THE PASSES:  Each of the passes (Butcher’s Pass, The Chalice, Red Saddle) has a massive fortress at its highest point.  Even after the fall of Hax, these fortresses were enough to keep out the marauding elements of The Grimme.  But for the last 150 years, there has been a constant state of war between the Imperium and the Grimme for control of the passes & their mountain fortresses.

Winter shuts down warfare, and whomever is in control of the pass at that time holds it until hostilities begin again in the spring. 

Possession changes hands every few months or even in a matter of weeks, and each pass has become a meatgrinder for men & material.  Enlistees are always needed. 

A common enlistment is for (1) year, with pay bonuses for re-enlistment.  Any soldier (of any race or class) who serves a tour gets a brand on the right bicep (a circular dragon with a tower at the center) to show service.  A hashmark for each year goes under the brand.  This is a serious badge of honor.  Anyone caught forging such a brand is hung.  Those who legitimately wear the brand can usually expect free basic lodging and meals throughout the Imperium.

About half way up the mountain at each pass is a support fortress which does not change hands, and these are nearly as impressive as the main fortress.  They are the launching pads for every assault, storehouses for weaponry, material, and military training grounds.  Anyone going north into the mountains from these lower fortresses is met at the gates by a priest of St. Cuthbert, where they are sprinkled with holy water and given absolution…