Ice Island is a forbidding, diamond-shaped prison fortress situated in the frigid northern waters near Tsaftown, accessible only over the frozen strait. Established in the late reign of King Haroun Livna, the island was chosen for its natural defenses: sheer cliffs, bitter winds, and surrounding seas thick with shifting ice floes. Few who attempt escape survive the crossing.
The prison was designed to hold not only common criminals but also political dissidents, traitors, and dangerous enemies of the crown. Its stone halls, hewn directly into the bedrock, are said to be as cold as the waters that encircle it. Accounts speak of vast subterranean corridors, cramped cells without light, and a great central keep where the warden maintains strict command.
Ice Island houses 300 of the vilest offenders in all Er’Rets. In the center, a tower called The Pillar stretches one hundred feet into the sky. Guards are posted on the roof of The Pillar at all times. There are two entrances to Ice Island: the Northgate and the Smokegate, the latter of which got its name from the dozens of smokestacks that cloud the sky. The Prodotez, the bottommost level of The Pillar, is the king’s personal prison.
Ice Island also operates two small forts on the coast. Cliffwatch and Stormwatch are responsible for monitoring from afar those who enter and exit the prison. Verdot Amal, the second son of the late Duke of Carm, Malbec Amal, was assigned the wardenship of Ice Island by the Council of Seven after King Axel’s death.
Due to its isolation, Ice Island has developed its own grim reputation. Guards and prisoners alike endure long winters, that thirteen years of Darkness only made worse. Though often condemned by reformers as inhumane, the fortress remains a vital arm of royal authority. For many in Tsaftown, the mere threat of banishment to Ice Island is enough to quell unrest.
The banner of Ice Island is an iron portcullis on a field of ice.
Verdot Amal, Warden of Ice Island
-his steward, Tom Raven
-his brother, Pinot Amal, Duke of Carm, deceased
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