Frostfell

## The Frostfell

The Plane of Ice

> "Keep your wits about you, and for Vjyrna's sake, keep moving. Anything that stops might freeze that way."
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> — Hurian Haldar, Emissary to the Frozen Court
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The Frostfell, also known as the Para-Elemental Plane of Ice, is an Inner Plane at the intersection of the Elemental Planes of Air and Water. It is a frozen wasteland of biting wind and extreme cold.

## Description

Much like the Plane of Earth, the Plane of Ice is primarily formed of a continuous mass of ice at its center, though caverns and crevasses cut through the otherwise solid sheet in places. Where the plane borders the Plane of Water, the constant ice meets an endless sea, with icebergs floating in the infinite blue. Where the plane borders the Plane of Air, the ice ends in a jutting windswept wall over a ceaseless bright void.

This solid ice forms the plane's only walkable surface: a sheet of craggy ice for as far as the eye can see, scoured by piercing wind and constant blizzards. Mountains of ice jut from this plain in places, providing scant and temporary shelter against the buffeting eddies. These mountains are worn smooth in a matter of centuries from the intense wind, only to reform when precipitation piled up enough. The air is breathable on the sheet, though deathly cold. This region of the plane is called the Precipice, and many visitors foolishly think it to represent the whole plane, though the majority of the plane exists below this wall.

Gravity exists on this plane; up leading to towards the Plane of Air; down leading towards the Plane of Water. When one approaches the "bottom" of this frigid place, more and more water appears until the ice breaks up into chunks atop the Plane of Water. This border region is called the Sea of a Thousand Mounts, after the many mountains of ice that drift in the blue. Because of how it seems to float upon the Plane of Water, some call the Plane of Ice itself the Floating Plane.

Moving laterally, one can travel along the endless ice to the borders of the Negative Energy Plane, the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Salt, the Positive Energy Plane, and the Quasi-Elemental Plane of Steam. These border regions are known as the Frigid Void, the Stinging Storm, the Shimmering Drifts, and the Fog of Unyielding Frost respectively. The Frigid Void is free of snow and blizzards and is a region of absolute darkness and cold. The Stinging Storm is an area of hailing salt storms. The Fog of Unyielding Frost is full of bitter cold vapors that can freeze one's lungs. The Shimmering Drifts is perhaps the oddest region, as the snow falling here is infused with an energy that can cause severe confusion to those it touches.

The majority of the plane exists below the Precipice. About half of the caverns within this endless ice are elemental pockets of air with the rest being ice-cold underwater lakes. Some boulders carried here from the Plane of Earth can also be found buried in the ceaseless ice.

Not all regions of this plane are the same temperature. Some areas can be survived with limited preparation, while others are so cold that one can only survive with magic or divine intervention. According to legend some regions of the plane are so cold that a person's thoughts could freeze in their heads. Some of the more eccentric merchants in Sigil will sell these frozen thoughts in bottles, offering brief sensations across the spectrum of emotion. Some regions of the plane are said to be so cold that even light itself freezes due to the absolute cold.

To reach the Plane of Ice with the plane shift spell, one requires a planar fork of pewter. It is dangerous to plane shift to this place however, as travellers could become embedded in the ice. If the punishing cold doesn't kill them, then they will be unable to move under the weight of the ice sheet around them. Regardless of if they survive or die in their frigid prison, they will be preserved for eternity in a tomb of ice.

Travel within the plane itself is equally dangerous. Whether moving across the Precipice or tunneling through the thick sheets of Core Ice, one could expect sudden and violent shifting and buckling of ice. The entire plane is under constant pressure and warping from the Plane of Air and Plane of Water, which causes avalanches, sinkholes, and caverns to form suddenly and unpredictably.

Besides mundane travel from one of the other Inner Planes, the Plane of Ice can also be reached through portals, though few permanent portals exist naturally. One exists in Baator, on the eighth level of Cania, while another exists on the Prime Material at the center of the frigid Plains of Csiildra. Additonally, two portals are rumored to exist in the Abyss, one of which leads to the Soulfreeze, layer 566.

