Gazetteer of the Grey: The Ymirian Glacier

Out of Ymir's flesh was fashioned the earthAnd the ocean out of his bloodOf his bones the hills, of his hair the treesOf his skull the heavens high

These peaks of blue ice thrust up from the chill wasteland of Niflheim. Legend says they were formed by the frozen blood of Ymir, progenitor-giant of Norse myth, which was spilled by the first Powers of that pantheon; his blood froze in mid-splash as it hit the Grey Waste, creating jagged blue glaciers with points as sharp as razors.

The Ymirian Glaciers are home to reclusive frost giant priests, who cut idols from the ice in honour of their murdered forbearer and mine its cracks and crevasses for seams of frozen ettir. Both products are shipped to the Astral Plane in attempts to resurrect the Great Giant’s corpse (sometimes with the blessing of the frost giant Power Thrym and sometimes against it). Aside from its religious significance, the glaciers are also the final resting place of many famous frost giant jarls, laid to rest in palatial tombs of ice. Nearby stands the citadel of Froregaard, a frost giant temple dedicated to their fallen progenitor and the final revenge of his descendants against the gods. The ice-frescos of Froregaard contain some of the most detailed pictoral acounts of the twighlight of the gods, and more than a few sages believe that codes contained within the images reveal teh secrets of when and where the end of Odin's brood will come.

Adventure Hook

The giants protect their sacred site jealously, but a few planars manage to call kip there as well: Demonic raiders from the realm of Kostchtchie sometimes assail them, for the Abyssal Lord hates all giants who follow Thrym (and any other Power for that matter).

More recently, bands of enterprising frost dwarves have invaded the glacier, taking iron-hard ice and ettir – and well as stolen grave goods - back to the Plane of Ice. The giants are at war with their new neighbours, with no quarter asked or given. Demand for mercenaries has gone out from both sides in the conflict: The dwarves need strong allies against the giants, while the giants need someone small enough to crawl into the narrow dwarfish tunnels.