Ausren

Situated as the northernmost region of Galadria, the snow-capped lands of Ausren are as beautiful as they are diverse. The brutal winters of the land make life hard for those without friends, and large-scale taxation and development is a virtual impossibility. As such, the region is peppered with a great many unaffiliated, insular settlements that rise and fall at the whims of winter. Two mountain ranges cut northward across the region, dividing the region into three distinct subregions.
The western mountain range is known as the Ironclad Mountains. While the mountains themselves are quite barren and hostile, their cavernous interiors are rich with mineral wealth. The range is wholly controlled by the Amaranthine Houses - a collection of powerful dwarven families that are locked in an eternal faction war. The Houses maintain strict control of the land both above and below the mountains. Travel is highly restricted, leaving only the neutral city of Zahar Bhuz open to outsiders.
The second range cuts north to east, and is known as the Icespire Mountains. The mountains themselves are wild and uncontrolled, teeming with dungeons and monsters aplenty. To visit them is a deadly prospect, but the rewards are tantalizing. To the north of the Icespire Range lies the Queendom of Weissfell, a powerful but largely isolationist nation said to be filled with unparalleled levels of ambient magic, eclipsing even that of The Sedes. 
Between the two ranges, sheltered from the worst of the cold, lies The Frost King's Vale. The vale is a cool temperate region filled with far more settlements than its neighbors. The area is technically under the rule of the Frost King, who has a palace in the great port city of Vale, but few have ever even seen the mysterious monarch.
The final region of Ausren lies to the far east. The Volstok ice shelf is split off from the main body of the region, but is similar enough in climate to still be considered part of Ausren. The subregion is controlled by a trio of independent city-states - Volungrad, Lenistok and Novgorod. The city-states, collectively known as the The Troynoye Metro, are not as wealthy as the traders of the vale or the Amaranthine Houses, but they still generate a healthy amount of capital by supplying the nearby nations of The Sedes with key metals and minerals. Their biggest exports are coal and lumber, which are harvested in abundance and shipped across the globe.

Key Locations

The Frost King's Vale
Queendom of Weissfell
Zahar Bhuz & The Amaranthine Houses
The Troynoye Metro