The Borealis Reach

Geography

The Borealis Reach covers a huge chunk of northern Aborea, running from the northern nation of Karine south past Munavri, Tannica, and Celadine to the Overcast Barrowlands. Originally a heartland of the great goblinoid empire, old goblin ziggurats occasionally dot the wide expanse of taiga and boreal forest in the Reach. Although warmer and more temperate to the south, the Reach is still always preternaturally chilly, perhaps due to the lingering wintry magic sitting over the region.

Fauna & Flora

Tainted by the shadowy influence of the Barrowlands and the court of the Unseelie, the natural life of the Borealis Reach is often bizarre and warped. While typical large animals of the latitude- such moose, saiga antelope, wolves, eagles, or bears- are common, their "dire" variants- larger, fiercer, and more dangerous- are found much more commonly in the Reach. In addition, many animals are warped and twisted by the potent magic in the area, leading to monstrous beings reminiscent of the Elder. Monstrous creatures with a proclivity towards living in colder climates are common as well, especially during the direly cold Borealis winters, as are magically altered plants that can often be just as dangerous.
The Reach during the summer is lush, although not in the same way as the equatorial tropics. Lots of rain and cool temperatures allow plants to thrive, supporting a tangled undergrowth only passable to the largest, cleverest, or most magically endowed travelers. During the winter, heavy snow and biting wind is sometimes avoidable via tree cover, but in the dark shadows of towering conifers hungry wintertime predators hunt.
The biggest threat in the Reach is the pernicious spread of the Unseelie Court. A loosely held together network of fey hierarchies, the Court is violent and enjoys seeing the deaths of mortal humanoids. Various Archfey rule domains in the Reach, blending seamlessly with their home realm of the Elder. Because of the instability in the planes in the area, these fey courts often create portals back to their homeland, creating traps where even practiced adventurers and explorers have difficulty making their way through the Reach's treacherous terrain without inadvertently ending up on another plane.

Natural Resources

Although home to prestigious lands for trapping, lucrative lumber, and possibly rich deposits of stone and metal, very few nations or people have ny desire to settle in the Reach. Dangerous fey and animals, as well as raiding parties from the southwest of the Barrowlands, make the Borealis Reach dangerous to live in. There are a few scattered humanoid settlements, of course, living in sturdy huts and cabins surrounded by barbed fences of cold iron and selling furs and wood where they can- although every year reports come in of another such trading settlement having disappeared without a trace.

Type

Forest, Boreal (Coniferous)

Location under

Aborea