Map A.03 - Jotunheim

Arctic region reaching from 82.34°N south to 72.51°N. An obscure seafaring region, known only to a few civilised captains, whalers, who have dared venture this far into the Barents Sea. There is no sea route north of Rusin, the larger of two islands comprising the Realm of Jotunheim, for the Barents Sea is forever frozen; likewise, no ship can reach the Dandanmoth Islands, the presence of which is limited to myth. The only passage on the map between the Barents and the Kara seas is the Vimur River, a misnamed strait whose narrowest width is 660 yards. Most years, the strait remains frozen; access to the Kara is safest around the south end of Gusin Island, not shown on the map.

Also shown on the map is the northernmost tip of the Yamal Peninsula, extending north and south 430 miles. This land, and the Yavey Peninsula, are collectively a part of Biyetia.

Hexes are 20 miles in diameter. Total area depicted equals 366,450 sq.m.

Hydrographic Features

The silence of these great waters is intense. The northern regions, much of the year, are often eerily still, the ice so thick and so long-standing that it absorbs sound rather than carrying it. The occasional movement of a distant floe or the deep, resonant crack of shifting pressure is all that disturbs the quiet, aside from the wind itself. It is a sea that does not change with time but instead waits, a frozen void where the weight of the ice has kept all but the most determined from venturing too far. The sea beneath is a mystery, locked away by centuries of unmoving ice, unbroken save for the rare upheaval where shifting masses collide and reform.

Barents Sea

This far north, the sea is a frozen, inhospitable wasteland of ice-choked waters and treacherous winds. South of this latitude, some ships may find passage in late summer, but beyond this point, the sea hardens into a near-permanent mass of shifting pack ice, blocking all but the most fleeting of openings. The cold is unrelenting, and the dark months bring an expanse of desolation, where the ice groans under the weight of winter storms, and the wind howls across an ocean that is more land than water. The currents here, sluggish but unyielding, push and pull at the frozen mass, grinding floes together in a slow, relentless battle.

No ship can pass north of Jotunheim, for the Barents Sea is frozen to its depths, an unbroken field of ice that stretches beyond reckoning. It is said that whalers who venture too close in winter hear strange echoes upon the wind — sounds that do not come from the living. The wind never ceases, driving sheets of ice across the water, carrying with it the bitter scent of salt and the distant, hollow groaning of the pack.

Kara Sea

Likewise, the Kara at these latitudes is a desolate, ice-ridden expanse where the seasons offer little relief from the grip of the north. Even in summer, the extreme north remains a wilderness of broken floes, vast ice sheets, and drifting bergs that crowd together in an unending procession. The wind drives the ice into ridges and pressure walls, where fractured blocks are piled one upon the other, forming obstacles higher than a ship’s mast.

This region is shaped by the slow, grinding currents that move the ice westward, toward the Barents, but here the process is sluggish, hindered by the sheer volume of frozen water that remains in place year-round. Massive ice fields stretch for leagues, locked together in a jagged, impenetrable mass. Open water, when it appears, is fleeting—brief leads that snake through the frozen landscape, offering only temporary passage before closing without warning. The unpredictability of these movements makes this sea dangerous to all who would cross its northern edge. A ship venturing too far might find itself surrounded, trapped in ice that might not break for years at a time.

Jotunheim

Gusin & Rusin isls.

Two enlongated islands separated by the narrow Vimur "river," a continuation of the northern Ural Mountains. The surface is mostly rolling hills and hilly plateaus, with alpine mountains in the center and north. A permanent ice sheet covers much of Rusin Island, but the coasts are ice free. The highest mountain, Jötunn, rises 3,450 ft. The southern island carries less permanent ice. Vegetation is of the tundra range, while barren grounds are typical in the north. There are no trees. Cultivation of tundra soils is impossible.

Belyeye =

Belyeye Island is located in the south Kara Sea. It's covered by tundra, with some lichens, grasses and dwarf willow shrubs; reports have been confirmed that the island is occupied by quaggoths, primitive ape-like humanoids.

Provinces

Biyetia

The Haftsmark of Biyetia is the northernmost land of the Kingdom of Magloshkagok, a goblin realm in western Siberia. The Haftsmark is a military league of forts scattered south of the Kara Sea. The haftsmark is huge, covering 599.9 hexes, with a very sparse population of only 11,223; nearly every inhabitant is goblinish in race. Expanses of tundra are broken by the mouths of huge rivers (not shown on the map). A harsh climate, a permanently frozen subsoil and a sparse population preclude economic activities apart from hunting and fishing.

Jotunheim

The Realm of Jotunheim is a largely unknown frost giant land, existing as an alliance of three reclusive tribes. Some have confirmed that both cavewights and ogres dwell on the island as a subordinate class. Some tales of European states sending ambassadors to Jotunheim have been written, but these give little reason to believe their authors made the journey themselves. The realm is described as 72.1 hexes in size, with a population above 2,500 — though it is questioned how many of these are giants.

Adjacent Maps

A2: East Spitsbergen	A3: Jotunheim		A4: Kara Sea
B3: Yak'Margug		B4: Ob Gulf

See Sheet Maps