The Nevermelt

Far north of the rest of the Gyrlands is a string of dangerous islands consisting of ice, snow, and buried riches. The islands of the Nevermelt are also known as the North Gyrlands.   The Nevermelt is a collection of seven frost-covered islands, some of which have small, snow-covered mountain ranges:   Eiss. It is lightly disputed if this island is technically a part of the Nevermelt or Ehrethir. However, there is so little of value on the island that it seems to matter little except to geography experts.   Muspeløk. This island is an active volcano that steams into the sky. Muspeløk's few explorers have seen a large structure in the lava, but nobody knows what this mysterious monolith is.   Blakkgaarde. The largest island of the Nevermelt is also its most desirable destination for miners. Mithral can be found in abundance in its mountains and valleys.   Aetremøt. Given its proximity to Blakkgaarde , one might think that this island is also a popular destination for explorers. But it is so far to the North that it is considered a wild and dangerous land, one that very few explorers come back from alive. Recently, a scientific expedition led by Professor Emersen Waynwright  has gone to study the island. But he and his people, their ship, and all their belongings have seemingly vanished, and no one has dared to explore the island since.   Jotonhøm. The Nevermelt's second-largest island was once home to a thriving metropolis of Frost Giants. Rumor has it they have returned and are making plans to dominate the region once again.   Auriberg. A permanent magical blizzard rages across Auriberg, a small island to the east of Blakkgarde, making it nigh impossible to explore. Many believe that it is home to something evil, which may be the cause of this storm.   Ekulhoff. The Nevermelt's second smallest island is a favorite spot for fishing vessels to anchor overnight. The crews tend to stay on their boats and never set foot on shore, since faint wails can be heard at all times of day coming from Ekulhoffs center. Even the island's one settlement, Fleet Town, is built on the backs of wrecked ships encased in ice, just off the coast of Ekulhoff, rather than on it.

Despite being such a harsh land, fit only for the most hardy of animals, the Nevermelt is home to a large variety of wildlife and megafauna that does not exist anywhere else in the world.   The Nevermelt is home to a great number of "arctic" variations of animals one might find in other parts of Aetregyr. These species include arctic foxes and wolves, caribou, snowshoe hares, snowy owls, white terns, polar bears; and numerous variety of seals, sea otters, and other aquatic mammals.   Meanwhile, in the fiercest regions of the Nevermelt, titanic land mammals live in isolation from the rest of the world. Relics such as woolly mammoths, saber-toothed tigers, megaloceros, branta, glyptodons, giant musk oxen, and more, continue to exist and even thrive in the world's most devastating landscape.   Of course, monsters also exist in the Northern Gyrlands. Creatures such as yetis, snow goblins, remorhaz, and bheur hags dwell in the darkest places of the Nevermelt. It is even rumored that giantkind has made its way back to the cold regions of the Outer Gyrlands, and are amassing in secret.

For centuries, most of the world dismissed the Nevermelt as an uninhabitable glacial land of blizzards and yetis. Only a few fishing and whaling vessels ever got close to the frozen shores — until one of those ships discovered mithral. Now the collective might of the southern kingdoms are converging on the area, looking to exploit its wealth.

While most of the world did not know about the Nevermelt's secrets for centuries, the islands are home to nomadic clans of unevolved humans known as neanderthals. These people move in small groups, following herds of elk and mammoths. They have no gods but instead revere the animals and natural phenomena such as the wind, snow, and waves. The neanderthals avoid the mountainous regions of the Nevermelt and the terrible dangers that lurk there.   The neanderthals live simple, harsh lives. They hunt, gather, and support each other, taking shelter in tents made of furs. If they have disputes with one another, they reconcile or simply go separate ways. Taking the life of another Nevermelt native for any reason is an even greater transgression than murder normally is in the other areas of the Gyrlands. The penalty for such a crime is a branding and permanent exile from any neanderthal clan.   For all their peace with each other, the neanderthals of the Nevermelt are fierce warriors. Their cold environment shapes them, and they must defend against saber-toothed tigers, yetis, and even more dangerous predators such as the remorhaz. Neanderthals tend to be distrustful of outsiders, especially after seeing explorers from across the sea going into locations the native people dare not enter and using arcane magic to uncover the frozen secrets of their land.