Lough Icewind
"You don't fight Lough Icewind. You learn to live with it. You sail it knowing it's older, crueler, and far more patient than you’ll ever be." -Willem Cassick, veteran lake captain, Catcher's Rest Harbor Authority
Lough Icewind is Everwealth’s largest inland lake, an unforgiving, wind-scoured behemoth stretching across nearly 200 miles of cold, unpredictable waters. Despite its harsh reputation, it is the beating heart of trade between Crossing, Catcher's Rest, and Rootthorpe, its waters cutting shipping times in half for those who brave its fickle tempers. Though vastly overshadowed by Lough Shears in historical or economic importance, Lough Icewind’s sheer scale and logistical necessity make it an economic powerhouse in its own right. Without its shipping lanes, caravan routes would be forced to endure many more miles of dangerous, undeveloped roads, turning an already difficult journey into an almost impossible one. Despite its value, the lake remains a treacherous mistress. Winter drags ice drifts into its shipping lanes, summer calls up storms without warning, and the depths conceal remnants of Pre-Schism vessels, some lost to battle, others simply claimed by the passage of time. Few sailors trust the lake’s silence, not when history has proven that Icewind rarely gives back what it takes.
Geography
Lough Icewind dominates central Everwealth, sprawling between three major settlements, Crossing to the northwest, Catcher’s Rest to the east, and Rootthorpe further south. The lake's shoreline is varied, with rocky bluffs and steep cliffs in the north giving way to rolling hills and fertile plains along the southeastern stretch. To the south, reed-laden shallows and hidden sandbars make navigation difficult, while the western banks near Crossing remain deeply industrialized, their docks and shipyards stretching well beyond the city limits. The lake was not always as large as it is today. Between 224 CA and 319 CA, Everwealth undertook one of its most ambitious engineering projects, manually dredging and widening the lake’s most critical shipping channels. What began as a necessary expansion for trade quickly became a brutal, decades-long effort, costing hundreds of lives as laborers fought the elements, the lake’s unpredictable depths, and each other. Though the project was ultimately successful, some still believe the lake itself resents the intrusion. Whether true or superstition, stories of ships vanishing overnight, eerie lights beneath the surface, and unseen things pulling at the ankles of dockworkers continue to spread among sailors to this day.
Ecosystem
Lough Icewind is cold, deep, and teeming with life, its waters rich in freshwater fish, including deep-lake trout, silver pike, and nightfin eels, the latter of which are highly prized by Catcher’s Rest’s markets. However, the lake also harbors deadlier inhabitants, from serpentlike leviathans rumored to prowl its deeper trenches to aggressive freshwater drakes that have made Rootthorpe’s southern fishing grounds increasingly hazardous. The lake’s unpredictable nature extends beyond its creatures. Sudden temperature shifts create unnatural fogs, thick enough to swallow entire fleets, and localized storms can form seemingly out of nowhere, driving even the most experienced sailors to seek immediate shelter. Its shoreline flora varies by region, with lush, nutrient-rich reeds and mosses thriving in the south, while the northern coastlines remain jagged and inhospitable, save for patches of hardy spruce and wind-bent pines.
Ecosystem Cycles
Unlike Everwealth’s southern lakes, which experience mild seasonal shifts, Lough Icewind is defined by its extreme climate fluctuations.
- Spring thaw brings violent currents, as melting mountain ice from the Cloudrend peaks rushes into the lake, disrupting trade and often forcing temporary port closures in Crossing and Catcher’s Rest.
- Summer is storm season, with massive thunderheads rolling down from the western highlands, making it the most dangerous, but also the most profitable, season for shipping.
- Autumn offers relative calm, though it is also when the lake’s more predatory species migrate toward the surface, leading to an increase in monster attacks on fishing vessels.
- Winter is Icewind’s true test. The northern reaches freeze over, forcing sailors to navigate the treacherous ice floes while battling frigid temperatures and near-constant fog. Only the few surviving Pre-Schism steel ships can reliably cut through the ice without risk of sinking.
