Fryst

The name Fryst is intertwined with the idea of something being impossibly far in the imaginations of Aelas folk. Fryst is a city-state that has weathered every age in recorded history, and may be the oldest surviving country. It sits at the northernmost corners of the explored world, lapping against the frozen Sea of Glass where Aelas ends. The road to Fryst is nearly suicidal in its level of peril, and its distance would take months of travel even if going unabated and at a constant pace.

To have met someone who has travelled to its borders, would be exceedingly rare. As such, even after millennia little is known about it save for a set of titanic gates that guard the only way into the city by land. The God-Gates are forged of solid iron, and tower higher than some mountains. They are nearly a quarter-mile thick, and encrusted with thousands of years of frost and sediment. It is said that not even the gods themselves could penetrate the Fryst gates. It is unknown who built them, nor how. The God-Gates are the largest structure ever built in the history of the world. They open to travelers only two days of the year.

Geography

Antediluvian Ruins

For miles between the southern mountain wilderness of Darkwinter Heights and the impermeable God-Gates sits a sprawling wreck of primeval ruins. The ruins are cut in half by the road that leads from the mountain pass and up to the foot of the gates. From a glance at the ruins it used to be a magnificent city, comprised of enormous towers, citadels, palaces, and keeps, now brought low into little more than a field of rubble. The identity of this city is a secret known only to those who live within the gates, and the tale of its destruction is a mystery kept only by their sovereign.

Signs and frozen bodies warn travelers never to step a single foot off this path, or they could be instantly killed by a devastating psychic affliction locals call The Echo.

City Proper

Few living mortals have walked within the God-Gates and emerged with tales of the far kingdom. Ancient accounts tell of towering edifices and ziggurats dwarfing any structure found in cities like Adravas, Hammersong, or Arthia. Despite the grandeur of these structures, the scope of the city is said to be comparable with others in Aelas like the now ruined Holy Baelgarde. The layout of the city, its population, nor any significant landmarks within are known to the lore of Aelas.

Sea of Glass

Fryst is the only city or nation to sit on the Sea of Glass' frigid coast. The waters are frozen solid the majority of the year, making foot travel to the Midnight Isles theoretically possible. The winds blowing off the sea are cold enough to kill most in minutes. Because of this the coastline is a lifeless desert of black pebbles and ice shards. During Summer, the sea ice melts, allowing sailing and travel.

Travelers along the coast are a rare sight, as is any life. Despite this, as the summer sets in, and the Frystians venture out toward the sea again, they can expect to find frozen corpses of explorers, bandits, sailors, and adventurers.

History

Like every other element of this far realm, Fryst's history is shrouded in mystery. It is mentioned in the most ancient texts found amongst the elves and dwarves, but only cursorily. There has never been an age where anything significant about Fryst has been known beyond the grandeur of its gates. Howeverm, there is one exception to this.

Ul-Faristos, Sovereign of Fryst

The ruler of Fryst, if the stories are to be believed, has never changed in thousands of years. The sovereign who rules the city, Ul-Faristos, is believed to be an immortal being, and likely a sorcerer of great power. The Shatterblood Faristos Clan of orcs worships him as a god, and many make the deadly pilgrimage from their villages to the gates of Fryst every year.

The God-Gates

Forged of solid iron and towering as high as the Silverspire mountains, the God Gates are larger than any structure that exists or has ever been built. Their hinges are affixed into the gargantuan mountains surrounding the city, that serve as natural walls. It is uncertain what would compel any race to build something of that size for defense, but the shattered remnants of the civilization outside the city proper, and the deadly Echo that infests them hint toward something cataclysmic.

The Echo

Just outside a narrow path snaking through the antediluvian ruins is certain death for all but the most armored minds in Aelas. The folk of Darkwinter Heights know it simply as The Echo, for they believe it to be merely a remnant of a hideous power that once dwelt there. It is invisible and cannot be detected, save for its impact on living beings. Those that wander in will experience a brief but severe pain, their head will spurt blood like a fountain, and they may seize up. Within seconds, the afflicted is dead, and in many cases their body cannot be recovered.

The Echo, whatever it may be, is a psychic affliction of extreme power. It is not a sustained power, rather it has faded in potency for millennia. At its height, the Echo would grind even nonliving matter into powder. Its origin and its nature are a complete enigma.

Do not go wandering off the trail to Fryst.