Estmis Forest
The Forest of the Frozen Wind begins on the south side of the Polrenni Mountains in the northwestern corner of Riflian. It has long been held to be a place of tranquility and meditation by the elven people. The thick layer of snow here lends the landscape an almost supernatural silence, even as the wind blows and the trees bow under the weight of the ice and cold.
The only disturbance in the woods at all is the ever present chilling wind. At different places in the forest, the wind seems to be coming from different directions. Its strength is variable, ranging from gale force winds to a gentle frigid breeze. The only constants soom to be its presence, its cold, and the fact that the trees seem to do little to slow it down. In fact, the wind seems to leave the trees alone. Even as it may rage and howl, the winds here do not shake the snow-coated branches of the trees or strip the dirt from their roots.
Because of this, some elven scholars have theorized that there may be a sentience to the wind, some poor soul trapped, ever wandering the wood. Elven storytellers immediately jumped on this idea, and wrote story after ballad after myth about the tragedy of the wood. As is the wont of such art, they grew from these first seeds and even the same story is told in many different places in even more different ways.
In the forest, there is a city known as Cimendral. Much like the trees of the forest, the winds blow about this place without ever actually disturbing it. For miles in all directions around the city, with the exception of the carefully maintained roads, there are massive drifts of snow and ice. In some places, these drifts are up to fifty feet tall. This can lead to icy canyons being carved out, as the snow at the bottom is compacted into solid chunks of ice.
Tourism
Before the isolation, drawn in by the tragic (but largely baseless) tales of the forest, many would come to the forest and to Cimendral to see the wonders of the frozen forest, the cold canyons, and the wild wind. Because of this, prior to the Elves' retreat, Cimendral had a very strong tourism industry, despite the temperature. The city and the town did focus on the tourism, perhaps a bit too much. In the aftermath of the isolation, Cimendral nearly collapsed.
It was only when an adventurer by the name of Elsigeur Luunlird retired here to begin building a mercenary outfit that it was saved from near certain demise. This company eventually became known as the Enlightened Luunlird Forces, the military power largely running Riflian to this day. Today, not even many elves visit the city and its famed forest. Those who do brave the winds come to visit the hallowed ground where the Luunlird forces were forged into the arm of security that the elves are now famous for.
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