Localized Phenomena
Lough Icewind’s mysteries are as vast as its depths, whispered in sailor’s lore and feared even by those who’ve braved its waters for decades. The Frozen Depths, an eerie section of the lake that never fully thaws, remains a source of speculation, its waters colder than they should be, locked in unnatural stillness even at the height of summer. Some claim that something ancient and forgotten slumbers beneath its surface, refusing to let the ice break. Meanwhile, the Whispering Waves bring a different kind of terror; sailors speak of ghostly voices carried on the wind, murmuring in an unrecognizable tongue. The sound is fleeting, vanishing the moment anyone tries to focus on it, leaving only an unsettling certainty that someone, or something, is listening. Most infamous, however, is the legend of The Drowned Fleet, a convoy of pre-Schism vessels said to have disappeared in the lake’s early years of expansion. On stormy nights, captains claim to see glowing wrecks beneath the water, their skeletal remains drifting just out of reach before fading into the blackness. Whether these are tricks of the light, magickal echoes of the past, or something more sinister is a matter of heated debate among those who sail the Widowmaker’s waters.
Climate
Lough Icewind exists in a realm of cold winds and shifting seasons, its vast surface often caught between the unforgiving chill of the Cloudrend Mountains and the damp, temperamental air rolling in from the eastern lowlands. Winters arrive early and linger late, turning the lake into an expanse of ice-choked waters and dangerous, shifting floes. Though it never fully freezes over, thick ice sheets form along its shallows and edges, forcing ships to navigate carefully or risk becoming trapped. Snowfall is frequent, covering the docks and ship decks in heavy, wet layers that crews must constantly clear to avoid accidents. Spring brings a brief, deceptive calm, as the ice breaks apart and fog rolls over the water, cloaking vessels in an eerie silence. This is one of the most dangerous seasons for travel, as unseen obstacles, floating ice shards, submerged wrecks, and sudden squalls, can spell disaster for the unprepared. By summer, the lake is at its most active, with warmer waters and steady winds making it the peak trading season. However, violent storms are common during this time, forming seemingly out of nowhere and churning the waters into chaos. These tempests, known locally as "Icewind's Fury," have sunk more ships than any battle, their sudden gales and torrential rains capable of overturning even the sturdiest vessels. Autumn is a time of retreat, as merchants make their last crossings before the cold sets in once more. Winds become sharper, the nights colder, and mists thicker, giving the lake its notorious "Ghost Water" reputation, where entire ships have disappeared into the fog, never to be seen again. While Lough Icewind is undeniably vital to Everwealth’s survival, its climate ensures that only the bold or the desperate dare to sail it year-round.
Fauna & Flora
Lough Icewind’s immense size and harsh climate support a resilient but treacherous ecosystem, where both familiar and strangely adapted life forms have carved a place in its cold depths and wind-swept shores.
Flora:
- Ironwill Reeds - Hardy, steel-gray reeds lining the shallows, capable of withstanding frost and heavy storms. Their fibrous stalks are used in weaving and rope-making.
- Ghost Lilies - Pale, luminescent flowers that bloom atop the water’s surface during late autumn. Said to mark where drowned sailors rest.
- Frostbloom Kelp - Thick, rubbery kelp that grows in submerged forest-like patches. Highly sought after for its medicinal properties but difficult to harvest due to the creatures lurking below.
- Winterwillows - Gnarled, low-lying trees along the western banks, their branches heavy with frost year-round. The wood is dense and slow-burning, making it a favorite for long-lasting hearthfires.
- Bittermoss - A slick, brackish moss that coats the hulls of long-anchored ships, repelling barnacles but believed to curse any vessel left moored for too long.
- Silver Pike - The lake’s most common predator, a long, armored fish with razor-like scales and a bite that can sever fingers clean off.
- Deep-Lake Trout - Massive, slow-moving fish that thrive in Icewind’s freezing depths. A staple of Everwealth’s northern diet, though catching them requires nets strong enough to endure their powerful thrashing.
- Nightfin Eels - Sleek, jet-black eels that hunt in packs, often attacking injured or stranded swimmers. Their slimy, venom-coated skin makes them dangerous to handle without gloves.
