Winter River
A glacier-fed river to in the far north of Egg Island it flows westward to the ocean. In winter it is often frozen to a depth of one or more feet and safe for man or beast to walk upon. In the late spring through early autumn, it flows frigid and fast and only a fool or the desperate would brave its waters. Usually a milky white in color, it resembles, even it its liquid state, the color of the the looming glaciers that spawn it.
The water is fresh and very clean despite its milky color, but it is wise to strain it through a cloth before consuming as it can carry whatever debris the glacier that feeds it may have collected over the centuries. It also wise to allow it to warm a bit as drinking it at its native temperature has a tendency to make teeth and brain ache.
Like most cold places, the air is crisp and clean and can freeze your nose hairs if inhaled too deeply.
During the winter months the ice on the river freezes, beginning with a thin very clear layer. If conditions are just right the ice will remain clear even as it thickens so the river remains visible down to the riverbed. This is rare, but those living in the one community on the river, Foolshope enjoy the view and will sometimes drill holes in the ice to do some ice fishing, although the catch is usually very low.
The river is not navigable except very near the mouth where it enters the western sea. Being the child of glaciers, the terrain around it in most places is very rocky, as boulders are dropped when the glacier could no longer carry it. The stones are quite smooth, being tumbled for thousands of years by the ice.
Sometimes one can find bits of treasure in the river, the Ice oyster disturbed from their glacial home and settling into the river. Some will pan for gold that has been ground out of the rocks of the Dragonbone Mountains and carried by ice and water to settle in the river. While precious, the results are so limited that it's never drawn a large number of people to try their luck, the conditions are too harsh for most to endure more than a few months.
Geography
It is unknown whether there is a source deep in the Dragonbone Mountains for this river, or if the entire flow of water comes from the melt water of the glaciers that abut the mountains and fill the valleys in this farthest north portion of Egg Island Regardless, it is fast, freezing, and ferocious in the short season where it flows freely.
Ecosystem
Frozen for much of the year, what life exists is mostly dormant.
Life flourishes for a few short months from late spring through early autumn, plants that can grow quickly, flower, fruit and distribute their seeds with a very short growing season. Many plants are broad leaved to catch the long hours of summer sun, but quick to curl up as the sun vanishes and the temperatures drop.
Animals are either massive to have enough bulk and fat stores to survive dormancy during the winter, or small and quick to find the limited food options during the winter months.
Fish come upstream in the fall to spawn, some few species go mostly dormant in the winter, burrowing into the soil or gravel of the river bed while the ice above is thick and food non-existent.
Insects are both prey and predator in the relatively warm summer, feeding fish as well as other insects and spiders, while tormenting any creature with blood to feed upon, be it man or animal.
Fauna & Flora
A river where ocean fish come to spawn in the autumn the fishing is very good in those few weeks. The eggs dropped by the fish are also a food source to other fish and some of the land creatures such as bear and fox and the few humans who choose to live along its banks.
Insects are dense during the summer months, the primary food source for the fish and other insects as well as migratory birds and bats. These are mostly flying insects, but some beetles also burrow out of the thawed soil to eat, breed, lay eggs, and die.
All birds are migratory, some seagulls move inland during the summer to gobble up the insect life and snag the migrating fish. Raptors also make a meal of the fish and harry smaller birds and small mammals such as rabbit and voles.
There are a few small mammals, rabbits, and voles and well as small foxes that prey on them. The largest mammal is the brown bear, an omnivorous creature that eats fish, berries, and most anything it can find or catch. They are the biggest living threat to the residents of Foolshope and the reason they have walls and gates and watchtowers around the settlement.
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