Spine

From Ardesia

The Spine is a chain of tall, forested hills, effectively small mountains, which mound up between the flats of the Swift Valley and Tayel's southern coast with the Bay of Shoals. The smaller hills, essentially foothills, upon which the greater hills of the Spine sit tie the chain together into a range rather than a line of isolated crags. Marching along the coast one-by-one, the hills resemble the backbone of some enormous creature. The south scarps of the hills of the Spine descend to the waters of the Bay of Shoals, in some places plunging vertically to the surf, other sloping in gentle valleys to the head of an inlet.

The hills and foothills of the Spine are rich in minerals. Copper and iron can be found in abundance, and some small amounts of gold, silver, turquoise, tin, and lead. Mining villages nestle in the low hills at their feet on the landward side. On the seaward side, small fishing villages eke out a precarious existence between the towering cliffs of the hills and the waters of inlets.

The largest village of the Spine is Cedarborne, a fishing and port town.