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=== Climate and Vegetation === | === Climate and Vegetation === | ||
The climate of | [[File:Sgùrr nan Gillean.jpg|thumb|alt=View of the Sgùrr nan Gillean on the Isle of Skye, Scotland|The barren, wet landscapes of Scotland and Northern Ireland were the main inspiration of Belkondíl’s cold west]] | ||
The climate of Belkondíl is determined both by its relatively flat relief and by its location in between two oceans. The shallow hills of the west provide little protection from the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westerlies westerlies], leaving most of Belkondíl's west coast exposed to [[Runion|Runion's]] harsh climate. Vegetation in this part is particularly sparse, with heath and moorland stretching over miles without as much as a small forest. Rain is frequent all year round, with moderate summers and mild winters. This area is among the most sparsely populated in all of Elondor and extends eastward roughly to the Brethan valley and south until [[Noldorin|Tár-Noldorin]] and the western shores of the [[White Sea]], including most of [[Tarébras]], [[Atrissar]], [[Orinion]], [[Noldorin]], and the [[Mairn]]. Crops grown here are largely restricted to rye, barley, and flax, but farming is focussed on animal husbandry, chiefly of cattle and sheep, and fishing in the lush waters of the Runion. | |||
[[File:Dartmoor.jpg|thumb|alt=Two horses before a background of rolling hills in Dartmoor, Devon, Engand|The warmer rolling hills of the Dartmoor inspired the more fertile eastern parts of Belkondíl.]] | |||
The lands east of the Brethan, and especially east of the Cëlac, are influenced by the somewhat milder climate of the western Timesthe. While still considerably colder than [[Seligon]], which is reached directly by the warm waters of the [[Timesthian Current]] before they cool along the shores of [[Old Seligon]], eastern Belkondíl is more densely forested and in general more suitable for the cultivation of crops. The [[Rouningwood]], a mixed forest reaching from the [[Dôkob|River Dôkob]] eastward until [[Singrall]], is among the longest continuous woodland areas within the Lécaronian domain and of great economic and cultural significance. | The lands east of the Brethan, and especially east of the Cëlac, are influenced by the somewhat milder climate of the western Timesthe. While still considerably colder than [[Seligon]], which is reached directly by the warm waters of the [[Timesthian Current]] before they cool along the shores of [[Old Seligon]], eastern Belkondíl is more densely forested and in general more suitable for the cultivation of crops. The [[Rouningwood]], a mixed forest reaching from the [[Dôkob|River Dôkob]] eastward until [[Singrall]], is among the longest continuous woodland areas within the Lécaronian domain and of great economic and cultural significance. | ||
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===The Bronze Age: From the Early Days to the Age of Towers=== | ===The Bronze Age: From the Early Days to the Age of Towers=== | ||
By 2011, according to legend, all of Belkondíl save for Oakshire and the Noldorin is under Olgish rule. The clans make peace, united under one high king ruling from Lágon. This [[First Kingdom of Belkondíl]] lasts for only a few centuries before tension break it apart again. The [[Age of Turmoil|Olgish Clan Wars]] rage for most of the middle Bronze Age and end in the foundation of several smaller kingdoms, the most important of them [[Lon Avoch]] of the White Sea, founded in 1298, beginning the [[Age of Younger Kings]]. This is the end of the clan as the primary political unit in Olgish culture, replaced by new, semi-territorial counties and principalities. The relative stability of the following centuries facilitates the second Olgish expansion, [[Dárin's Conquest|into the Ilathw valley]], displacing the Early Aribelian populations there, and north [[Fínar's Conquest|into the western Reknaya]]. According to legend, the same period also sees the first invasions from the west, when the mythical [[Nathari]] land on the shores of Belkondíl and fight several bloody battles until their decisive defeat at the hands of [[Irlikun of Lon Avoch]] in the 1222 [[Battles of Mortim-Arnim#Second Battle|Second Battle of Mortim-Arnim]]. | By 2011, according to legend, all of Belkondíl save for Oakshire and the Noldorin is under Olgish rule. The clans make peace, united