Eiselcross Islands

Far north of the rest of Wildemount is a collection of imposing islands of ice, danger, and powerful, forgotten relics. Eiselcross and the Greying Wildlands are collectively known as the Biting North. For centuries, most of the world dismissed Eiselcross as an uninhabitable glacial land of blizzards and yetis. Only fishing vessels ever got close to the frozen shores — until one of those ships found an Aeorian item.

The flying city-state of Aeor, a place of inventors, magic, and progress, was hurled into Eiselcross by gods both good and evil during the Calamity. The Prime and Betrayer deities agreed on a momentary armistice to achieve this mammoth task, for Aeor's people crafted weapons made to kill the gods and had to be stopped. The gods tried to wholly destroy Aeor, but its protections against divine entities were carefully tuned and unexpectedly strong. It took the most of the pantheon to crash the city.

Aeor was long believed to have been obliterated, and the gods' silence on the matter only furthered this conviction, so the books of lore left nothing more to be studied or discussed on the once-powerful nation. However, recent discoveries of Aeorian artifacts revealed the truth of Aeor's resting place and spurred rumors of arcane secrets frozen beneath the ice of Eiselcross. Now Dwendalian, Uthodurnian, Xhorhasian, and mercenary expeditions search the hazardous terrain for materials that could change the tide of the war between the Dwendalian Empire and the Kryn Dynasty.

## Islands of Eiselcross

Eiselcross is a collection of eight icy islands, some of which have small, snow-covered mountain ranges:

**Beissel.** Eiselcross's third largest island is so far north that even prepared explorers have trouble surviving the cold. Most don't dare brave an expedition, and those who do turn back once they see the white dragons that rule Beissel.

**Dampfkan.** This island is an active volcano that steams into the sky. Dampfkan's few explorers have seen a large structure in the lava, but nobody knows what this mysterious monolith is.

**Foren.** The largest island of Eiselcross is also its most desirable destination for treasure-seekers, since Aeor's main crash site is on Foren.

**Frostbogen.** Given its proximity to Foren, one might think that this island is also a popular destination for explorers. But ever since a Cerberus Assembly delegation of over one hundred people, their ship, and all their belongings vanished during an expedition to Frostbogen, no one has dared to explore the island.

**Gelier.** Eiselcross's second-largest island holds the body of Quajath, the Undermaw, and its wormkin.

**Kaltsel.** The smallest of Eiselcross's islands floats off the southeast coast of Foren and is said to be the home of Mynarc Furdahl, an undead warlock of Asmodeus willing to make deals in exchange for souls.

**Schneescel.** A permanent magical blizzard rages across Schneescel, a small island to the west of Foren, making it nigh impossible to explore. Many believe that a fallen Aeorian relic causes this storm.

**Taergoss.** Eiselcross'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 Taergoss's center