Glacier's Reach

Glacier’s Reach forms the immense frozen expanse directly south of Emerald Scar. Unlike the still plains of the far north, this region is in constant motion — groaning ice sheets, shifting frozen ridges, and sudden blizzards that appear without warning.

But what makes Glacier’s Reach truly terrifying is not its cold, nor its storms… but the thing that moves beneath it.

A Unique Danger: The Tidemaw Colossus 

Every culture in northern Illdoridri tells the same story — a myth whispered by sailors, hunters, and caravan guides: 

 “The ice in Glacier’s Reach is alive.” 

The truth is worse. 

The entire region sits atop an enormous subglacial cavern system, carved not by water or magma, but by the movements of a massive, ancient creature known only as the Tidemaw Colossus. Some believe the barrier around Emerald Scar is not meant to keep people out — but to keep the Tidemaw Colossus from entering the forest.

WHAT IS THE TIDEMAW COLOSSUS? (LEGENDS VARY)

• A primordial ice leviathan older than the Sanctums 
• A remnant of the world before Aetherion’s shaping 
• A guardian beast created to keep something imprisoned 
• A living glacier — a creature of shifting ice and crushing weight 
• A forgotten elemental spirit driven half-mad by ages of confinement 

SIGNS OF THE COLOSSUS’ PRESENCE

• Tremors that ripple across the plains 
• Fissures opening and sealing within minutes 
• Massive “breathing” sounds beneath the ice 
• Frost patterns forming in spirals or runes 
• Entire camps disappearing overnight 
• Waves under the ice like something turning in its sleep Travelers call these movements “The Deep Stirring.”