Welcome to Gaia! ::

The great mountain range in the far north of Gaia-ante. This vast area has been mapped in detail by many explorers. The reason for this range of mountains being called Gaia's Embrace is because of the active volcano at the range's center. For the most part the lava lay far at the bottom of the volcano giving researchers a chance to study it. The road that cuts through the mountains and that leads up to the top of the volcano was built by researchers who wanted to study the volcano and by explorers who wanted to open a trade route to Gladius back befor the city of Sorsoleil closed themselves off from the rest of Gaia-ante.

Locations inside Gaia's Embrace
Old Trade Road West/East: Nowadays the only traffic on the mountain's trade road is supply caravans to the Resarchers at the top of the volcano. Many caravans avoid going near Sorsoleil and prefer to take the bridge over Raentir's river and then up to Gladius. Many caves dot the stretch of road before the volcano. None of which lead deep into the ground but are big enough to keep a caravan safe in bad weather.

Gaia's Spiral: The name given to the stretch of road leading to the top of Gaia's Embrace. along the way many shrines are placed and caravans stop to pray for the valcano to slumber and give them safe travel to its peak.

Researcher's Camp: Here two groups of Researchers have gathered; the ones who are interested in the volcano's secrets and the ones looking to unlock Strife's secrets. Because of the volcano's height it is the best place to observe Strife. One gutsy researcher launched a glider from its peak and was the first person to get close to landing on its lofts only to be blasted down into the sea by its winds. Sadly, he was never seen again. As for the Researchers who study the volcano they don't pay any mind to the Observers and focus on taking samples from the lava and exploring the strange cave network deep in the volcano.