The Crystal Palace of Edyn
The Crystal Palace of Edyn is a grotto cave system deep in the mountain of Edyn in An Gra. The Crystal Palace is one of the oldest known soul stone mines, and also the closest to the surface at only 300 feet down at its nearest point. It also has a heavily contested and bloody history.
Fresh water flows down through the caves from the mountains and micro fissures allow ground water to filter into the caves from above, encasing the stone walls in icy formations. In chambers that contain soul stone veins, it causes these ice formations to glow, casting an eerie ambient light.
The cave system as a whole can be accessed via two potential methods. The main entrance has been artificially leveled and enlarged, and descends into the caves via stepped ramp. The second is a narrow chimney shaft through the rock, known only to locals and local clans, which lets into one of the upper chambers.
Owing to past conflicts, the Crystal Palace is not actively being mined for its soul stones as part of a treaty with the local orcish clans of Zuruk and Whuqsu, who consider the Crystal Palace a sacred space.
Several of the deepest chambers, which maintain the most consistent temperature, have surviving ice sculptures from orcish occupation prior to human and elvish mining efforts.
Geography
The full extent of the cave system is unknown. In many of the chambers, it is almost impossible to tell where there may be openings to even further chambers that are currently concealed behind the thickness of the ice. Accessibility to some of the chambers also varies dependent upon seasonal changes. An unusually warm summer might bring unexpected treasures to light. Conversely, deeper winters cause thicker formations.
Many older formations still show damage from past incursions and mining efforts.
Ecosystem Cycles
The Crystal Palace is close enough to the surface that it is mildly affected by seasonal weather, especially any unusually warm spells. If the caves become warm enough, the ice formations begin to melt, changing their configurations. During these times, the water filtering in from the ground above may also be warm enough that it does not immediately freeze upon landing on the ice below, further affecting the shapes of the formations, and raising the level of liquid water in the grotto. This tends to be rare, however, as the ground itself insulates the ambient temperature of the cave system.
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