Noltêrrë
Noltêrrë to the tretâllë, the Northlands are the northernmost landmass in Sekhar. They are a vast, untouched, unexplored wilderness, one of the last such overland frontiers in the world. The arid climate, biting winds, freezing temperatures, high latitude, and desolate landscapes make the Northlands exceptionally hostile to life. The smallest mistake can prove surprisingly debilitating and, between the remoteness of the region and the scarcity of available resources, oftentimes fatal.
Though there is always demand for further exploration of the Northlands, especially of the deadly interior, prospective expeditions often run headlong into considerable logistical difficulties. First and foremost, any such expedition would require a complement of highly skilled members with expertise in numerous fields, preferably with overlap such that the loss of one member of the team would not be a crippling blow to all the others. This is troublesome as even veteran explorers that have explored some of the most hostile environs Sekhar has to offer often balk at the prospect of heading into Noltêrrë.
Another consideration is the matter of supplies. It is widely accepted that the interior of Noltêrrë is likely to be as desolate, if not more desolate, than the outskirts. As such, an expedition would only have the supplies they bring to rely on. An expedition could choose to bring all the supplies that could conceivably be necessary, though the costs for such an endeavor would quickly balloon as so many provisions would require expanding the expedition to include support staff. Alternatively, an expedition could choose to bring only the bare necessities and whatever else can be carried without significantly hampering the team's ability to progress, but in a region as harsh and unforgiving as the Northlands, the risks of taking this course are quite high.
Although first glimpsed almost 8000 years ago, the Northlands have remained largely unexplored. For much of that time, expeditions were few and far in between, with all but a handful ending in tragedy. To date, around 600 explorers from sanctioned expeditions have died to the harsh environs of Noltêrrë, with the most optimistic estimates putting the number from unsanctioned expeditions to be close to three or four times as many. It has only been in recent decades that expeditions have been mounted with any success, and even then, victories have been relatively minor.
Of recent developments in the exploration of Noltêrrë, one in particular is of note: the establishment of a basecamp from which future expeditions could be launched. The settlement, Dallikton, was founded by a joint A'Drekh and IstEristur expedition mounted specifically to explore the viability of establishing a year-round settlement in the southernmost reaches of the Northlands.
Type
Continent
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