Gol

The province of Gol is located in the southwest corner of Na'Nam, below Raal and Xial. It is separated from the island continent Xir'Tan by the Straits of Ha'Zen, a narrow but treacherous channel of water famous for its ancient shipwrecks. The southernmost tip of Gol, which also forms the southernomst extent of the continent of Na'Nam, is known as Menal Haul-kur (Cape Silver).

Although small to mid-sized settlements and strips of arable farmland can be found in the southernmost regions and near the borders with Raal, most of the province consists of untamed desert wastes which are nearly as prone to sandstorms as the more famous Forge. Desert settlements are mostly limited to scattered caravanserais, and the only population centers of any renown are the mining towns in the Gol Mountains.

History

Mineral-rich by Vulcan standards, Gol has seen its share of warfare despite its inhospitable landscape.

The northern houses were engaged in near constant war with the Na'ree river valley clans, when not temporary alliances allowed for brief periods of lively trade.

Due to its rugged shoreline Gol has few coastal settlements, however there is an old fortress overlooking Menal Krin-tu (Cape of Wolves, a now extinct feral canine related to the Kayren'tu) around which a small trading post developed. The town of Du'Krin-tu (Shadow of the Wolf) has been renowned for its seafarers throughout Vulcan history and added to the reputation of Golsu-lar as being an odd bunch, as the vast majority of Vulcans are quite content to stay on solid land. For millennia, Krin-tusu (lit. Wolf-people, also referred to as "Masut'krin-tusu" - The Sea-Wolves) were among the few braving the Straits of Ha'Zen and doing trade with the exotic island-continent.

Not surprisingly Western Gol has contributed a great deal to the first crews of Vulcans venturing into space, and to this day has a disproportionally large number of former or active duty Starfleet officers among its natives.

By contrast, the clans of central Gol remained nomadic until well into space-faring times, garnering a reputation for being stubbornly backwards and altoghether among the last to accept Surak's teachings. Their fiercely ascetic lifestyle continues in the disciplines of Kolinahr, taught at the monastery in the Gol Mountains.

Historically, Gol has always been a haven for mystics and the mind arts. During the height of Vulcan's Age of Expansion an entire industry of trained adepts could be found in the many monasteries and temples littering the Gol mountains, where one could hire or outright purchase anything from a mind-changer adept to long distance communication specialists.

Places of Note

Kolinahru Monastery

Mount Kolinahr

The monastery rests in a high cleft on Mount Kolinahr, the highest peak in Gol.

In ancient times, the Kolinahru ranked among the most powerful and cruel adepts on the face of the planet. Their mind-lords were capable of killing an enemy by thought alone, or spark mass hysteria by inducing hallucinations. Dark legends of mind-lords committing unspeakable arocities have long since become part of Vulcan's mythological tapestry, though more scientific research suggests that there is an unfortunate amount of truth to many of these stories.

During the Time of Awakening however the Kolinahru High Master was the first of Gol's mystics to find value in Surak's teachings and turned his order towards the practice of complete mind control. In keeping with the region's traditional asceticism and absolutist philosophies, the Kolinahru take the concept of "Arie'mnu" (Passion's mastery) to the extreme by advocating and teaching the complete purging of emotion.

The acolytes and adepts of Kolinahr live an ascetic and simple lifestyle, using oil lamps and quill pens instead of electricity and computers; raising simple hand-tended crops on communal land; and bathing in the natural hot springs beneath the monastery.

Guests are welcome at any time to rest and meditate in privacy, however they must leave their vehicles and any technology at a shelter roughly 1.4 kilometers from the complex.

The only portion of the monastery not open to the general public are the catacombs where ancient artifacts are stored along with the interred remains of former High Masters. Supposedly there are also Katric Arcs of some former Masters and adepts, though one may assume those will be well hidden.

Vulcan Institute of Defensive Arts

The Institute occupies a complex of unassuming low stone buildings and amphitheaters in the tiny village of Xen'tal in southeatern Gol.