A mountain range in the southern portion of the Sandreach Mountains system, positioned between the Grognil Mountains to the west and the coastal lowlands to the east. The Caffas are notable for the elemental leylines that run through them—both fire and force leylines cross here, and the region's inhabitants have adapted to harness that power.
The Two Peoples
The Caffas Mountains are divided between two peoples whose rivalry defines the region:
The Flame Kindred are the Wendi confederacy of the eastern Caffas, where the fire leyline runs strongest. The Wendi — a strawberry-blonde human culture known across the world for their drake-riding warriors — have made the eastern range their homeland for as long as memory holds. Their settlements cluster around thermal vents and hot springs, their warriors train in fire magic from childhood, and they breed lesser drakes for mountain flight. They are aggressive expansionists who believe the mountains rightfully belong to fire alone, and they defend the high passes against both the Ironbound and the giants that press down from the highland ridges. Their southern boundary, the Firefrost Hills, they claim but do not patrol, for reasons that go past the weather and the raiders from the wastes: the leyline there destabilizes fire-shaping, and the Kindred will not stake their craft on ground where it cannot be trusted.
The Ironbound hold the western Caffas, drawing power from the force leyline. Their magic emphasizes durability, strength, and kinetic manipulation—they can shatter stone with a gesture or render themselves nearly immovable. The Ironbound are defensive by nature, content to hold their territory but utterly implacable when attacked.
The two peoples have warred intermittently for centuries. Neither can dislodge the other—Wendi fire magic struggles against force-hardened Ironbound defenses, while the Ironbound lack the offensive reach to push into Flame Kindred territory. The result is an uneasy stalemate punctuated by raids, skirmishes, and occasional pitched battles.
Settlements
The mountain settlements are divided between the two tribes, with a few neutral trading posts in the buffer zones.
Flame Kindred Settlements (Eastern)
- Pellosyir — Northeastern settlement, positioned to trade with coastal communities
- Dvornuth — Eastern coastal-facing town
- Freynthiak — Central-east settlement, known for its fire-speaker training grounds
- Tüth — Eastern settlement near the leyline's surface breach
- Shaffiak — Southeastern settlement overlooking the White Wastes
- Benüd — Northern settlement, closest to neutral territory
- Eptriaki — Central settlement, administrative center of the Flame Kindred
Ironbound Settlements (Western)
- Bryzal — Northwestern settlement near the Grognil Mountains
- Pertheniak — Western settlement, the Ironbound's largest and most fortified
- Ilmin — Central-west settlement
- Choysinn — Southern settlement near the Firefrost Hills
The Leyline Crossing
Somewhere in the central Caffas, the fire and force leylines intersect. The exact location shifts over time and is known only to the most powerful magic users of both tribes. The crossing point is extraordinarily dangerous—combined elemental energies produce unpredictable effects. Both tribes consider it sacred and forbidden.