Frostvangr

"There is nothing for us out there. There is nothing for anyone out there. Ware of Frostvangr, for only a frozen death lurks beyond the horizon of ice and evil."


 * - Jarl Fenner, when standing at the foot of the mountains, looking out over the wastes of Frostvangr

North of the Mjaln Mountains, there is a place known as 'Frostvangr'. Like a frozen equivalent to the Wastelands in the far south, Frostvangr is an endless plain of ice, harboring no life whatsoever. Frostvangr has long been a breeding place for myth amongst the Mjaln, endless legends about how the place became, and what lies beyond the horizons. It has never been cartographed, for as far as the farthest explorer has gone, there has only been more ice, accompanied by a snowfall that never seems to end. While the Mjaln Mountains are infamous for freezing even the strongest men to death, Frostvangr is a place even colder than so - it has been agreed upon by all civilized people of the mountains, even the barbaric ones, that Frostvangr is home for no living thing. And because of its enigma, myth and legend aplenty has been woven about it; some say that those who die after a sinful life are sent to wander Frostvangr forever, to suffer its icy plains, but never die to them. Others say that Frostvangr is where the spirit Frost has made her home, and she has made it so cold to ensure that no warmth should come to her and undo her. But whatever the truth is, it is a place ventured by few, and feared by all.

The Vándr
To say that nothing lives in Frostvangr is only a half-truth. It is true that Frostvangr is welcoming to no creature with breathing lungs and a beating heart, but such things do not include the Vándr. The Vándr are as much a mystery as Frostvangr itself, but while Frostvangr stays in one place, the same cannot be said about the Vándr. The Vándr are described as ice come alive, animated to take the shape of something whispered upon the wind, be it wolf, Mjaln, troll, jotun, or even creatures from farther south; chimeras, elves, humans, or even wargs from the Fairlands. The Vándr are never one shape, never one face, but they all share a common goal: to spread the deathly cold of Frostvangr to the rest of The Mortal Realm. Whatever the Vándr are, they all seem to care for nothing but engulfing the entire world in an endless winter, allowing no life to ever grow again. The Vándr are dreaded creatures, not only because of their tenacity as pure ice, but their fearlessness in battle. Without the ability to show fear, the Vándr are a horrific foe, as if they were a force of nature. Unliving and merciless, a Vándr invasion is seen with the same eyes as when looking upon a blizzard or an earthquake. If a village should fall under the unfeeling destruction of the Vándr, there is rarely any hate at all, as it is known that the Vándr are not a foe that can be defeated. An attack may be averted through military force, but there will always be more Vándr coming - and soon. From where the Vándr come - aside from Frostvangr - is a mystery, and what they are, is an even greater one. No shaman has been able to tell what spawns this faceless force of destruction, only that they are ice that has somehow taken upon the shape of something living, and begun killing that which is.

The Seers
However, while Frostvangr is welcoming of nothing that lives, there are rare exceptions. Every reasonable man fears the icy wastes of Frostvangr, but once in a while, there are those who claim to hear a call from them. Mostly it is Mjaln, but it is not unheard of that there are other people who feel a pull to go north - and never stop. These people are known to the Mjaln as 'seers'; those who can see destiny and life beyond Frostvangr, while others cannot. In most cases, the Seers claim that they have always felt a voice whisper to them that their fate lies in the frigid voids of Frostvangr, and that their lives will not be complete without searching for it. While children, they have been able to ignore it, but as time progresses, the urge becomes stronger and stronger untill it is utterly irresistable. Families who realize that one of their members are a Seer will of course grieve to know that they are unlikely to see this person ever again, but often be proud as well, because of what this person can see that they cannot. Once someone has been labelled a Seer, they are often respected highly, and even given an audience by the current Mjaln jarl himself, to wish them good luck. Like most things about Frostvangr, the Seers are a great mystery as well, and even the Seers have been unable to tell why they feel this urge. Some shamans claim that it is Frost herself calling upon certain chosen souls, calling for them to become her closest disciples. But even so, nothing can be truly concluded - only that once a Seer has taken their first step into Frostvangr, they will never return. Not a single Seer has ever come back to tell tales of what might lie beyond the frigid blizzards and blinding snow. Sadly, the only things to come from Frostvangr, are mysteries and Vándr.