Mountains of Mōrya

The Mountains of Mōrya are the northwesternmost mountain range of the Reknaya, separating the deserts of Wat and Erkenma from the Geranian Heath and the Dārǫ Mōrya in the Celdic Steppe.

Etymology

The mountains take their name from the basin to their immediate north, in the Western Celdic language called the Dārǫ Mōrya ‘gifted land’, for the crucial role it played in early Olgish—Celdic relations.

The first Olgish settlers called the area Lamparkaminna ‘mountains (away) from Parka’, possibly a calque of the (lost) Andarian name.

Geography

The Mountains of Mōrya compose the northwestern corner of the Reknaya, extending from Parka in the southwest to the Casgan in the northeast. Located at the break of the Celdic Bow, they contain some of the highest and broadest peaks in the Reknaya and are considered its hardest region to navigate, with the Pass of Katna the only major crossing from their western to their isolated eastern side.

The mountain range itself is composed of five shorter arms, arranged in a shape resembling a five-pointed star:

• The Trans-Parkan Mountains (Olg. Lamparkaminna) form a sickle from Parka towards the northeast, hemming the northwestern side of the Desert of Wat and separating it from the Valley of Parka.
• The Northern Wat (Olg. Turvatta, in contrast to the Komvatta, or Southern Wat, which forms part of the Mountains of Mindeló) hems the Wat to its northern side, separating it from the Desert of Erkenma. The river Ārɔt rises from these highlands, forming the upper Ārɔt Valley to their north. To the southwest, they reach the fortifications of the Reknayan Wall, at which point they are considered to fade into the Kernogori.
• The Walled Mountains (Olg. Minnacasgíl) border the Erkenma to the northwest. The northern tip of the Reknayan Wall is contained entirely within this arm, giving it its name; the fortresses of Casgan and Min Nostim are likewise located on foothills of this mountain range.
• The Dead Mountains (Olg. Minneles, likely a pseudo-calque from WCel. ''Daerɔk Elɛsį'' ‘!!??’) extend northward into the Míbar-Hûrind. Widely considered one of the most unfriendly and least accessible parts of the Reknaya, it was largely passed over by early Geranian settlers and only sparsely populated under the Kattasians, with the outpost of Katna the only permanent settlement surviving into Olgish times. The area gained greater importance with the construction of the Niom XXII Nostim in L.R. 432, harnessing the potential of the Pass of Katna as only major crossing to the eastern side of the mountains, facillitating troop movements into southern Celsond. These developments hardlx extended beyond the course of the road, however, and the Minneles remained known as an untamed territory, ripe with beasts such as dragons and griffins, and the crossing of Katna as one of the most dangerous along any imperial road.
• The Mountains of Dor (Olg. Dôrminna, ostensibly from a Geranian name using the term *dōr ‘green’) are the shortest of the five arms, extending westward between Katna and Uri Téris. The River Kalpa rises from their easternmost peaks and hems the mountain range until it exits the Reknaya at the Oshal Falls.

History

The area was long considered