Umkim Ice Peaks

Place

Place Name:

Umkim Ice Peaks

Biome:

Ice Peaks

Size:

Unknown

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

The Umkim Ice Peaks sits towards the northwest of Taerel. It sits on a plateau that rises up around seven thousand feet. Even though it has a high elevation, it’s not considered a mountain as it has a mostly flat surface. And, only one side of the plateau is raised that high, it slopes down as it goes south. The region spans roughly 6,211 square kilometers. Scattered around the region are giant peaks made of thick ice. Some stretch up to nearly two hundred feet and come to a sharp or square like point. Some have a width of just a few feet, while others have a width of almost a hundred feet.The climate is extremely cold. Officially, summer does not exist. Throughout the year, the temperature does not rise above thirty degrees.

It is pretty much winter all year long. In the “summer,” it stays around the upper twenties during the day and drops to just above zero at night. In the winter, which is far longer than the summer, it is a few degrees below zero during the day and several dozen degrees below zero at night. Instead of rain, snow and hail fall. Summer brings about sporadic hail, while winter is a mix of soft snowfall and blizzards. The snow on the ground can easily grow to several feet high, making it hard to walk through. The ground is always covered in snow.Plant life is sparse due to the frigid temperatures. As with other cold, icy places, there are species of plants that are able to grow in such environments, but there aren’t many.

There are a few trees towards the southern part of the region, but even these have ice covering them and they are bare of any kind of foliage. Some of them even have ice inside of their bark. Most of the animals are birds or mammals. They have thick feathers or wooly fur to protect them from the cold. Taiatage City is towards the southern part of the region. Their homes are igloos made of ice and snow. The constant frigid temperatures keep the igloos from melting even when they’re by fire. Each of the igloos have a small fire pit inside that is constantly burning. The igloos have diameters of nearly eleven feet each, big enough so that the fire isn’t too close to the walls. Even though the temperature keeps the ice from melting, if fire was put right against it, it would melt.

There is a frozen lake a few miles from the city. The ice is a few inches thick, but the zu’aan have been able to make holes that allow them to fish and retrieve water. The lake spans around two hundred square kilometers, making it relatively small. But it does have a depth of nearly five hundred feet. There are fish in the lake and in the river connecting to the lake. The fish are one of the biggest sources of food for the zu’aan inhabiting the area.

Plants

Plant life in the Umkim Ice Peaks is sparse due to the frigid cold weather and often iced covered ground. Trees are probably the sparsest species in the region. There is only one species in the whole region that only grows in the south. Akonac is a rare species of moss native to Umkim. This pale blue, spongy moss grows around the ice peaks scattered throughout the region. Giant clumps cling to the surface of the ice. It thrives on the cold in the air and the ice, taking in the moisture on it. This moss can be used to help keep fire burning. When added with wood, the fire is able to stay burning longer. The zu’aan also use the moss for insulating both their igloos and their clothing.

It can’t be put directly against skin, so they use it as padding within the shirt itself. Akonac has no medicinal benefits, nor is it edible. Eating this moss can cause extreme nausea and fever. Echetine are short trees that grow towards the southern part of the region. They only stretch up to around six feet. Surprisingly, it has a wide, wavy trunk, but most of the inside is covered in ice. There is also a thin layer of ice covering the outside. The bark is a light blue color with speckled spots of white and the wood inside is black. This tree is bare all year round, it doesn’t grow any kind of foliage. The roots are thin, but plentiful, and spread far down into the ground.

Though ice both covers the tree and is within, its long branches are thin and easy to break off. The bark can also be cut off. The branches and bark are used to light fires within the city. Osrary is a small species of flower that grows out of the snow covered ground. It grows up to three inches tall. Its thick and straight, blue stems grow in bunches of six. There are large, silvery blue, spear shaped leaves with ridged edges. The underside of these flowers are a dark blue. These leaves grow at the base of the stem. A pair of leaves grow at the base of the stem, just below the flower. Stellate shaped flowers with light purple, stretched, tear shaped petals sit on top of the stem. They are one of the few colors that stand out against the white snow.

