Leng

Leng is a small island in the far north of Micras.

Origins and Etymology

Leng was created as part of a plan by Ryan Caruso 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; Caruso 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 a long peninsula jutting out of the west, and a bay with six small islands in the southeast. 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.

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 is considering allowing the MCS to destroy Leng if it ever abandons the colony.