Eternal Mountains
Everyone's heard of Mount Celestia and Mount Olympus, and of the four volcanoes of Gehenna. Many will also mention Mount Othrys of Carceri and CentreSpire of Bytopia. But what other lofty crags and towering mesas dominate the planes?
Mount Ossa and Mount Pelion: Just as Mount Olympus dominates much of Arborea's first layer, so Ossa and Pelion represent its intrusion into the other layers. Mount Ossa is an extinct volcano, measuring hundreds of miles above the surface of the sea of Ossa. One side is occupied by Tlalocan, the Aztec paradise. Storm clouds mass permanently around the top of the mountain, and none has ever entered the crater and returned. To travel to the rest of Olympus, one must travel underwater, for there are no Olympian portals above the surface. Tritons and nereids guard the ways, and only allow those to pass who can amuse them or provide some service. Mount Pelion, the White Mountain of the Sands, is similar in form and size, but has a broad flat top, across which the desert winds blow night and day. The passages here open and close by the passing of the hours, as sand blows in and out of them, revealing and concealing the way beyond. Bralani eladrin and sandlings roam near the portals, but the harsh landscape itself is what deters most planewalkers here. Both these mountains featured in a giantish plan to overthrow Zeus many years ago, and the Lord of Olympus is watching the giants still, to see what their next move may be. Some of them were thrown into Carceri, which may explain the presence of the giantish god Grolantor in Tarterus.
Mount Erebus: Mount Erebus, the sulphurous heart of Phlegethos in Baator, is also the rising place of the burning river Pyriphlegethon. The pit fiend Belgephon rules the Mount, and acts as a faithful lieutenant for Fierana, the lady of the fourth (if such she is). Erebus is used as a drilling ground for abishai, who train to fight in the same sort of terrain as encountered in Gehenna. Erebus bursts into flame irregularly, and although this doesn't concern the fiends too much, any mortal passing by had best beware, lest he be scragged by baatezu or roasted alive. Stay peery is the rule here.
Mount Aetna: Like Erebus, Aetna is a volcano. It rises sheerly out of the ocean of Ossa on Arborea, and spits lava and ash into the air intermittently. The mountain has never been climbed, but it is rumoured to harbour a conduit to Carceri, and to imprison the giant Typhon, a monstrosity cast down by Zeus for hubris. Paths on the mountain lead to Olympus, Othrys and Gehenna.
Fujiyama: The great mountain of the Japanese pantheon, known as Fuji-san, the Immortal Mountain, the Mountain of Wisterias or Blue Rain Hill, Fujiyama represents the centre of the Multiverse for those who follow Those Who Invite. Fujiyama has its peak, like that of Olympus, at the home of the pantheon leaders of the associated pantheon: Cherry Blossom in Abellio. From here, the realm of Izanagi and Izanami, the Mountain stretches out to touch Mount Celestia, Ysgard, Elysium, Carceri, Acheron and Pandemonium. It touches Limbo intermittently, and avoids Bytopia, leaving Ama-tsu-mara's realm somewhat stranded. It will be observed that the only plane touched by Olympus and Fujiyama is Carceri, a plane otherwise infamous for its inescapability. It is this separation of domains that symbolises the apathetic relations between the Japanese powers (often called the 'Ancestors of Fujiyama') and the Olympians: The lawful bent of many Japanese powers contrasts with the strong individualism of the Greeks. It was for mucking about in the way the Olympians do that Susanoo was cast out of heavan bythe Japanese powers. Fujiyama is ruled by three minor powers: Sengen, goddess of blossom; Kuni-Toko-Tachi, who watches over pilgrims to the realms of the Mountain; and O-Ana-Mochi, the god of the crater atop the mountain. Fujiyama is incredibly beautiful, even when seen from the Lower Planes, and is a very popular subject for artwork.