Chlouvānem/Lexicon: Difference between revisions

The North is possibly the most geographically and culturally heterogeneous tribunal of the Inquisition, being formed of all territories<ref>Except for the upper valley of the Nandaliba river (Brono's most important river), part of the diocese of Mūltarhāvi.</ref> north of the Camipāṇḍa range. The ten dioceses of the area are a territory formed by multiple endorheic basins (most of them draining into either Márusúturon's largest lake, Lake Plezyth (Lake Gūraveṃṣa in Chlouvānem, shared between Tulfasysz, Gorjan, and the dioceses of Dahelijaiṭa and Mevikthænai) Lake Kaharvāṣa (on the border between Kayūkānaki and Doyukitama), Lake Vāruṭha (shared between Gorjan and the dioceses of Dūlāyirjaiṭa and Saṃhayolah), or the much smaller Lake Uthvā in the diocese of Saṃhayolah. The whole tribunal can be divided into five geographical regions, from east to west:

* The '''Hålvaram plateau''' is the largest and most populated part, including all areas draining into Lake Kaharvāṣa. A triangle surrounded by mountains on two sides, it is however somewhat well watered thanks to the rivers descending from the glaciers of the Camipāṇḍa range and of the smaller ranges to the east. Its climate is however quite continental, and despite being mostly under the 40th parallel north its winters are quite cold for its latitude. The northernmost diocese of the area, Taibigāša, is the most populated of the whole North (almost 1/4 of the total population), and includes its largest city and cultural centre, Hålša. In the south, Mārmalūdvam diocese is a broad valley watered by the runoff water of the glaciers of the Camipāṇḍa, and it has been a strategically important area for centuries being the area with the most accessible mountain passes across the Camipāṇḍa range, into Cūlgakātāma and from there towards the Līrah valley and the Plain. This was the first area the Chlouvānem crossed the range in towards the Hålvaram plateau and from there towards Skyrdagor, and today it is still a transport route of primary importance thanks to the Trans-Camipāṇḍa Railway, considered one of the marvels of modern engineering.<br/>As the hills dividing the basin of the Kaharvāṣa from the Plezyth and especially the Vāruṭha and Uthvā basins are not so high, and because of the higher population of this area, non-Northerners often use the name of the Hålvaram plateau to refer to all of the Northern tribunal (though often excluding Måhañjaiṭa and Hivampaida).  

* The '''Vāruṭha-Uthvā basin''' includes the diocese of Saṃhayolah and most of Dūlāyirjaiṭa. This is a sparsely populated area, especially as southern Saṃhayolah includes many high-altitude areas towards the highest mountains of the Camipāṇḍa with only a few small settlements. Most of the population is concentrated on the shores of the two main lakes and on the middle and lower course of the Ṣreja river in Saṃhayolah, draining into Lake Vāruṭha. Saṃhayolah hosts various minoritary Fargulyn and Samaidulic languages, while Dūlāyirjaiṭa historically belonged to Gorjan at various times, so that it is also sometimes known as Southern Gorjan, with many local aspects of Skyrdegan culture.

* '''Måhañjaiṭa''', or the ''Mogh basin'', in the southwestern corner of the Northern tribunal, is a very dry cold desert basin flanked by two major rivers descending from the Camipāṇḍa, ultimately draining into Dūlāyirjaiṭa and Lake Vāruṭha; the riverside areas and the oases of the region are the historical range of the Mogh people, a civilization with ancient history of northern Márusúturon and whose cities have been an important cultural centre, due to the mountain passes linking this area (and the Bronosphere) with the plateaus of the upper Nīmbaṇḍhara. Mogh people are still the relative majority in the diocese.