- Whitehowl Otters - Large, semi-aquatic predators with thick fur and sharp teeth, known for their intelligence and unsettling tendency to “laugh” at passing boats.
- Harrowgulls - Foul-tempered seabirds that haunt the docks of Everwealth, their unnerving, almost human-like cries making them omens of bad luck among sailors, the fables that warn of coming disaster when they are in groups does not help.
- Ironjaw Sturgeon - 30-foot silver predators with supernatural agility capable of biting canoes, or sailors, clean in two.
Natural Resources
Beyond its role as Everwealth’s primary northern trade artery, Lough Icewind’s natural resources make it an economic cornerstone of the kingdom. Its abundant fisheries, particularly rich in silver pike, deep-lake trout, and nightfin eels, provide food for both the surrounding settlements and distant cities that rely on its bounty. Along its banks, mineral-rich silt deposits wash up, revitalizing farmland and ensuring that the fields near Catcher’s Rest remain fertile despite the harsh climate. The highland forests surrounding the lake offer strong timber for shipbuilding and dock repairs, though much of it is harvested with great care due to the unpredictability of the land. Freshwater reserves from the lake remain vital for settlement expansion, though they must be drawn with caution, Icewind’s depths are known for swallowing careless divers and reckless fishermen alike. Rarest of all, however, are the Pre-Schism relics occasionally dredged from the lakebed. Fragments of icebreaker hulls, rusted steel plating, and intact ship components from a bygone era still surface from time to time, though they are highly controlled and rarely traded outside the government’s watchful eye. To those who make their living off the lake, Icewind is less a resource and more a necessity, one that provides, but never without a cost.
History
Though not as revered as Lough Shears, Lough Icewind has long been a defining feature of Everwealth’s expansion and survival. Pre-Schism records suggest that the lake was once smaller, fed primarily by glacial runoff from the Cloudrend Mountains, before the kingdom’s relentless need for trade turned it into something far greater. Between 224 CA and 319 CA, one of Everwealth’s most ambitious engineering projects took place, the great dredging and widening of Icewind’s trade routes. What began as a simple expansion turned into a brutal, decades-long effort, costing hundreds of lives and leaving behind a legacy of superstition and whispered curses among the laborers who worked the lakebed. The project may have succeeded, but the stories of workers lost beneath the depths, their bodies never recovered, remain part of Icewind’s folklore. The lake’s history only grew darker with time. In 387 CA, the infamous Silverwake, a heavily armored merchant vessel, vanished near the Frozen Depths, its crew never seen again. Search efforts turned up nothing, and to this day, captains give the area a wide berth, unwilling to tempt fate. In 471 CA, the worst recorded storm in Icewind’s history struck with no warning, claiming nearly twenty ships in a single night. The event, now known as “The Long Drowning,” remains a painful memory in the kingdom’s maritime history, a reminder that the lake’s power is not to be underestimated. Despite its bloodstained past, Lough Icewind remains Everwealth’s most irreplaceable lake, its waters not just a highway for trade, but a force that has shaped the land, the people, and the legends that surround it.
Tourism
Few visit Lough Icewind for leisure, it is not a lake of gentle waters or peaceful sunsets, but one of survival and industry. However, that does not mean it lacks visitors. Merchant fleets are its most frequent travelers, cutting weeks off caravan shipments by risking its unpredictable weather and treacherous waves. Treasure hunters and ruin delvers arrive hoping to uncover the secrets of the Drowned Fleet, though most return empty-handed, if they return at all. Monster hunters, eager to prove their worth, seek out the legendary predators said to lurk beneath the lake’s surface, but few find glory in the effort, more often than not, their ships are found adrift and abandoned, or they simply vanish, leaving only floating wreckage in their wake. For most, however, Icewind is not an adventure, it is a way of life. Dockworkers, sailors, and shipwrights know that the lake takes as much as it gives, and only those who respect it live to see another voyage.
Alternative Name(s)
'The Icevein', 'The Black Mirror', 'The Widowmaker'.
Owning Organization
Inhabiting Species
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