Voltarion Island

"Just as i walked off the ship, the sky above me turned into a beautiful sight of dancing green lights. Everyone had their eyes set on the sky, watching the aurora as it turned night into day. To this day, i remember every detail of that majestic event. This island has its fair share of difficulties but it has its beauty too."
An excerpt from the diary of a human soldier stationed on the island

Arctic Night by Trichardsen

Voltarion Island is a large island located a few dozen kilometres off the coast of the polar continent Ultima Borealis. Known for its rugged icy terrain, giant snowy mountains and most of all, centuries old ruins and barrows that have piqued the interest of archaeologists and scientists from all over the world, it is indeed a place where much adventure is to be found.
The Island is separated from Ultima Borealis by a narrow strait barely a dozen kilometres in length. The island itself is just like its parent continent. Cold, icy, dark for many months at a row and unforgiving, it is a place meant for only the bravest of the brave. Tall frost giants roam the land alongside their smaller cousins, the frost trolls and ogres. Giant ice dragons take across the skies , their roars being heard throughout the land. To live amongst all these hostile beings is a daunting task indeed.
The most intriguing thing about the island however, are the giant barrows and ruins located on the central part of the island, behind the Frostfall mountains. Even from the little that has been explored of them, they have still baffled archaeologists and researchers with the ruins containing many tomes, drawings and devices of an ancient race, far advanced than any other civilization on Elladia. Little do they know however, that a dark secret for them is waiting at the heart of the massive complex.
For the past few years, Voltarion island has been suffering the same corruption as practically every place on Elladia. The expedition members report having nightmares and hearing horrifying voices. There have been reports of attacks on the expediton members by purple skinned trolls, ogres and frost giants as well as other corrupted forms of the islands fauna. Worst of all, the archaeologists and personnel involved with the barrow operations report even more intense symptoms of the corrupted and some have even committed suicide and murder by an unknown entity .
The expedition members must keep their unity together and set an example for Elladia to follow. They will learn many things from their experiences that must reach the wider Elladian populace.
For it could mean the key to defeating the progenitor of the corruption, once and for all.

Geography

Voltarion Island

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The Icy Island by Fantasy art 0102

Voltarion Island is a rugged and unforgiving island. The western side of the island is a broken mess of smaller islands, fjords, islets and numerous creatures swimming in the water in search of food. The islands terrain is predominantly covered by flat icy plains, with only the Frostfall mountains rising over in the central parts. Many human settlements dot the southern part of the island, which serves as the centre of all expedition activity.

The Frostfall mountains

"I hear an odd voice from beyond the mountains, the same that had called to me when i first landed on the island. I truly do want to know what truly lies beyond those giant spires of ice and snow. Maybe i"ll get to see when we pass through them"
Taken from the diary of an Argonite soldier stationed on the island

The Frostfall mountains by Tigaer

The Frostfall mountains are a large mountain range located on the central part of the continent. These towering icy peaks are home to the lairs of frost dragons and many other flying creatures on their higher reaches, whilst the lower reaches are dominated by the frost giants and their smaller ogrish and trollish brethren. Only a few narrow passes are availiable for crossing the mountains, which are highly guarded by frost giants and thus, expeditioners need to take great care whilst passing through them.

Frostfall Caves

The Silvan Caves by Joshua Eiten

The Frostfall Caves are a series of gigantic caverns located at the base of the frostfall mountains. They are the only known hotspot of life on the island, and host a diverse variety of unique flora and fauna, including the cave yak which serves as an important source of food for the carnivorous predators of the island during winter. There are many algae, fungi and other eukaryotic organisms which are the main producers of food on the island. These caves are a fascinating topic for geologists, biochemists and chemists as they contain many animals that have unique adaptations allowing them to survive in harsh polar weather. There have even been some theories as to how they can be used as a food source in harsh weather and also be used for the newly discovered field of genetic engineering but so far, it has not progressed far. Some caves also have large lakes at their centre, which are home to numerous aquatic organisms unique to the Borealian region.

