Overview
The Pale is the northern ice cap of Voxana. It covers the planet’s northern extremity as a massive, ancient ice sheet sitting atop ocean and, in some areas, buried land. It is the most remote, most inhospitable, and least known region of the planet.
Dimensions
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Core ice sheet (permanent, year-round) | North of ~80°N; ~700 mi radius from pole |
| Seasonal maximum (winter) | Extends to ~72–75°N; overlaps deep Frozen Wastes |
| Seasonal minimum (summer) | Retreats to ~78–80°N |
| Ice thickness (core) | 1–2 miles |
| Ice thickness (margins) | Hundreds of feet, thinning toward edges |
| Estimated area (winter) | ~3,000,000 sq mi |
| Earth comparison | Comparable to Earth’s Arctic ice cap |
The Transition: Frozen Wastes to the Pale
| Zone | Distance from Frostgate | Conditions |
|---|---|---|
| Southern Wastes | 0–150 mi | Tundra. Ground thaws in summer. Nomadic tribes range here. Hardy wildlife. Ruins visible. |
| Central Wastes | 150–350 mi | Permafrost. Ground never thaws. Vegetation limited to lichen and Frostbloom. Tribes pass through. |
| Deep Wastes | 350–600 mi | Approaching permanent ice. Flat, featureless. Nomadic tribes’ absolute limit. Auroras in winter. |
| Pale margin | 600–800 mi | Permanent ice begins. No land features. Navigation without magic nearly impossible. |
| Pale core | 800+ mi | Deep ice cap. Unknown. Unreachable by known means. |
What Is Known
Almost nothing. The Frozen Wastes are Osan’s frontier; the Pale is beyond even that. Knowledge comes from three sources.
The nomadic tribes of the Frozen Wastes have oral traditions describing what they call the White Beyond — a place where ground becomes sky and the wind never stops. Southern scholars treat these as legend. The tribes insist they are literal accounts from ancestors who ventured too far north.
Nin’Durahl’s deep archives contain pre-Split mining surveys that reference “the Pale Crown of the World” as a known geographic feature, suggesting the dwarves had a broader understanding of planetary geography than modern civilizations retain.
Astronomers in Zumora and Runeswick have calculated from star positions and shadow angles that Voxana is a sphere with a cold northern extremity. The existence of a polar ice cap is accepted as theoretical fact by educated people. No one has seen it.