The Makomsheleg- Iraelia's Abode of Snow

[Prydania]

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The vast mountain range on the border of Astragon and Rafhazan provides the backdrop to a relatively isolated corner of Iraelia that has fascinated the outside world for centuries. The Makomsheleg Autonomous Region, in fact, remains mysterious to this day in many regards.

Culturally, it remains distinct. The Yihuddi ethnicity nominally retains a majority- 66% of the region's population of 4,534,943 are Shaddaist Yihuddi. Yet the isolation and elevation have given rise to a distinct sub-culture- the Betar Yihuddi. The Betar for the longest time practised a simple, nomadic lifestyle long after the rise of sedentary civilization in the rest of Iraelia. They often pledged their loyalty to Yihuddi kings and proved to be fierce warriors when called on, but otherwise managed their own affairs.

The Betar also speak a variation of Yihuddi that is closer to the language's classical composition as opposed to the modern, mainstream version of the language. In addition to these linguistic throwbacks the Betar Yihuddi language also contains more loanwords from the Shavian language. Shavians make up 17% of the population. Betar Yihuddi and Shavian relations are generally less tense in the Makomsheleg compared to the rest of the country, with intermarriages and multi-faith/ethnic homes a relatively common occurrence. Ethnic Syrixians make up 9% of the population, while Astrongonese make up 8%.
The result is a region of small towns and semi-isolated communities awash with a variety of languages and religions.

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The Makomsheleg mountain range is as imposing as it is vast. Local legend has it that the souls of the ancient Yihuddi prophets sleep under them. This was referred to by the Syrixian explorer Chanda Nambiyar, who first surveyed the mountains in the 1700s.

"The Makomsheleg are really one of the most mysterious places on Eras. They may guard something so spiritual we may never be able to comprehend. The people of this place know it. It is woven into every town that dots these trails."
-Chanda Nambiyar, 1736
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Nambiyar was simply reporting on something that had been a reality seemingly as long as there had been humans in the Makomsheleg. The isolated nature made it ideal for people of various faiths to seek out spiritual contemplation. Isolated Betar Yihuddi kibbutzim dot the lower mountain roads, often on the sites that legendary prophets or hermits are said to have lived and prayed. This has given the Shaddaist faith in the region a sense of asceticism that goes beyond what is found elsewhere.

Chanda Nambiyar's expedition made it to a few of these isolated communities before having to retreat back to Yir'opal, as his team lacked the gear or supplies needed to survey the mountain range. It would be over a hundred years before the Syrixian colonial authorities would even try.
The Imperial Geographical Society arrived in Yir'opal in 1846 to begin work on charting the dense mountain chain. Local Yihuddi or Shavian names for peaks were preferred, but the tallest- coded Peak XIV- was unable to be named. Shavians had two names for it; Qa'disha Tura (Holy Mountain) and Shamia A'hita (Sky Goddess). The Betar Yihuddi, meanwhile, referred to it as Kaver Hanviyim (Tomb of the Prophets) or Shiya Gaviah (the High Peak).
The mountain remained known as Peak XIV given that no consensus emerged among local peoples. In 1865 the Imperial surveyors opted to name the mountain after the head of the Imperial Geographical Survey, Veer Agarwal. Hence the highest peak in the Makomsheleg Mountains became Mt. Agarwal. Interestingly the mountain gained its name only twelve years after it was positively identified as the chain's highest mountain, at 8,529 meters.

By the 1900s Mt. Agarwal's status as the tallest of a chain in one of the more fascinating corners of the Empire attracted expeditions looking to conquer its peak. The 1920s saw three Imperial expeditions on Ararwal alone, and five additional expeditions of the shorter peaks in the chain. None of the Agarwal attempts made it to the summit, with the last one in 1926 vanishing without a trace. The last attempt in Syrxian-controlled Iraelia occured in 1935, but it too failed to reach the summit, though they did find the bodies of the previous team at a camp 1000 meters from the peak.

Attempts resumed in the late 1950s, following the Fascist Wars and Iraelia's independence. The reformed, anti-fascist Prydanian government of King Robert VII negotiated an attempt by a Prydanian team in 1959, lead by Grettir Bendix. Malfunctioning oxygen equipment forced the Prydanian team to abandon the climb just 800 meters short of the summit.

Various other expeditions have attempted to climb the mountain, and all have failed. The Iraelian government continues to allow permits for foreign teams to attempt to climb the mountain, though only if they abide by rules to respect local cultures and traditions.