Kurallian Mountains

	Just as its name suggests, the province of High Rock is known as a land of verticality, with much of the land being dominated by the vast mountain ranges that follow the peninsula from the Western Reach on the border with Skyrim and down into Ilessan Hills, where they finally give way to the sprawling fields of Lesser Bretony. Far from the meek scenes of pastures parcelled off with stone walls lie the imposing Kurallian mountains, the northernmost branch of the vast, province-wide mountain range.
This inhospitable region is not kind to visitors, nor locals; the climate bears little resemblance to that of the Iliac Bay, alternating between rain and snow throughout most of the year. When the roads aren’t impassable due to several dozen pertans of snow or wild mountain torrents, bands of Orcish brigands descend from their camps instead, for few forces bar the army at Shornhelm venture far out into the mountains.

	None of the threats and pests of the Kurallians, however, have ever truly held back the people of this land. Long before the arrival of the first Altmeri colonists onto the shores of Hroc, ancient Nedic tribes lived in a network of city states spread throughout the valleys, profiting from the inland trade routes that connected the Iliac to Normar. From among the many cities, one would come to dominate the region – Shornhelm, the “Imperial City of the West”. Among Bretons, it has many names; apart from its standard name, many texts also note an alternate spelling Sharnhelm, which is more in line with the local name. Among many of the city’s older residents, as well as villagers from certain communities in the surrounding mountains, the name Sharkhem, Sharkham or Sharkh’m is used, as well – claimed by some scholars to be a portmanteau of Sheor and Lorkhan, the name is likely a simple early Bretonisation of the Nordic name Skjorkheim, which came into use during the time of the occupation of High Rock by the First Empire of the Nords. From the same name, all other Bretic names would eventually form as well, most leaving out the “k” (a feature that has been phased out from most Nordic dialects at this point as well; the most commonly-used Nordic name for the city today is Shorheim). An example of names of this latter branch include Sharnem, Sharnum and lastly Shan’m, famously used in the old folk song “Tan’n Shan’m” (“Down in Sharnhelm”).
	Sharnhelm may have for a very long time held its position as the foremost city in the region, yet it wasn’t until the third century of the Third Era that the city attained its status as the jewel of the north. The city was the birthplace of one Gallivere Lariat, a member of local aristocratic dynasty whose name would have remained notable in the confines of the Eyebright Feld were it not for this particular man’s luck; wedding Empress Katariah herself, Gallivere became Imperial consort. The marriage resulted in the birth of a son, Uriel, who became the king of Wayrest after he had been ceded the title by his half-brother, Emperor Cassynder. The emperor also adopted Uriel to cement his status as a Septim, which is why after Cassynder’s death in 3E 202, he was crowned Uriel IV. His rule was marked with constant clashes with the Elder Council and after his death, his son Andorak was disinherited. A nine-year civil war ensued, after which the Council granted Andorak the title of the king of Sharnhelm – citing old documents that proved the Lariat dynasty’s lawful claim to the throne – in return for abandoning his claim to the Imperial throne.
	With Andorak’s assumption, Sharnhelm experienced a renaissance. Large new districts were constructed to house all of Andorak’s closest followers who had fought during the civil war, and the royal palace saw a glorious expansion that borrowed motifs from the Imperial palace complex in Cyrod City. The Septim’s connections allowed the kingdom to thrive more than ever as the landlocked state gained an important partner in the kingdom of Wayrest.