Leng

Leng
Total Area:	circa 890 km from N to S, widest part is circa 120 km km²
Area of major landmass:	{{{area_landmass}}} km²
Population:	c. 65,000
Date founded:	{{{date_founded}}}
Countries:	2
Dependencies:	0
Languages:	English, Elwynnese, Amokolian, Raikothin, Lengish
Largest Cities:	Zi'yeh Kla Mholog

Leng is a small island in the far north of Micras and is the most northerly land on the planet.

Origins and Etymology

Leng was created as part of a plan by Orion Ilios to increase land mass on Micras so more countries could participate due to the map filling up. It was named after the Plateau of Leng, a fictional location from the works of H.P. Lovecraft. In Lovecraft, Leng was located somewhere around Tibet, and was the home of various monsters and evil sorcerers. Although in one of his most notable works, At the Mountains of Madness, Leng is located in Antarctica and is home to the Elder Things. Leng is unpopular among some segments of the Micronational Cartography Society, who want it and the other continents added at the same time removed to restore Micras' original layout.

"Lěng" is the pinyin of the Chinese character used to describe coldness (冷). It is unknown if Lovecraft knew this when he chose the name for his plateau; Ilios did however know this, which is why the island is located in the permanent ice pack of the Arctic.

Geography

Leng is completely covered in ice. It has a long peninsula jutting out of the west, and a bay with six small islands in the southeast, and one small island off the southeast coast. The exact size of Leng is a matter of debate, because its high latitude means that depending on the projection of Micras it may in fact be much smaller than it appears.

The main island is dominated by high mountains in the center and an overall plateau that stretches down to much of the coast. This high area is generally considered uninhabitable, although two seasonal camps exist at Svralus and Svordson, both established by Amokolian explorers. In the Bay of Madness, the Shadow Isles are the only truly habitable area on Leng, being somewhat protected in the harbor by the surrounding plateau. North of Devil's Island on the southeast coast is the only other major settlement at the village of Mholog, a generally grey and depressed habitation. Zi'yeh Kla and the Ashkenatzi base at Ayzstantsye Zebra are the only other two permanently-inhabited sites, and Zi'yeh Kla hosts 90% of the population on Leng.

Leng's plateau is dominated in the east by the north-south range known as the Mountains of Madness. Mt. Zthilon is generally considered the northernmost peak on Micras. The west is dominated by the three peaks of Mt. Thernath, Mt. Ikron, and Mt. S'lgugo.

Leng is generally serviced by icebreakers in the spring and summer months, and by small plane via Leng Regional Airport which is built on a level area of the western plateau.

History

Leng was first occupied by the Kingdom of Calundy, who located their capital of Marisco City on it despite protests that it was too cold and icy to support large settlements. They also established a town of Danish on the smaller islands. Settlement later passed to Amokolia and thus to Gralus. Gralus was considering allowing the MCS to destroy Leng when it abandoned the colony. However, the MCS didn't and Elwynn got most of the land with Natopia and Storej getting small parts of the island. Presently it is controlled almost exclusively by Elwynn as a part of Amokolia, save for one small island that serves as a military base for Ashkenatza.