosion has carved the soft stone into strange formations—pillars, arches, and honeycomb patterns that from a distance resemble skeletal architecture.
More significantly, the Hills contain genuine fossils. The ancient sea teemed with massive creatures, and their bones remain embedded in the rock. Some specimens are merely large. Others suggest beasts of sizes that strain credibility—skulls the size of houses, vertebrae requiring teams of slaves to excavate.
The Kuzagt harvest these fossils for construction material, decorative use, and occasionally religious purposes. Their bone-working traditions incorporate ancient remains alongside more recent acquisitions.
Mineral Deposits
Beyond fossils, the Hills contain useful mineral deposits: sulfur springs (valuable for alchemy), copper veins (largely exhausted), and occasional pockets of salt with unusual properties. Mining operations dot the hillsides, worked by slaves under Kuzagt supervision.
The most significant deposit is the Weeping Vein—a formation that produces a thick, oily substance with preservative properties. Applied to organic material, it prevents decay indefinitely. The Kuzagt use it on their most valued slaves, extending useful service lives by decades.
The Ossuary Roads
Ancient paths wind through the Hills, marked by standing stones and the occasional monument. These predate the Kuzagt, belonging to an unknown culture that left no written records. The monuments feature carved bones—or bone-shaped carvings—arranged in patterns that may be decorative or may be linguistic.
The Kuzagt have studied these sites without reaching conclusions. They maintain the paths for practical transportation purposes while leaving the monuments undisturbed. Some council members privately believe the original builders were ancestors of the Kuzagt themselves, though they cannot prove this theory.
Hazards
The Hills are not safe. Sinkholes open without warning where underground chambers collapse. Sulfur vents release toxic gases. And the fossils are not always entirely dead.
Certain excavations have uncovered remains that resist extraction—bones that move when unobserved, that appear in different positions from one day to the next, that occasionally disappear entirely only to resurface miles away. The Kuzagt have learned which sites to avoid. They do not share this knowledge with outsiders.