Northeastern expeditions

During the era of the Benevolent Dragon there were several expeditions launched from Monodon to explore the fjords and coastlines of eastern Sphenodonia and to venture inland into the region they referred to as Leioleimus. The entire area is characterized by glacial ice and rocky terrain with high plateaus and mountains to the north (the mountains here are not as high as the Aves to the west). The inhabitants of the region are semi-nomadic who speak a language unrelated to Long. They raise livestock such as yak and reindeer and they hunt and fish with meat making up almost the entirety of their diet.

There were five campaigns to explore and exploit the Leioleimus lands to the north each of which whom were headed by a separate child of an important Monodonian potentate. The explorers who returned came back with stories of mountainous demesnes controlled by chieftains: some of whom (according the the travellers' stores) ruled like monarchs and some of whom governed one or more tribes with the consensus of the people, a counsel of elders and/or petty chieftains who headed different tribes.

In their accounts, explorers seemed most impressed by the bellicose and independent nature of the peoples and claims these lands hid silver and emerald mines.

One expedition attempted to establish a new colony in the extreme northeast but this community collapsed due to conflicts with the native peoples.

The first expedition was carried out by the eldest son who is celebrated for his bravery and good fortune: he chose to camp out there during the winter when travel was too difficult and came back with their hulls filled witih native goods and resources. This earned him glory and enough money to live a very comfortably. The second brother is famous for being the first civilized person to die in the region (fatally wounded during a skirmish with the locals). The third brother travelled with his clever and beautiful wife who remarried a talented member of the original expedition after the leader died of illness soon after they set out. And the fourth child, the only daughter, was a strong-willed but shrewish woman--she was also motivated by the prospect of wealth.

The position of the Long kings has been that the area was not worth the effort to conquer. They did however extract tribute from some of the nations and all Long kinds were interested in the mines. It was thus left to merchants of Cetacian-Sirenian heritage like the ones who founded Monodon. The first expended to be abandoned due to hositility with the natives, and a failure a large source of silver and/or emeralds. One resource which is available only in Sphenodonian is ivory and ambergris.

After the siblings further efforts were abandoned deterred by the climate and tense relationship with the natives.