Northhold

"Make no mistake, all of us here have dreams about moving to one of the big Cities. It can get awful lonely sometimes. However, I've been to the big Cities, and none of them - not even Bluerain - have anything so special as one of our ice gales. What's a life without ever feeling so cold you can't help but smile?"

-Northhold resident

Along the boundary that divides the familiar peace of the Inner Realm with the unknown danger of the Outer Realm lies four small towns, one at each of the cardinal directions. Each town was rediscovered shortly after the skyshattering and used to help cement the barrier between harnessed science and wild magic. Though small, all have a distinct atmosphere and feeling, and Northhold is perhaps the best known and the brashest of the four.

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Climate

As the name might suggest, Northhold is to the furthest north of the Inner Realm, hovering miles above the land of Siberia. Most of the humans wear heavy coats as a constant part of their wardrobe, and even dragons can sometimes feel the chill - especially when the town's characteristic icy gusts of wind come sweeping through the streets, occasionally bringing a few feet of snow. Although most residents can sometimes trick themselves into feeling refreshed instead of freezing when the wind comes, the town still has extra-large meeting forums for people to take shelter from the cold.

From Ghost Town to Small City

When charters discovered the dying edifices and frozen homes of Northhold in an expedition northward, they never intended for it to become revitalized and reinhabited. It looked, quite frankly, uninhabitable. It was only when they began to investigate further that they realized the secret of Northhold - it was home to a special family of fungus that had a defense mechanism of small pods that gave bursts of heat and energy when disturbed. The fungus somehow absorbed energy from both the northern lights and the strong northern gales of the town to pack into these little pods that it released when jostled, and the townspeople had apparently been using the pods as an energy source for years before eventually moving back to larger cities for protection during the Ashes War.

Of course, any new type of plant magic or energy source was a big deal for the sky, and both scientists and charters began to take up semi-permanent residences to study the fungi. Nursing the town's buildings back to life, families of these pioneers eventually moved in with them. And, when a way to safely harvest the defense pods was created, commerce offers were extended to the town. Suddenly, it had what every good town needs at least a little of: business value. In the space of two years, Northhold had become a quaint and mystical town, though most City dwellers describe the townspeople as brunt or brash.

"Funny - I'd say they're the rude ones, poking their noses into our business like we only exist to entertain the tourists. It's not easy living on the edge of the Inner Realm, or this far north, but that doesn't stop us from being nice to our communities. Doesn't mean we have to be perfectly pleasant to the visitors, though."

-Joshua Snowfang, Northhold resident

Dangers of the Frontier

As a village on the very edge of the Inner Realm, Northhold is subject to a few unique dangers - aside from its harsh climate. These include sudden malfunctioning of the oh-so-reliable magical dusts and powders other Skydwellers use at leisure, becoming subject to the whims of a mischievous passing ice sprites, and, most notably, the wild animal attacks.
In fact, Northhold is so close to the untamed magical creatures of the Outer Realm that the townspeople keep a constant guard for any attacks by griffins, rushspears, or even a stray water sprite.

"I can't believe I was so busy that I completely missed the griffin attack! I've been dying to see one of those! What's the point of living here if I don't get to see some griffin fights?!"

-Sasha, grumpy Northhold 12-year-old

Magic Mushrooms!

While cities grown from trees are a part of everday Skydweller life, Northhold is the only Skydweller town with mushrooms as a part of the ordinary scenery. The strain of mushrooms that inhabit the town, venficus Trisporus, are known not only for their energetic spore pods, but their healing properties and colorful bioluminiscence as well. The tallest of these mushrooms are almost six feet, making them taller than the average human and a bit below shoulder height of most dragons.