* Restricted: denizens of the area only
The far North Eastern regions of the Overworld are a cold and sparsely-populated area, centred on the great Ice Bay of Kerāk. The Northern part of the bay is a permanent ice sheet, fed by two great glaciers flowing down from the Icelands beyond the Ice Mountains further to the North. The Southern part is seasonal ice, freezing over in the Autumn and thawing in the Spring. In the heart of this seasonal ice lies the volcanic Island of Tarak, reputed home of KARLON, Demigod of Forging, Who is said to dwell in the great forge of The Iron Palace on the rim of the lava-filled crater of Mt. Karlon.
To the West of the Ice Bay lie the Northern Wastelands and the Kingdom of the North. To the South lies the Desolate Coast, the only settlements of any size in which are the independent human towns of Kenyal and Yrskin in the Vale of Lystin. To the East lies the North East Forest.
The North East Forest is a vast and secret, largely coniferous forest, stretching some 1000 miles from the Ice Bay to the Wall at the Edge of the World and some 500 miles across. It is largely uninhabited by people, though some enterprising human and gnomish trappers and adventurers explore up its rivers during the summer months and there are rumours of Wolf and Bear Cults in the interior. Its Druidic Guardians are apparently restricted to a small and secretive group of human Druids at the Hidden Grove. The deeper forest has an even darker reputation than the depths of the North West Forest. There the Trance of the Trees is said to lead one into Madness, and there is no Cult of the Seekers to come to the rescue. Also, it is whispered, there are many Undead - especially Ghosts. The Eagle Rock in the centre of the Forest is believed by some to be an Evil place, with the Eyrie some kind of Dark Tower. Human explorers therefore stick to the Wolf and Bear Rivers, whilst gnomes stick to the Gaprill valley in the southwest or the shores of the Golden Lake (Bilak-Zāram) in the northeast, venturing only a short way up the Rivers Otori and Velli. Those who go further seldom return.
The most fertile land in the area is the Gaprillīki; the Gnomish homeland of the upper Gaprill valley. The settlements here are mostly small villages and farmsteads, with the larger settlements of Zill, Mind, Kro and Thorl being little more than large villages, each ruled by its own group of Elders. The trading post at the mouth of the Gaprill is frequented by both humans and gnomes, but is virtually deserted during the winter, when the Ice Bay is frozen over.
During the winter months most locals north of the Gaprillīki and Desolate Coast retreat into thick-walled or underground shelters and live off the food they have hoarded during the summer and autumn. The bitter cold and heavy snows make travel difficult and dangerous, and the Dark forces of the deep forest are particularly active (or so they whisper round their hearths).
Go to A Short History of the North East Forest (* Restricted: sages and historians of the area only)
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