The World of Icesus

The Valley of Icesus is the last place where life remains on the frozen planet of Aegic — a vast valley shielded by mountains and a shimmering forcefield, while the rest of the world lies under solid ice. Merciless winters bury the land in snow each year, but when it recedes, life is reborn in a short, passionate summer. This is the frontier between civilisation and wilderness, between light and dark. And it is becoming a battle field.

The Children of Light

The southern valley is ruled by the kingdom of Valkor and their fierce horsemen, governing from the capital city of Vaerlon. The Church of Elements tends to the sick and poor, while common folk labor in fields and cities. Together — horsemen, khatuns, priests, and serfs — they are the Children of Light, united under their Elemental Gods. The iron fist of Valkor has kept rebellion at bay for generations.

The Pagan North

Three groups inhabit the wild arctic north. The Eskarans, displaced by Valkor's expansion, wage an endless guerrilla war from the dark forests, placing their faith in wilders and warlocks. Their seers say the time for change is at hand. The Gaesati, the valley's original inhabitants, are peaceful nomadic reindeer herders who trust their survival to spirits and sacred places. And the Goblin peoples — trolls, ogres, orcs, and kobolds — have been pushed from their forest caves by Valkor settlers, with half now crammed into the dark elf czardom of Graemor and the rest forming desperate paramilitary clans.

A Kingdom in Crisis

Valkor's expansion has stalled. Rumors of civil war between the mighty khatuns rage in the East. Looting increases from the south. Witches and warlocks travel openly in daylight. Wilders, once thought defeated, are on the move again. In some places, the people are ready to abandon the Church of Elements and return to the old ways. The valley stands on the edge of something terrible — or something new.