Introduction to the Far North & Icewind Dale

The Far North
The Far North is dominated by the Spine of the World, a range of skyscraping, snow-covered peaks. These extend toward the Sword Coast, which forms the western edge of the great continent of Faerûn and stretches southward for thousands of miles. Ships and roads lead southbound travelers to a number of bustling ports along the Sword Coast, including the following strongholds of civilization:

Luskan, the City of Sails, is home to pirates as well as the Hosttower of the Arcane (headquarters of the Arcane Brotherhood

Neverwinter, the City of Skilled Hands, is slowly being rebuilt after it was nearly destroyed by the eruption of Mount Hotenow;

Waterdeep, the City of Splendors, is a seaside metropolis where people from all walks of life gather behind high walls.

Icewind Dale
North of the Spine of the World and west of the towering Reghed Glacier is a frigid expanse few dare to explore, let alone inhabit. This icy land of windswept tundra recently became locked in a perpetual, dark winter without reprieve. Auril the Frostmaiden, the divine embodiment of winter’s fury, has withdrawn to this cold corner of the world to live among mortals. Further, she has cast a terrible spell over Icewind Dale, to the detriment of most of its denizens.
A quickly spreading legend holds that, each night before midnight, Auril takes to the sky on the back of a white roc and weaves her spell, which manifests as a shimmering curtain of light—a beautiful aurora that illuminates the night sky and fades before dawn. This powerful magic prevents the next day’s sun from rising above the horizon, turning midday into twilight and trapping Icewind Dale in winter’s dark embrace, with no sunlight or warmth to melt the snow and ice. Her divine power barricades the mountain pass with blizzards and churns the Sea of Moving Ice with blistering winds. Such measures discourage travelers from approaching or leaving Icewind Dale, further isolating the region. Icewind Dale has thus been trapped in a different reality from the rest of the world, for though the sun never rises over the dale, it continues to rise everywhere else.
The people of Icewind Dale know Auril’s wrath when they feel it, and they have a name for the unending winter she has inflicted on them. They call it the Everlasting Rime. No one understands why the Frostmaiden has imposed her will in this way or why the other gods refuse to challenge her. This prolonged winter, which has gone on for more than two years, threatens to doom not just the flickering lights of civilization known as Ten-Towns but also the indigenous flora and fauna that need sunlight and the change of seasons to survive.
Not all creatures are discouraged by what has transpired north of the Spine of the World. The long nights and sunless days are a blessing to evil-doers and those who would take personal advantage of the people's misery, that is, until they feel the righteous wrath of those who choose to protect the Dale and its inhabitants!