Their roots, despite the small size of the flower, are thick and sturdy. The roots are black in color. These flowers are often covered with thin layers of frost. Osrary grow all over the region, clustering up in some areas, especially around the lake. These flowers are completely edible, from their petals down to their roots. They have a sweet scent wafting from them and have a sweet taste. Osrary can help fight fevers, and is actually what is used to help zu’aan who have ingested ackonac. This flower can also be made into a paste that can be used to stave off frostbite. By rubbing the solution on the skin before going out into the cold, the effects of frostbite are slowed down.

Animals

The majority of animals in the Umkim Ice Peaks are of the mammal and bird species. They have characteristics that help protect them from the cold. Thick feathers, fat, muscles, and thick, wooly fur. Bocate are a breed of large mammal with four limbs. Their limbs are thick and short, so they only grow to a shoulder height of around five feet. Thick, wooly, whitish blue fur covers their mostly round, but slim bodies. They're diurnal and rely on their hearing and extra sense to get around. They do have large, purple, round eyes, but their sight is lacking. Thick wooly fur covers most of their eyes as well to help protect their eyes from the wind, which doesn’t really help with their vision.

They are docile for the most part, but can be extremely territorial. They live in ice caves that have naturally formed in the scattered peaks. They have a diet consisting of small mammals and the occasional fish. Their claws allow them to claw through the ice of the lake to reach the fish. Females give birth to up to three young after mating. Marant are a small breed of fish native to Umkim. They grow to a length of a foot and a half. Their scales are black at the top and transitions to a silvery blue towards the diamond shaped end. Their tails are wispy and translucent along with the three, small dorsal fins. They have thin, narrow, yellow eyes that have adapted to be able to see in the dark depths of the lake.

There are two long, thin barbels beneath their mouths. Their diet consists of the algae and other plant life that grows within the lake, that is inaccessible to zu’aan. Females are a bit larger than males and have rounded scales. They can lay up to fifty eggs after a mating, which happens twice a year. They never mate with the same male twice. Qhenine are a breed of bird that inhabit mostly the southern part of the region. They stand at a height of almost four feet and have a wingspan of a little over five feet. They have a thick skin covered in mostly white feathers with light purple and silvery blue tips. Their beaks are thick, pointed, and black while their round eyes are a frosted blue color with horizontal, slitted black pupils.

They make their nests in the tree towards the south of the region, though they can be seen taking rests on the ice peaks. These birds don’t migrate. They are omnivores with a diet mainly consisting of small mammals. As there isn’t much animal life here, they will occasionally go south, just a few miles from the edge of the region, to hunt for food. They’re rarely gone more than a few hours. Females can lay up to two eggs at a time. They don’t mate for life, but they usually mate around three times a year, with the same male since there aren’t that many around.

Historical Timeline of Ages

Age Name	Dates	Controller
Stone Age	Before 1E 0	Unknown
Copper Age	1E 1–1E 2200	Unknown
Bronze Age	1E 2200–1E 4400	Unknown
Iron Age	2E 0–2E 700	Unknown
Ancient Age	2E 700–2E 2200	Unknown
Middle Age	3E 0–3E 2050	Unknown
Early Modern Age	3E 2050–3E 2600	Unknown
Industrial Age	3E 2600–3E 2700	Unknown
Machine Age	3E 2700–3E 2800	Unknown
Atomic Age	3E 2800–3E 2850	Unknown
Space Age	3E 2850–3E 2875	Unknown
Information Age	3E 2875–3E 2900	Unknown
Genetic Age	3E 2950–3E 3000	Unknown
Awakening Age	3E 3000–3E 3415	Unknown
Twilight Age	4E 0–4E 500	Taiatage City Zu'aan

Place

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Umkim Ice Peaks

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This article is written by DreamCatchie#3401 (Discord). Copyright 2026 Jenetra Waters. All rights reserved.