Ice Barrens

The Ice Barrens Located at the top of the continent, the Ice Barrens is where the Troll River finds its's source in the melting glaciers. Small mammals inhabit rocky warrens. There are mountains in the center of the barrens that gradually give way to flatlands, to the North this ends up at the Great Western Sea; to the south they are sparsely forested with pine trees and border the Meadows.
One town is in the Ice Barrens. Located in the south western forest --home of the mages. The Great Western Sea is filled with ice floes and is difficult to traverse by ship, making exploration by other people nearly impossible. Tunnels have been dug into the ice by Trolls and they inhabit the land under the mountain, mining crystals that they trade the mages for food and supplies.
Weather in the Ice Barrens is dry and cold for much of the year. During the summer months, there is a brief period of thawing and rain and snow are not uncommon. Most of the inhabitants stay indoors during this weather, preferring the dry and cold to the moisture. In exceptionally bad years, the trolls will venture out to the mage town and take refuge there.
No crops can be grown due to the rocky nature and the cold but the Trolls are adept at gathering the lichen that sustains the small mammals and this is used in soups as far away as Kwentharp City and is considered a delicacy that improves male virality. The trolls don't care for it but have been known to pound it to a flour for baking. They are very careful with their harvesting however as the lichen is slow growing and the small mammals are dependent on it to live.
Far underneath the mountains is a lava flow. The heat makes it up the very bottoms of the mountains and the trolls have found a way to tunnel down to be able to forge tools.

Type

Desert, Ice