THE GRIMWHITE
This islands north of Batira are collectively known as The Grimwhite by those from southern lands, but this is actually the name of all the frozen seas and icy islands that encompass the northern arctic region of Aerth.
Very few humans inhabit the Grimwhite. There are a few small tribes of snow elves that thrive on the beasts of the north, but the only populous race is the minotaur nation that rules the northern seas. They control many of the northern islands that are not completely ice covered, using slaves to mine out the precious metals and minerals hidden beneath the frozen rocks. Their fleet of enormous warships is unparalleled in might, though they rarely stray far from their homeland. They are brutal and unforgiving, and would dominate the whole north if none opposed them.
The people of the north fear only Aethris more. Many of their legends speak of a vast serpent coiled about the heart of the world. It has been there for centuries, they say, or perhaps far longer. It remains slumbering, twined in the darkness where the worlds core keeps it warm. Its deep breaths cause the ocean tides, and its occasional stretches the earthquakes and tidal waves. It is blocking the very top, they say, which is why no warmth ever reaches the frozen lands and seas of the Grimwhite. Some say Aethris keeps the God-Beast Rovagug entrapped, others that he is a servant of Rovagug, or perhaps even the god himself. Their legends speak of the day when Aethris will awaken hungry and devour their islands from below. Until that day his children will continue to plague the seas of the north.
The learned men of the south scoff at this legend, to which the northerners always point out how unlikely it is that variations of the name Aethris should appear all across the world - and even in the name of the world itself! - if the great serpent is mere fiction. Certainly more than a few claim to have seen enormous sea serpents in the Aethrin Strait, and others wonder what else could tear a minotaur ship to pieces when such a wreck should wash to shore.
Very few humans inhabit the Grimwhite. There are a few small tribes of snow elves that thrive on the beasts of the north, but the only populous race is the minotaur nation that rules the northern seas. They control many of the northern islands that are not completely ice covered, using slaves to mine out the precious metals and minerals hidden beneath the frozen rocks. Their fleet of enormous warships is unparalleled in might, though they rarely stray far from their homeland. They are brutal and unforgiving, and would dominate the whole north if none opposed them.
The people of the north fear only Aethris more. Many of their legends speak of a vast serpent coiled about the heart of the world. It has been there for centuries, they say, or perhaps far longer. It remains slumbering, twined in the darkness where the worlds core keeps it warm. Its deep breaths cause the ocean tides, and its occasional stretches the earthquakes and tidal waves. It is blocking the very top, they say, which is why no warmth ever reaches the frozen lands and seas of the Grimwhite. Some say Aethris keeps the God-Beast Rovagug entrapped, others that he is a servant of Rovagug, or perhaps even the god himself. Their legends speak of the day when Aethris will awaken hungry and devour their islands from below. Until that day his children will continue to plague the seas of the north.
The learned men of the south scoff at this legend, to which the northerners always point out how unlikely it is that variations of the name Aethris should appear all across the world - and even in the name of the world itself! - if the great serpent is mere fiction. Certainly more than a few claim to have seen enormous sea serpents in the Aethrin Strait, and others wonder what else could tear a minotaur ship to pieces when such a wreck should wash to shore.