Frostkeep

The northernmost Ibanian settlement is structured around a dwarven castle known as Frostkeep. Locals are a mix of human and snow elves, with the surrounding Deepwood forest also having an elvish name Nurwenon. While the Duke of Frostkeep has pushed to expand the city, the local corps of snow elf rangers share a number of superstitions that keep the populace unmotivated. Among those superstitions are that of the Bitterwolf which according to myth emerges to take vengeance on loggers, and cannot be seen, caught, or injured. The increased number of deaths from apparent wolf attacks makes it difficult for the Duke to fully expel this belief.

Silwё

Overview

Frostkeep Duchy is home to the last remaining Silwё trees in Blimnor. Native to Ëa, Silwё Trees are tall, barkless, ancient trees whose wood, leaves, and sap are prized highly-prized in several industries. The location of the last few Silwё trees are a closely-guarded Secret, guarded by the Snow Elves of the North and Ibanic nobility alike. However, it is rumored that no more than two dozen adult trees remain. 

History

What few Silwё exemplars lie in Frostkeep do so thanks to the High-Elvish Botanist and Diplomat Narwyna Lordinen. Around 1500 TA, Lordinen successfully introduced some two hundred saplings to a variety of groves around the Deepwood. She feared that High-Elvish consumption of the precious trees was bordering on unsustainable, and hoped a redundant population of the trees would ensure their survival. Her concern proved prescient, but misplaced; While the High Elves of Ëa never farmed the trees to extinction, The Dwarvic Conglomerate destroyed every Silwё Tree in Ëa during their conquest of the island. 

Silwё trees, native to the milder climes of the High Elvish homeland, have failed to thrive in the much colder environment of Northern Ibania. The trees seem incapable of reproduction in Frostkeep, hence their dwindling numbers. However, what adult trees remain in the region seem capable of surviving, absent any negative intervention. Unfortunately, such interference has plagued the trees since their introduction to Ibania. Beyond the hostile climate, “Silwё Poachers” trundle through the dense deepwood, looking for trees they can uproot and process for profit. Indeed, the sale of a single tree can mean many decades of income for a lucky poacher. While most remaining trees are closely guarded by Snow Elvish Tribal Leaders, such stewardship is no guarantee of safety. Chieftain Rylar Olaine sold 5 adult trees to be logged and process to fund his war against the lords of Cerdia in 2102 TA. in the fourth age, the future of the remaining Silwё trees remains highly uncertain. Some clippings have been sent to The University of Sparklek Botany Department for study, but no new viable seedlings have yet been produced. Without a significant breakthrough, it seems likely that the trees will become extinct not long into the Fourth Age. 

Uses

Silwё Trees have myriad uses in Elvish life, though some seem to have depended on High Elvish Magics now lost to time. However, its viable contemporary uses include:

1. Architecture: While it would be far too expensive to use as lumber, Silwe wood is often used as pegs for joinery, as it will readily fuse with other woods into extremely strong structures. Furthermore, Silwё leaves are the strongest-known base for roof thatching, being naturally hydrophobic. 

2. Fletching: One Elvish Magic that has survived the High Elvish Genocide is “Silwё Singing”, or the ability to sing Silwё branches into highly strong, customizable shapes and sizes to make the most sought-after bows and arrows in the world. Precious few Silwё Singers remain in Blimnor in the Fourth Age, though they are happily mostly located in the woods of Frostkeep Duchy.

3. Religious Rites: The Roots and lower Flesh of Silwё trees is highly fragrant and is processable into an incense much prized by Elvish and Ibanist priests alike.

4.  Medicine: The Sap and Leaves of Silwё Trees possess medicinal properties, though many of its uses are lost to time. Today, Silwё sap is processes in a topical unguent highly effective at treating abrasions, while Silwё Leaf Tea is known as an effective sleep aid. 

5. Unknowns: The High Elves of Ëwenach were gifted Silwё Singers beyond the talents of Snow Elves in the Fourth Age. They were known for their ability to sing entire villages into the canopy of a single, great tree, coaxing the growing trunk and branches to form cavities in its body where homes could be built.