Iceflame Spire

Overview

Iceflame Spire is the seat of the Iceflame Queen, built inside a mountain at the far northern edge of Ardentis. From here she rules over Frost Giants, Fire Giants, and Stone Giants with absolute authority, directing constant pressure against the League of Dwarven Trade Cities.

The Iceflame Queen operates as an agent of the Lord of Deception — the negative aspect of the Keymaster — and her campaign is a key thread in the wider destabilization plan known as The Great Divide.

The Iceflame Queen — Origin

The Iceflame Queen is a Caligni: a descendant of humans who became trapped underground during the Age of Strife, driven beneath the surface by the Mother of Monsters' creatures and the frozen-wind calamities of the ancient world. Generations of isolation in the Ancient Paths transformed these people — pale skin, adapted to darkness, nourished on fungi and insects, practitioners of deep shadow magic. They prolonged their lives through dark, unholy rituals.

Deep in the Ancient Paths, the Caligni found the Lord of Deception — the negative aspect of the Keymaster — and forged a covenant with him.

The Iceflame Queen rose from the depths with a specific mission: to destroy the followers of both aspects of the Earth Mother — the Earth Mother and the Mother of Monsters alike. Destroying the followers of the Keymaster and the Dwarfather is a welcomed bonus, not the primary goal.

Rise to Power

• 4690 AR: Conquered the Stone Giant nation (formerly rulers of the marsh giants from the Iron Fortress). Drove the marsh giants into the Latan Swamp.
• Systematically subdued the Frost Giants and Fire Giants.
• 4716 AR: Crowned herself Queen of all Giants — Frost, Fire, and Stone. The displacement of the marsh giants upset the divine compact, pitting the Earth Mother and Mother of Monsters against each other again, and weakening the seal on the Temple of Primordial Evil.

Strategic Significance

Iceflame Spire is the command center for the giant kingdoms and a node in the Lord of Deception's long game. Iceflame's agents have operated across Ardentis: sabotaging Highport, emboldening slavelords, encouraging bandits on trade roads, and disrupting the divine compact with the Mother of Monsters.

Note on Name

The map labels this location as "Iceflame Spike" — this is a cartographic error. The correct name is Iceflame Spire.

Connections

• The North
• Tronk — primary defensive response to its presence
• Highport — Iceflame's agents enabled the slavelord takeover
• Latan Swamp — Iceflame's disruption expanded the Mother of Monsters' territory
• The Ancient Paths — origin of the Caligni