Welcome travelers, to our first expedition together!

Today we travel to a world whose people are caught between precious warmth and unrelenting cold. Where the skies burn with radiant beacons of hope, and even night cannot dispel the light. A world with a frozen heart.

A Heart Of Ice

The core of this world is frozen. Whatever heat once filled it has long died out, if it ever existed at all. It’s core is reflected on surface in the form of frozen seas, lifeless tundra, and deep chasms. Creatures who covet the warmth of life stalk the edges of civilization hungry for prey. Deep in the frozen reaches, those that despise life lurk with their aspirations of a world choked entirely by rime. But warmth, and life prevails despite the chill.

A Sky Aflame

Like embers in a dying fire, solar auroras coalesce above the towering peaks of the grand mountains from which civilization was born. The auroras gleam with the colors of a brilliant sunrise and radiate much needed warmth across the lands. Day or night the auroras shine. Thanks to the auroras, few know the terror of night’s true darkness. Life would not exist without the solar auroras, and the auroras would not exist without sun steel. At least, not human life.

Sun steel holds the miraculous power to absorb the magic of the sun, amplify it, and release it. The solar auroras are the natural result of sun steel ore releasing this magic. Even buried beneath the ground, sun steel still absorbs the sun’s power. And still form auroras. Explorers use these auroras to locate safe havens outside of the protection of the mountains. Man made structures can even be crafted from the steel to expand warm regions and create roads between mountain ranges.

An Impenetrable Cold

Beyond the safety of the solar auroras lie vast wastelands of ice and stone. Life still exists in these places. Endothermic fungi, animals with thick hides, and trees whose roots somehow thrive within the frozen ground. Even the sol hunters, monsters that stalk dark valleys and frozen riverbeds, are another form of life. Progress into these lands is slow and treacherous. It takes time for aurora beacons to be constructed. Then it takes even more time for them to bring enough warmth to venture deeper. But the biggest problem is the deep blue and gray rock known as shiver stone. The stone pulls in heat from all sources, the sun, the plants, even the bodies of animals treading upon it. What happens to the heat that is absorbed is unknown. A shattered shiver stone releases no heat, as though all the warmth it stole was eradicated.

Just as there are massive mountains filled with sun steel, there are also entire valleys filled with shiver stone. The largest of these valleys forms the Desolate Abyss. Scouts have reported no signs of sun steel or even a hint of a solar aurora within the Abyss. All attempts at making a base camp to delve further into the region have failed. The sheer concentration of shiver stone seems to nullify any attempt to create a solar beacon.

Prepare yourselves!

Oh wow, those solar auroras sound absolutely beautiful! Let’s go right now! Oh, I can’t wait to see their towns, meet new people, and enjoy their food. We’ll just need some eye masks to help get some sleep. And maybe some warm clothes. You all seem excited to explore beyond the mountains after all.  Those solar hunters also sound pretty dangerous, so maybe something to defend ourselves with as well. Hm, this shopping list is going to get pretty big isn’t it? Okay fine, we won’t go this second. I’ll take care of gathering the supplies, all of you think about where you want to visit. I’ll see you once preparations are complete.

Onwards, to adventure!

CozyPandaDragon