The Ether

"If something really does live all the way up there... shouldn't we just leave it alone?" - Overheard in a Sverden drinking hall

The Ether was a vast, icy sea north of Beurum.

Geography

The sea was considered by most to be an upper limit of the known world, with most expeditions that ventured northwards either not returning or failing due to freezing storms or other inhospitable conditions. Knowledge of the Ether was limited for these reasons, and most information about it existed in the form of Sverden folklore. What was known for certain was that, for at least 100 kilometers north of the coastline, the Ether consisted of small, frozen islands, icebergs, and open ocean. Trading parties had to follow the coastline closely, so as not to get lost in the area's fog and stormy weather.
Despite the hostile nature of the region, the islands of the Ether were known to be inhabited at various points. During the First Era, bands of Frost Dwarves, known to the Sverden as Jetega, lived in ice huts and fished as a means of surviving. The origins of the Jetega were uncertain; though the Sverden claimed that they existed before their own arrival in the Makovai Mountains and Sverdenland, it is possible that the Jetega were merely an offshoot of the Sverden.
During the Third Era, Sverden sea captain Rurikk Hulls made an expedition through the Ether. One of the few to go beyond a hundred kilometers north of the coast and make it back, he reported that the far reaches of the Ether were inhabited by various groups of water genasis, who were hostile and refused to converse with him. He labelled these individuals as the "Yurge" after returning from his trip.
In the Fourth Era, the High Kingdom of Beurum funded a large expedition to explore the Ether. Its leader, captain Hannah of Praedek, reported that the Yurge still existed. She wrote that she was able to make contact after a process of defusing tensions. According to her, the Yurge lived on the edge of an elemental plane, controlled by a sky god named Klietops. Klietops governed the Yurge and was concerned with preserving the freezing climate of the Ether, as a means of stopping the evil spirits of the overworld from seeping into his realm. Hannah of Praedek also reported that, some time after Hulls' expidition, the Jetega had been enslaved by and risen up against the Yurge, but ultimately failed and were mostly wiped out.
Hannah of Praedek's credibility was disputed by the time of the Fifth Era. While some were convinced of her truthfulness, others saw her claims as a way to build fame for herself. Some scholars even claimed that the Yurge did not exist at all, having been made up by Hulls, who confused them with the Jetega. Whatever was true, interest in exploring the Ether had declined by the Fifth Era, since the Twenty-Year War left little funding for such pursuits.