The Mistfold Mountains

The Mistfold Mountains, usually just called the Mistfolds, form the rugged and largely impassable southern rim of the Cymean Peninsula, extending from the hill country east of Latazaro toward the Green Sea. Their long, wooded ridges and karst uplands separate Cymea from Orenlas and the Plaguelands to the south and west.

Geology

On the western edge of the range, south of the Latazaro, the Mistfolds rise from the rugged Tyrwinghan Hills on the eastern edge of the Mostreve, becoming gradually taller and steeper from west to east. This western country is characterized by broken hills and rocky valleys, with small streams that turn to rushing waterfalls and feed the lowlands of the Latazaro. In the central portion of the range, north of Orenlas, the mountains form a nearly impassable front of steep escarpments, nested ridges, blind valleys, and sinking streams. Constant mists hang in the passes, such as they are, and the old magic of Orenlas makes travel unreliable; no dependable road crosses this part of the range. Toward the Green Sea, the range gradually breaks into lower ridges and broader valleys, with only a few isolated and imposing highlands. Though the terrain remains rugged, the eastern mountains do not present the unbroken barrier found above Orenlas.

Names

In Common, the range is formally known as the Mistfold Mountains, although it is usually called simply the Mistfolds. The name refers both to the long, overlapping folds of the terrain and to the mist that gathers in its valleys.

In Cymea, the range is known as the Serraclusa Mountains. The name is traditionally derived from an old Cymean phrase meaning “closed ridges” or “mountains of enclosed valleys,” perhaps originally describing the range’s blind valleys and steep limestone cliffs.

The Elven name is Velandë, conventionally translated as “the Veiled Heights.”