Thule

Thule. A name linked to mystery, danger, ice cold lighless winters and blooming sommers. A place never to be found twice in the same place - if found at all. Strange creatures live here and even stranger things are supposed to happen here. I suppose you might be a young sailer, thats why you asked - well, it doesnt matter, Thules mysteries are an interesting story for everybody.
So, is Thule real? Of course it is, I have been there allready - for real, not unlike many who claim to have been there, but never saw the shimmering sharp moutaintops of the frostfangs or breathed the air loaded with the otherworldly smell of the Yasbelflowers. But back to the matter.

How to find Thule?

Now that is the tricky question. Some claim Thule changes its place and can only be found if its spirits want it. I say that is a fairytale. Eventhough its true that there are bizare unknown powers at work. Thule is surounded by strange and allways changing tides and currents. Even if you know where you have to go, thanks to the changing currents you will never land in the same spot twice if you choose the same path as last time. But lets say you actually make it through unknown currents, reefs, heavy storms, pass hungry creatures, avoid icebergs and finally reach Thule.

Thule itself

Thule is a pretty big island, shaped like a claw with a smaller counterpart shaped like a halfmoon. Eons in the past Thule once was a giant volcano, thats what gave the two islands their shape. When you approach the island, after the icecovered tips of the frostfangs appeared and the pitchblack basalt columns of the islands cliffs tower over you, you´ll be greeted by the strange and menacing screams of the seabirds that nest everywhere. But look up, there are tales about giant seabirds with wingspans of ten meters who prey on sailors who get to close to Thules realm.
But lets say you reach the southern shores with its volcanic beaches and make it to the land. You will behold the magical sight of lush green meadows, streaked by prinstine turquoise rivers, covered in blooming red Yasbelflowers. There will be white smoke rising from multiple volcanic chimneys hiding away the inland.
Beware of the smoke, the meadows of elysia look calm and peaceful, but the flowers are actually some of the most poisenous plants in Aar and the creatures inhabiting the mist are waiting for clueless prey that wanders right into their traps.
But once you crossed the white smoke the danger has just begun.
Now you will stand in front of a mixed forest - mostly birchtrees with some conifers dotting the scene, lichens covering the branches. As long as the sun can be seen in the sky you are safe. The forest is completly empty, no birds tweeting, no insects chirping, nothing. But there are a lot of valuable herbs and sprouts growing here.
But whatever you do, leave the forest before nightfall, either back to the coast or further inland into the periglacial tundra in the highlands right before the mountains. At the moment the sun dives into the sea the underlings wake up. A gruesome sort of goblin, they are about half the size of a grown man, but they come in packs and have terribly sharp teeth and nasty claws. When they attack, first you will here some whispering and snickering, then many glowing eyes will apear in the darkest parts of the shadows, then the attack will start. Normally they surround their prey and whisper a while about how they´re going to kill it and when they have decided they rush in all at once. Underlings are not smart, but they are not dumb either, when it comes to hunting, killing and sneaking on unknowing intruders they are very creative, but besides of that they have no culture whatsoever.
But lets suppose you made it through the forest by day, the underlings wont follow you, they never leave the forest. The land was constantly getting steeper while crossing the forest, now you will find youself above the tree line on a high plateau that is covered in herbs and grass. In the distant you might see some mammoths grasing, filling the air with their noises. What you dont see are the frostlions, big cats, with a white, grey, green and brown camouflagepattern, who sneak through the grass looking for antilopes or single mammoths. Or in your case for sailors who seemed to have gotten lost on the ocean.
I admit it, the risk is worth it. Even if you dont hunt the mammoths, there is a mammoth-graveyard in a lightless valley at the foot of the frostfangs, where you can collect the ivory unharmed as long as you watch out for the vultures - they can grow quite large here.
In case you really want to get so rich you can buy a whole county uppon your return you have to go back to the meadows of elysia. These meadows at the coast are due to the volcanic activity the warmest place on the island and the one place without predators. But for one, the unicorn. The horn of an unnicorn has many powerful effects when you mix it into different potions or use it for other magic purposes. But the thing with unicorns is, that they dont give away their horn for free. And against common knowledge unicorns are everything but peaceful. They are the reason nothing else lives on the lush meadows at the coast. By nature, unicorns are omnivorous, they can eat grass, plants and everything green, but they do have a nasty set of fangs too and if they sense something warmblooded they will go hunting. From afar you might mistake a unicorn for a big horse with a horn on its forhead, but when it approaches, you will realise this horse isnt big, its muscular. Scholar have wondered how they sustain such a body with a mainly herbivorous diet, it seems they feed on the magical energy too that is leaking out of every pore of this island. But back to the unicorn, when it comes closer at some point you will see its wide mouth with its protruding fangs and the evil intelligence glaring at you from four red eyes.
This is the moment when you should throw everything you got at the beast, otherwise it will just run you over, trampel you down and rip out your throat.
Assuming you survive, every part of the unicorn is worth its weight in gold at least twice. Now you shouldnt get greedy and leave. Or you are a fool and go for the frostfangs and look for the never melting ice that covers the mountaintops. This ice brings a nice profit when sold to the right person, but besides that it makes a great cooler for your foodstorage it doesnt serve any useful purpose.
You look smart, so now that you got some ivory, herbs, Yasbelflowers and most importantly your unicorn you are going back to your ship and head home before some of the common weather anomalies of Thule hit you.

The weather anomalies

The fog

If the predators and poisenous flowers arent enough to kill a daring adventurer, then the weather comes in. The mildest case is thick sudden fog that muffles every sound and turn you blind while makes you hear strange things and loose your orientation. Some say this fog originates from the evil spirits inhabiting the island, leading you into the dangerous inlands where they will feast on your flesh and soul.

The volcano

Not really a weather anomaly, but the volcanic chimneys sometimes release a deadly dose of poisenous gases over the lands that cover the ground with an invisible layer of deadly gas.

The blizzards

Just as in the far north, Thule has them too. Sometimes the wind gets so fast that the small ice parts that are flying around turn into arrows and penetrate even thick clothes.

The living mist

The living mist is without argue the most dangerous thing that lives on Thule. It doesnt have a body, but it has a malicious hunger and is determined to anihalate all live it encounters. This spirit lives in a glacial cave in the center of the frostfangs, but in nights where the moons are covered by thick clouds or even during day when blizzards hit. During the long dark in the winter the mist even leaves the island and has probably even been to the northern shores of Nandaahr. People have found bodies completly drained of blood and all organs gone, only a skeleton covered by skin that looks like it has been pierced by a million needles. Thats how the mist hunts. Ones its found prey it encases it and flows through the pores and orifices into the victims body, eating all body tissue, organs and blood, leaving an empty mummy behind. The only thing that can fight off the mist are extremly hot fire spells or demonic cold fire. But that doesnt kill the mist, it just drives it away for a while.

Maps

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  Thule

  Here we got a map of Thule. I had to go beyond the moons and back to find one, but here you go.

Type

Island