under one high king ruling from Lágon. This [[First Kingdom of Belkondíl]] lasts for only a few centuries before tension break it apart again. The [[Age of Turmoil|Olgish Clan Wars]] rage for most of the middle Bronze Age and end in the foundation of several smaller kingdoms, the most important of them [[Lon Avoch]] of the White Sea, founded in 1298, beginning the [[Age of Younger Kings]]. This is the end of the clan as the primary political unit in Olgish culture, replaced by new, semi-territorial counties and principalities. The relative stability of the following centuries facilitates the second Olgish expansion, [[Dárin's Conquest|into the Ilathw valley]], displacing the Early Aribelian populations there, and north [[Fínar's Conquest|into the western Reknaya]]. According to legend, the same period also sees the first invasions from the west, when the mythical [[Nathari]] land on the shores of Belkondíl and fight several bloody battles until their decisive defeat at the hands of [[Irlikun of Lon Avoch]] in the 1222 [[Battles of Mortim-Arnim#Second Battle|Second Battle of Mortim-Arnim]]. | ||
This time of relative peace is followed by another period of unrest when the larger kingdoms of the Younger Kings break apart and in 1185, Lágon finally loses its, long only symbolic, status as foremost city of Belkondíl as [[Breaking of Lágon|its royal bloodline is expelled]] and goes into exile in the [[Kingdom of Simaël]]. The following [[Age of Towers]] is marked by brief wars and the formation of smaller, self-sufficient kingdoms, longingly looking back at the glory of the Younger Kings. The first parchment manuscripts in [[Early Old Olgish]] survive from this time, in the form of chronicles and early heroic poetry. | This time of relative peace is followed by another period of unrest when the larger kingdoms of the Younger Kings break apart and in 1185, Lágon finally loses its, long only symbolic, status as foremost city of Belkondíl as [[Breaking of Lágon|its royal bloodline is expelled]] and goes into exile in the [[Kingdom of Simaël]]. The following [[Age of Towers]] is marked by brief wars and the formation of smaller, self-sufficient kingdoms, longingly looking back at the glory of the Younger Kings. The first parchment manuscripts in [[Early Old Olgish]] survive from this time, in the form of chronicles and early heroic poetry. | ||
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It is this centrality that finally also brings Belkondíl back in the focus of war and unrest. In the troublesome 7th century L.R., when Lécaron reaches the high of its power only to within half a century lose most of its territory, Belkondíl experiences the first major external conflict in centuries. After Lécaron's critical defeat in the [[Geranian War of Independence]] 666‒672, the young [[Kingdom of Geran]] does not halt once its own lands are liberated. In the early summer of 687, the Geranian cavalry crosses the Ilathw and invades Ortûlék, beginning the devastating four-year [[Geranian War]]. The fatal [[Battle of Talis]] of 691 forces Lécaron into a truce. Atrissar is split between the kingdom and the empire, Tarébras has long declared for the invadors and remains with their new polity. Lécaron gradually loses more and more lands all over Elondor; by 740, the empire is truncated to its core lands in Belkondíl and its first conquests in [[Old Seligon|Iilish territory]]. | It is this centrality that finally also brings Belkondíl back in the focus of war and unrest. In the troublesome 7th century L.R., when Lécaron reaches the high of its power only to within half a century lose most of its territory, Belkondíl experiences the first major external conflict in centuries. After Lécaron's critical defeat in the [[Geranian War of Independence]] 666‒672, the young [[Kingdom of Geran]] does not halt once its own lands are liberated. In the early summer of 687, the Geranian cavalry crosses the Ilathw and invades Ortûlék, beginning the devastating four-year [[Geranian War]]. The fatal [[Battle of Talis]] of 691 forces Lécaron into a truce. Atrissar is split between the kingdom and the empire, Tarébras has long declared for the invadors and remains with their new polity. Lécaron gradually loses more and more lands all over Elondor; by 740, the empire is truncated to its core lands in Belkondíl and its first conquests in [[Old Seligon|Iilish territory]]. | ||
[[Category:Regions of Elondor]] | |||