Very rarely, elemental vortices can form temporary portals connecting the Material Plane to the Frostfell, usually from arctic wastelands, terrible blizzards, or the coldest depths of the ocean.

## Rulers and Governments

The defacto ruler of the Frostfell is the Frozen Prince, Avorach. Having established himself as its suzerain during the Era Archon, the Prince of Csiildra holds his court here in a castle of ice on the Precipice. The denizens of the plane recognize him as their lord, most of which do so begrudgingly. The empire he has carved out of the ice is known as the Principality of the Frozen Heart, home to a small but sturdy population of hardy humanoids that claim Avorach as their patron and benefactor. Vjyrna, God of Winter, is a common guest in the Frozen Court, so much so that Avorach has constructed a palace for her stay. It is said that when the Frost Maiden visits, time itself freezes throughout the realm, and the Frostfell doubles in size, encroaching on the Plane of Air and the Plane of Water.

The Prime Elemental of Ice, Kruphix, holds much contempt for Avorach. Having been usurped of its title by the Prince of Csiildra, Kruphix often plots against the Frozen Court, using Ice Mephits as spies and forming short-lived alliances with Ykoné and Thrymr in oftentimes vain attempts to retake its throne. Its attempts inevitably fail, as Yndol has censured it within the Elemental Chaos after its involvement in the Rending.

Thrymr holds a petty claim to the plane, as a large amount his scions feld here after the Slahtr. Several tribes of Forst Giants wander the Precipice, raiding the Principality and wreaking general havoc on any civilization that attempts to take root here. Those who survive their travel to the Frostfell often meet their end at the edge of a Giant's axe.

Ykoné also holds an unrecognized claim to the Frostfell. The barren and hopeless landscape aligns with her Domains, leading to a constant leaching of her influence from the Far Realm. Wendigos and Yetis often wander to this plane from the Whispering Rime, slaughtering travellers and spreading Ykoné's corruption throughout the realm.

Yrse, the Primordial White Dragon also lairs here. She uses this realm as her hunting ground, making sport out of the creatures that call this land home. Clashes between her and Avorach are not unheard of, as the Prince does not tolerate the harm of his charges.

## Landmarks

(This section is a work in progress. It will be updated soon.)

Being an almost completely solid hunk of ice, the Frostfell holds few locations of interest, most all of which are located on the Precipice.

Bones of Atveir - The Great Serpent Atveir once prowled the infinite ocean of the Plane of Water, preying on mortal and immortal alike. After his daughter, Sumbara, was devoured by the serpent, the Padishah of Zumbai formed a hunting party to track down and slay the great wyrm. Tracing it to the Sea of a Thousand Mounts, the Padishah's party did battle with the serpent, slaying it and leaving its hulking body skewered on the jagged icebergs. Its bones remain there, scattered along the floating ice.

Court of the Frozen Prince -

Kruphix's Spine -

Mont Blanc -

Palace of the Frost Maiden -

The Windswept Arch -

Thrymr's Hall -

Yrse's Lair -

## Denizens

Most all of the open-air caverns in the Core Ice contain life. Just under half of the creatures found here are beings of air, while the rest are beings of ice. In the subterranean lakes closer to the Plane of Water, just over a quarter of the creatures here are be beings of water, with the rest being creatures of ice. In both cases, such lifeforms are immune to the effects of the bitter cold in these regions.

Most fauna found here are icy, angular counterparts to creatures of the Prime, looking much like ice or snow sculptures. Such entities move freely and unharmed through ice, water, and air in the other Inner Planes. Above the Core Ice, frost salamanders, ice toads and remorhazes are commonly found wandering the snowy wastes of the Precipice in search of prey.

Among the more intelligent creatures native to this realm, frost giants, ice mephits, ice trolls, white dragons, and winter wolves make lairs here. Marids and Djinn also commonly visit this realm, though they never stay due to the extreme cold. In the Sea of a Thousand Mounts, the Marid commonly hunt sea serpents and other large creatures for game, while on the Precipice, azers marshal in large groups to hunt frost salamanders.