Jsoulza Mountains
| Source: Ironclad canon |
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The Jsoulza mountains are a mountain range that divides the continent of Pralgad into an Eastern and Western half, right through the center of the landmass. There are four passes through the Jsoulza, and all but two of them are so narrow in places that they are virtually impassable by wagons pulled by more than two horses. In fact, traffic through them is so difficult that trade between the eastern and western halves is to a far greater part conducted by sea, namely either across the Jsoulza Basin in the South, or the Gulf of Jazen in the North. Traditionally, the only goods that are transported through the passes are either too valuable to trust to the treacherous waters, or their destinations are so close to the passes and so far from the coast that trading them by sea would cause an unnecessary detour.
Despite the difficulty involved in their passage, the mountain passes are - strategically - in an immensely valuable position, and during the few but bloody wars that were fought on the continent, they were so bitterly battled for that the bards would later say the mountains ran red with blood.
One such war during which the Jsoulza gained prominence was the War of Succession in the second and third centuries IE, during which the Western forces of Sol battled the Eastern forces of Ironclad, while the forces of Kylen held the central mountains.