Flora and Fauna of the Lost City of Frørholm
1 year ago
Saul | WarbossKurgan
By Vala Edrasdottír, Adventurer and Natural Historian
Part I: The Surface
Foreword
Greetings once again, my devoted readers. Having parted from my home city of Barak-Drak on less than friendly terms for the second time in my life, I have returned to my preferred lifestyle: I am once again a vagrant scholar. My travels have been aided significantly by my newfound friend Kladi II. Though I miss Kladi, my erstwhile pet ironscale pangolin, dearly, she is growing old, and I think rather enjoys the pampering she receives from Barak-Drak’s admiral. Kladi II is a much different beast to her predecessor, serving as both companion and transportation. She is the largest and most intelligent member of the metalithodon subspecies I have discovered, big enough for me to have built a mobile research station upon her stone head. Indeed, I find myself tempted to refer to her as a megalithodon instead, but alas, the taxonomy is getting crowded already. Beyond her size and her ability to float through the air at remarkable speed for her size, she has developed rudimentary psychic communication, a development that I had predicted may occur upon first observing the subspecies’s mutation from the dimwitted lithodon during the bleed event in Lahar. This communication currently doesn’t advance much beyond understanding which direction I wish to go, asking for treats, and the occasional declaration of fondness, but I have high hopes that her mental acuity will continue to grow as her mutations progress. But I have prattled about myself long enough, something I am evidently prone to, as my former partner was most fond of pointing out.
My adventures have brought me to a most remote and remarkable corner of the Realms: The frozen city of Frørholm. Though the place may seem barren and lifeless at first glance, there is a plethora of unique life here, both on the frozen surface and within the caverns below, or so it is said. Those of my readers with a particularly academic bent may have read of the legendary Lichen Pit, the fabled cavern beneath Frørholm where the ice that wreaths the surface has not touched. Indeed, it is said that there is some power deep within, a wellspring of life that has led to the proliferation of a unique subterranean biome. Most who have attempted to enter the Pit have done so in search of this Source, fabled to heal both body and soul, or even to grant eternal youth. I seek only to document the unique life contained within.
I came to Frørholm upon hearing myriad rumours that the ice that has held the city in stasis for centuries has begun to melt. I thought this the ideal time to search for a newly uncovered entrance to the Lichen Pit, but have arrived to find the city in turmoil. Myriad warbands and raiders shed blood across the ancient city in search of some sword held within. It is more than unlikely that this has any connection to the Lichen Pit, but it does make exploration difficult. A few have even taken pot shots at poor Kladi II as I have surveyed the city, so I have had to leave my mobile research station offshore, using my borrowed aether dirigible from Barak-Drak instead, at great cost to my dwindling fuel supplies. Thus far I have not found any sign of the mythical Pit, but I have noted numerous species upon the surface unique to Frørholm. I feel deeply sorry for each and every one of them, their habitat thawing and overrun by invaders, and I worry that my study may be something of a final testament to these remarkable species.
Frostbite Troggoth
The icy troggoths that inhabit the island of Frørholm are unique in that, unlike their more common cousins found across the Realms, they are not content to remain sedentary for any prolonged period of time (unless, of course, to take a nap. They are still troggoths, after all.) Rather, they are migratory creatures who use their frozen anatomy to their advantage by simply walking across the open waters of the ur-river, as water freezes solid beneath their feet. Standing slightly larger than an average troggoth, they possess stony skin and radiate a chill powerful enough to cause the rapid onset of frostbite in any who approach them. Moisture that collects on their hide quickly turns to ice and creates a frightening visage of a crystalline beast. Shards of ice slough from them as they move, and they are surrounded by a diamond mist of razor-sharp ice slivers as they freeze the very air about them. Frostbite troggoths are not any more aggressive than their warmer kin; indeed, they are possibly even less so, their frozen brains functioning at an even more glacial pace than most troggoths. Despite this, they are formidable opponents in combat, their ability to turn even the sharpest blade brittle upon contact rendering most weapons less than useless against them. I fear little for this particular species’s survival. Their ability to migrate across the Ur-River means they will likely be able to reach the far shores, and their innate abilities should stand them in good stead upon the mainland. Indeed, I worry more for the species they will come in contact with once driven from their island home.
