Icebank

In the middle north of Creation, halfway between the Inland Sea and the White Sea, at the confluence of the River of Stone and the Swiftwater, there sits the city of Icebank. At the dawn of the Age of Sorrows, an ancient fortress-manse on an island between the rivers drew fleeing Dragon-Blooded to the region. Today, Icebank has grown into a major centre of power for a small part of the world.   Icebank has made its name as a key point in the trade along the River of Stone. The forests near the city produce strong yet surprsingly light lumber, popular with shipwrights to the south. Three of Icebank's families still know the secrets of distillation, producing whiskey that sees export around the Inland Sea.   One of the most important tools in Icebank's arsenal is the citadel itself. The old citadel is an air manse of signifcant power, which produces a hearthstone that can freeze water around its bearer. In the manse sits a pedestal that greatly expands the stone's power, allowing to freeze both the Swiftwater and the River of Stone from bank to bank, making the rivers impassable. This has served both to defend Icebank from attack and to allow them control over trade along the rivers. It would be no exaggeration to say that this is the main source of Icebank's success.   Surrounding Icebank are its two rivers, the mountains that hold the rivers' headwaters, and a vast, dense forest. Upstream of Icebank live the people of the river clans, kin to most of the mortals in the city. In the depths of the forest, there are the bear tribes, beastmen who have lived alongside the Icebankers for as long as anyone remembers. High in the mountains sit cavernous mines, abandoned since the days of the Shogunate, and the glittering fairy court of Ice That Remembers, a monument to a long-lost place beyond the world. To the south lies the bustling seaport of Dugong's Rest, a Realm satrapy under the control of House Selir.