Most of the north is covered in a glacier. There are a couple points of interest.

1. Lake Post
2. Twilight Forest
3. Pine Bluff Mine
4. Witherwoods
5. The Great Glacier
6. Volcanic Vale

Lake Post

Small trading post on the north shore of the lake. During the winter the lake freezes over and the boats are put on giant ice skates and are pulled by trained polar bears.

Most of this town services the local lumber industry, fur trade, and ice trade. There are a variety of bars, inns, taverns, and boarding houses for the trappers, traders, and sailors constantly coming in and out of town.

There is also a vibrant dog breeding industry, as dog sled is a popular method of travel.

Twilight Forest

West of the lake is a mostly pine forest home to all sorts of exotic animals. The trees up here are big and grow fast in the summer. Timber is the second largest industry up here behind exotic furs.

The foothills of the mountains have also yielded mineable metal deposits. In that area, there are a couple small clusters of buildings that resemble pop up frontier towns from any goldrush, but most don’t last more than a couple years before moving on to the next big strike.

The closer you get to Lake Post the more homesteads there are. Summertime the main priority is growing enough hay and feed grains to get your animals through the harsh winters. Sheep and shaggy goats are the main farm animals, but some raise foxes or minx.

Near the lake shore are stands of maple trees that are used to make syrup, which has become popular in recent years. Fishing and crabbing are also common trades amongst the inhabitants along the lake shore.

Pine Bluff Mine

Once the largest gold strike in the known world but depleted long ago. The abandoned mining town has long since been taken over by the pirates that prey on trade vessels going across the lake.

The shape of the mountains and the position on the lake creates a more temperate climate than the surrounding area making for decent farming and hunting.

Witherwoods

Harsh winds off the great glacier constantly buffet the spindly conifers, stripping their needles, pinecones, and small branches. As a consequence, the center of this forest is very dense with trees, where the edges of the forest the trees are barely alive, spikes coming out of the ground with hardly any green left on them. The trees that survive end up with extremely strong trunks. Their wood is especially prized by artificers for its magical conducting properties.

The game and foraging are scarce. The few inhabitants are grizzled and weather beaten. There is no civilization, no community, just a few hermits here and there.

The Great Glacier

North of the lake, anyplace that is pure white, is a giant glacier. Not much lives there. Occasional yeti or ice dragon.

It is extremely dangerous to explore there so there isn’t much known about the area.

Volcanic Vale

Isolated across the glacier, unknown to the Lake Post trappers and prospectors to the south, is a ring of volcanos melting through the mile thick glacier. Inside this valley is a tropical paradise with hot springs and geothermal vents keeping the interior a humid rainforest. The arrangement of the volcanos and the concentration of metals in the magma inside them focuses the power here as well.

The tropical paradise is ruled by a god king who has built a palace/temple on the hot spot where the power is most concentrated. He has used this power to extend his life by hundreds of years.

A rigid caste system is maintained based on how high up the gorge you live. Down at the bottom where it is warmest are the elite, at the top where it is cold are the peasants.

Anyone from the outside who finds this place never wants to leave, as even the peasants live better than anyone for 1000 miles around. If they try to leave, they are ritually sacrificed, so that helps keep their secret as well.