Squigcicle
Originally the offspring of the common cave squig, these creatures have adapted to the raw magic and unnatural ice that covers Frørholm, becoming a truly formidable ambush predator. With the ability to freeze themselves to any surface and slow their biological functions to a crawl, these squigs can wait in the same spot for days or even weeks for their next meal to appear. They cling motionless to the ceilings of caves and ruined buildings, disguised as simple icicles, only their tiny, peering eyes giving any indication that they are not what they seem. Once prey has been spotted, the squigcicle will use its powerful legs to break free of its frozen grip and launch mouth first at whatever poor soul that has gained its attention. Worse is the fate of one directly below one of these predators, for they are likely to be painfully impaled upon the razor sharp icicle growing from its back. If its icicle breaks, the squigcicle need only regain its perch and wait for it to naturally reform as time passes. I have little hope for these remarkable creatures as the city thaws, their ability to form their characteristic icicles stifled by the warming temperature, along with their camouflage becoming less and less useful as the ice recedes.
Crystal Lotus
These striking, black-petaled lotuses grow not in water like their common cousins, but directly from the ice, drawing from the magical energy imbued within. Their petals are so rimed with frost that, by all appearances, they seem to be no true flower at all, but rather a feat of fanciful glasswork. This is of course not the case, but crystal loti are highly prized relics for those few who have ventured into Frørholm seeking its treasures, selling for remarkably high prices despite the difficulty of their maintenance outside the frozen city. They are not merely prized for ornamentation, however, for they are, each and every one, wellsprings of magical power in their own right. They draw their energy from the raw magic that freezes Frørholm, as previously stated, and hold it in condensed form within themselves. They can be tapped for energy by skilled wizards, making them even more desirable. Rare even before the thawing, crystal loti are already on the verge of extinction at the time of my arrival in Frørholm, their habitats receding rapidly, along with plunderers taking what few survive for their own ends. I have recovered a single specimen myself, and have placed it in an aether-powered stasis pod back in my research station. I could likely sell it for more aether gold than I have seen in my life, but I shall not. My duty is to the preservation of the natural world, not its plundering.
Forge Hound
A curious beast indeed, and much different to the others that I have documented so far, is the forge hound. The old tales of Frørholm tell of a legendary forge at its centre, and little better evidences this than the raw elemental fury of these creatures. Appearing to emanate from the westernmost reaches of the city, they seem to be little more than mindless beasts, taking the form of flaming, ethereal wolves. Their behaviour is remarkably simple: they run aimlessly about until their heat fades and their magic dissipates, lashing out at anything that crosses their winding path. There does not appear to be any pattern to their ramblings, and I wish I had more time to confirm that this is the case, but the warbands that contest the island rapidly approach the forge hounds’ breeding ground, and I fear they do not have long. I debated whether to even include the forge hound in this study, for it is debatable if it is even any type of fauna at all, possibly being a mere elemental power in the shape of a beast. I decided to document them regardless, however, as they are truly fantastical, and I have seen little else like them during my many travels.
Augur Raven
Many landmarks across Frørholm are named for corvid birds, and it seems that they were once both abundant across the isle and culturally significant. Few of their ancestors now remain, primarily represented by the augur ravens that call the city home. These birds appear largely indistinct from their common cousins save for their enormous eyes which sparkle with the light of Azyr. How they came to be suffused with celestial power is a mystery, but it has given them a remarkable power of foresight. This usually manifests in flocks of augur ravens converging on a place where something is likely to die in the near future, or nesting in areas that won’t see any kind of upheaval or disaster. They have become prized familiars for celestial mages, however, as their connection to Azyr and powers of foresight can be used to augment the bearer’s own. They have therefore been prized targets for poaching for a long time, and already many have been captured or killed during the present conflict, in spite of their remarkable powers of prediction. Augur Ravens notoriously do not breed in captivity, so I fear I am witnessing the last generation of these incredible birds.