Frostfall Barrows

"The Barrows, they are truly an arachaeologists dream. Not just an archaeologist i would say. Everyone should visit this barrow and behold its marvels at least once in their life

The Frostfall Barrows by Joel Hustak

Probably the most significant and fascinating feature of the island are the frostfall barrows, Located beyond the mountains, these interconnected barrows form a massive complex that houses many ancient artifacts and wonders, relics of a lost and far more advanced civilization. There are also numerous writings and drawings on the wall that show a race of humanoids in battle against what seems to be some nightmarish entity and imprisoning him after being victorious over him.
One thing that has baffled archaeologists is the fact that these beings apparently are vampiric. The key evidence for this is the fact that there is a gigantic statue of Thanatos at the courtyard of one of the barrows and because of the numerous idols of the vampiric deities being scattered around the temple. Moreover, some drawings on the temple show them drinking blood and some vampiric members of the expedition have even been able to decipher the strange language to an extent in which words are scribbled all over the place.
This has fascinated the expeditioners and they are keen to know as much as they can

Fauna & Flora

"Now that, that is what i call a really fucking big ice giant"
A soldier describing Volstagg, the ancient frost giant.

Boreal Ice Giant by Llyncis

Voltarion Island has some of the most unique flora and fauna found on Elladia. Whilst some sights such as frost giants, ogres, trolls, ettins , wolves and ice dragons are common with the rest of the world, others such as the cave yak and the various forms of aquatic life and microorganisms are completely unique. Their biology and environment is a fascinating topic for study. For example, some strains of fungi in the caves of the island can create chemical energy and food by simply using chemical elements and not needing sunlight. This process, dubbed chemosynthesis by Argonite biochemists is a completely new discovery that will forever change the view of biochemistry in Elladia.

Life on Voltarion Island for a soldier

For a soldier, life on the island is often harsh but pleasant too. Despite the harsh weather, bleak conditions and sometimes supply shortages, there is always someone to lend you a hand. The administration of the island has taken steps to foster more personal contact and develop friendships between the soldiers and civilians and this has rather turned out successful, and everyone know has a smile on their face for they know that at least someone in the island cares deeply about them.
A soldiers usual day begins just before dawn, when they wake up and go to an assembly. After that, they take their morning breakfast and go on to do their respective duties. Some units are assigned to help in infrastructure development initiatives whilst others are sent to scout or patrol dangerous paths and offer safe passage to any traveller. Soldiers often have a lot of fun and constantly crack jokes about the weather during their duty time. After their duty period, which has a lot of breaks ends, they go back to their quarters, have a nice meal and spend some more fun time before going to sleep.

Life for a researcher on the island

For researchers and scientists, life on Voltarion island is blissful to say the least. Despite the harsh, unforgiving climate, there is a vast load of knowledge hidden underneath the icy reaches of the island, which attracts the attention of scientists from all over Elladia. It helps for the fact that they are heavily funded and have a lot of security on the island to keep their research ongoing and safe. Their day begins much like the soldiers, with an assembly and breakfast before their daily routine of researching, experimenting, expeditioning begins. Their day ends rather similarly too, with a huge dinner and lots of jokes before retiring for sleep.

Accesibility of the island

According to the treaty on polar exploration, the Borealian and Australian regions of Elladia are heavily restricted areas, and are generally prohibited to civilians other than coming to the island to work for the expedition. However, the Imperium has recently introduced special permits for civilians to enter some areas of the regions for slight tourism purposes. Despite this, the two regions remain almost fully free of civilian presence.

The Barrow Voice

"I've been hearing some voices in my head lately and truth be told, they do sound sweet. They tell me something about the pleasant life the people on this island once used to live and also how their civilization was the greatest amongst the stars. I would love to meet these folks if i could'
Daniel Larsson, a soldier in the island talking about the Barrow voice effect.

The Barrow voice is a mysterious phenomenon that affects everyone who is on the island. It seems to originate from the Frostfall barrows, and manifests itself as a set of intermittent voices that are heard by individuals on the island, which gets stronger the closer one gets to the barrows and their centre. The voices are rather pleasant, and give information about the previous inhabitants of the island as well as their civilization, mostly in an incomprehensible language but sometimes in common tongue too.
Recently however, the voices have changed. From being a pleasant one, they have turned into nightmarish demonic voices and constantly threaten and try to demoralize the expeditioners. The expeditioners are torn between hearing the good voices consoling them and helping them and hearing the nightmarish demonic voices, which keep emanating from the heart of the massive barrow complex. They must act quickly and find out the truth and carry it onto their comrades.
For something is about to awaken. And it shall spare none.

Type

Island

Included Locations

• Frostfall Caves
• The Frostfall Barrows
• The Frostfall Mountains

Owning Organization

The Sanguine Imperium