Pohjola

World of Darkness: Original ~%~ St.Calenda's Wandering Pageant, Odeum & Lunar Fair ~%~ Avatar: The Godhead ~%~ Vanaheimr

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Seasons & Celebrations

The world of Pohjola has four seasons: Allbright (Summer), Lightfall (Autumn), Darkover (Winter) and Newlight (Spring).

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Geography

Cold Mountain

The abode of the Queen, Cold Mountain rises out of the Frostfell steppe like a swollen canker. Its summit is lost in the clouds which is wreathed by an unending storm and illuminated by constant lightning. Cold Mountain is one of the active vents of the volcanic activity in the region.

Wood of the Warm Lakes

The Wood is an extensive forest that lies halfway between Cold Mountain and Kyllikki town. It stretches a day in both directions and is thickest at its center where a string of volcanic lakes warms the land and game is abundant. At one end of the forest is the Gate of Karhu and at the other the Trapper's Settlement.

Frostfell Steppe

The Frostfell Steppe is extensive and stretches from the Untamola mountain range in the north to the grasslands of Sariola in the south, and from the Darkling Sea in the west to Cold Mountain in the east. The region is an ever shifting dessert of snow and ice without lasting landmarks and haunted by shades of the past.

In scattered places north of the lakes, there are humps of sandstone and basalt making travel sometimes difficult.

Most of the steppe is a basalt cap, with thin layers of black dirt and scabby moss growing on it. Ice continually scours it, but anywhere the ice isn't covering it, the ground under is hard from being frozen and the sharp shards of volcanic glass that erupt from it.

Tuonella River

The Tuonella river flows from here across and through the ice. Sometimes it plunges under the ice before re-emerging onto the rough basalt plain. The water is drinkable, though it has a strong metallic taste, with strong hints of sulfur. In places beautiful algae and river plants are clearly visible under the water. For the first few miles away from the wood the river steams with heat, as it gets to the edge of the plateau the water has edges of ice on it.

Eye of the Dragon

The only path off the plateau and down onto the fjord below is a narrow lava tube that was widened out to make a path. It opens on a narrow goat trail down the sandstone cliffs nearly 500 vertical feet along the distance of a mile. Nowhere along the path is wider than fifteen feet, with many less than five. The path is often coated in ice from the spew from the river falling below. Spectacularly beautiful in the sunlight, moisture and ice make the already dangerous path treacherous and slick. The roar of the river at the top becomes a soft growl as travelers reach the bottom.

The rocks at the bottom are littered with the bones of those who didn't make it up the path, frozen in a thin layer of ice. The Tuonella river flows serenely to the sea from here, it's depths black and cold in the shadow of the plateau.

Kyllikki: The Town of White-Harbor

Kyllikki or White Harbor lies at the mouth of the Tuonela river as it pours into the Darkling Sea. The town is surrounded by a forty foot tall defensive wall of ice. The town is home to many traders, fishermen, craftsmen and the Temple of Ahto, God of the Sea. On an island in the bay to the west of Kyllikki is a light-house formed entirely from ice.

The Darkling Sea

The Darkling Sea is an arctic ocean that stretches north and south of Pohjola and west to unknown lands.

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Known Gates from Pohjola

Gate of Karhu

The Gate of Karhu, otherwise known as the Gate of the Forefathers is located at one end of the Wood of the Warm Lakes. The gate itself lies unattended above a slowly decaying ice-ruins. The gate is formed from an ice-cave shaped like the head of a bear. Great-Bear cave extends underground deep within the permafrost. The gate originates in one of the galleries of Great-Bear cave, and the gate itself is a vertical pool of golden light that disgorges travelers, although this hasn't happened in centuries.

Originally, the Twelve Tribes of Karhu arrived via this gate and they build a temple to honor the spirit totem of Karhu who created the gate and save them from a terrible and now forgotten fate. A set of ice-stairs rises from the gate-gallery and slowly ascend through several other galleries until reaching the bear's mouth and the surface.

The opening to the outside, the cavern of the Bear's Mouth is carved from ice to look like the interior of a bear's mouth, filled with stalactites and stalagmites of ice that form the bear's teeth. From the creature's lower jaw a set of stairs formed from large flat blocks of ice form a slowly descending cascade of steps to the forest floor. On either side of the stairs are a dozen pairs of bear-shaped ice-sculptures that glow with golden light while the gate is active.

People

The Arvin-Parahj

These tribesmen move across the ice steppe regularly. They believe they came from the Gate of Karhu many generations ago. They use musk ox and mules for pack animals, but are often seen on foot moving in small groups. They are primarily hunters and fishermen, not staying in any one place too long. They will never be seen off the steppe, for they believe leaving it will lead to their eventual death and damnation.

Appearance

Their skin is bronzed, though they are normally covered almost completely in furs when on the Steppe. The men seldom get taller than 5'10", with wide shoulders and heavy chests. The women average around 5' tall, being of stocky build. Their eyes are a very light gold in color, being well adapted to the harsh glare of the ice and snow where they live.

Language

Arvin-Parahj speak a polysynthetic language, making learning it very difficult. Some have mastered parts of "Sea People speech", making them effective traders.