Auborea (Awe-BORE-ee-ah)

The Icebound Crown

The northernmost reaches of Auborea are dominated by the Icebound Crown, an immense sheet of ancient ice stretching toward the pole. This region is nearly lifeless, broken only by crevasses, jagged pressure ridges, and the occasional silhouette of a ruin frozen mid-collapse. Travelers report strange funnel-shaped storms wandering the tundra like living things.

Fjordlands

Along the western coasts, the Fjordlands form a rugged labyrinth of deep inlets and towering cliffs, where settlements cling to the stone and longships glide across icy waters. Storms here rise with little warning, shaped by unseen forces that sailors claim are the voices of their ancestors at sea.

Boreal Expanse

South of the tundra lies the Boreal Expanse, an endless sweep of conifer forests, frozen rivers, and shadowed glades. Few places feel as silent or as alive; great beasts move beneath the trees, and the spirits that inhabit the land often make their presence known in subtle and unsettling ways.

Skyspine Mountains

To the east, the Skyspine Mountains rise like a jagged barrier against the horizon. Their peaks are sharp and unforgiving, yet hidden among them are sheltered geothermal valleys that remain warm even in the heart of winter. Monasteries, hermitages, and ancient carvings dot the cliffsides, marking places where the auroras are believed to touch the world most directly.

The Shatterfields

Between forest and mountain lie the Shatterfields, a cracked and fissured plain marked by an ancient magical upheaval. Some say this catastrophe happened during the Great Freezing; others believe the land is still slowly breaking apart.

Auborea’s ecosystem is harsh yet resilient, shaped by both natural force and spiritual influence. Along its coasts thrive colossal whales that navigate forests of frost-kelp, while inland forests shelter mammoths, giant elk, frost-lions, and wargs whose forms and instincts have been subtly twisted by the auroras. Fungal networks beneath the snow allow plant life to communicate across great distances, warning of predators or extreme weather long before they arrive. Even the smallest creatures seem tuned to the continent’s shifting rhythms.

Localized phenomena make Auborea feel alive in ways few lands do. Veins of aurora-light sometimes descend to ground level, causing levitation or visions in those who pass through them. Avalanches known as White Thunder echo with ghostlike voices, treated as omens by many tribes. Sudden warm winds can create momentary springlike clearings around geothermal vents, while reflective Mirror Snow storms disorient travelers and hide predators in blinding shimmer. At times, entire glaciers shift direction unexpectedly, behaving as though they possess a will of their own.

The continent’s climate is brutal and unforgiving. Winters are long and crushingly cold, and summers arrive in brief, rapid thaws that barely penetrate the deep frost. Coastal regions endure violent storms and sharp temperature changes, while the interior forests remain below freezing for most of the year. The Icebound Crown itself never thaws, locked in perpetual winter.

Auborea’s flora and fauna have adapted to this extreme environment. Frostpine trees grow with glowing blue sap used in ritual fires, while bloodmoss thrives around hidden hot springs. The rare icebloom flower opens only beneath a full aurora, and glacier reeds sprout from cracks in wandering ice sheets. Animals range from frostboars and winter wargs to glacier owls and the ethereal aurora serpents that drift through the sky during the brightest lights. Herds of mammoths and elk form the backbone of nomadic life.

Its natural resources are equally striking. Aurorite crystals, unstable but powerful, form only under the strongest lights and are sought by mystics and artificers. Frostpine timber is exceptionally durable, while leviathan oil and whalebone remain vital to coastal cultures. The Skyspine Range offers iron and cobalt, along with stone hardened by centuries of magical frost. Even rarer is spirit ice, a memory-rich material found in ancient ruins or deep glacial caverns.

Auborea’s history is one of abrupt change and long survival. Before recorded memory, the land was warmer and home to a thriving civilization whose cities now lie buried in ice. The Great Freezing swept across the continent, plunging it into its current climate and preserving whole settlements in crystalline stillness. From the scattered survivors rose the tribes and clans that now define Auborean culture. The Fjordlands entered their Age of Storm Kings, dominating the northern seas, while the Skyward Orders formed in the mountains to study the auroras and interpret their meanings. In the present age, glaciers continue to advance, aurora storms become more intense, and rumors of thawing ruins—and awakening titans—spread across the land.