Two hundred miles south of the northern border of Icereach lies Icewall Castle. The castle lies at the peak of a monstrous cliff, hundreds of feet above the glacier. One of the main features of the castle is a huge watchtower, which rises two hundred feet above the structure, and serves as a lookout over a vast area of Icereach.
The entrance towards Icewall Castle is done via scaling a vertical crevasse in the ice, which leads upwards towards the castle courtyard. Prior to reaching the courtyard is an area known as the "Secret Way", which is a series of caves that led to a treasure cave. Other than this cave, the castle is divided between the Lower Reach and the Upper Reach.
The Upper Reach contains the remaining parts of the original castle, which chiefly comprise of the courtyard and surviving buildings. Whereas the Lower Reach is a series of ice and stone carved tunnels that were either naturally formed by ice movements or created by the denizens of the castle in the Age of Despair.
History of Icewall Castle[]
Prior to the Cataclysm, the fortress was known as Summerbane Castle and was used as a keep and a lighthouse that stood on a great cliff that overlooked the sea. Located on an island south of Tarsis, its beacon fires would guide ship to Tarsis, and also were used to warn of enemy ships approaching. After the Cataclysm, the sea receded leaving the island surrounded by land.
When the sea froze over, the castle became stranded in the ice and was abandoned. Since then, many of the walls have collapsed and the castle fell into a state of somewhat disrepair, although many of the original buildings remained intact. Several centuries prior to the War of the Lance, a Dragon Orb was hidden in the castle walls, in the hopes that it would remain free from dark forces.
Age of Despair[]
In the Age of Despair, Icewall Castle was home to the powerful White Dragon Sleet and was the base of the White Dragonarmy. Whilst the infamous Dragon Highlord Feal-Thas was killed in the castle during the War of the Lance, Sleet and the White Dragonarmy remnant forces remained in the area.
Age of Mortals[]
During the early part of the Age of Mortals, Icewall Castle was overrun by the frigid conditions of Icereach and encased in the vast glacier of the region. The castle was utilised by the Dragonlords Cryonisis and Frisindia in the Age of Mortals, as a storehouse for their treasures and a base for their skull totems. The twin dragons allowed their humanoid servants to inhabit the castle to guard their hoards. A number of Thanoi and a garrison of Sivak Draconians are based in the castle walls, led by the fearsome sivak draconian Franatik.
At this time, there are also a particularly large clutch of white dragon eggs located underneath Icewall Castle, that are guarded by the white dragon Crystal-Ice.
Kender Tales[]
This castle originally was thought to have been Brackenrock from pre-Cataclysmic times. Through research though, Brackenrock was found to have been almost straight south of Silvanost, while Icewall Castle is south of the Plains of Dust.
Sections of Icewall Castle[]
- Animal Pens
- Chamber of the Dragon Highlord
- Courtyard
- Egg Room
- Fountain of Habakkuk
- Icicle Room
- Remorhaz Room
- Sleet's Pantry
- Sleet's Lair
- Treasure Room
References[]
- Age of Mortals (Sourcebook), p.158-159
- The Atlas of the Dragonlance World, p.54-56
- Dragonlance Campaign Setting, p.153-154, 187
- The Dragons of Chaos, "Icewall", p.318, 327
- DL6: Dragons of Ice, p.21-24
- Dragons of the Highlord Skies (PB) p. 138, 148-155, 165-173, 459, 518-528
- The Magic of Krynn, "Finding the Faith", p.227-255
- War of the Lance (Sourcebook), p.100, 182-183
- Wings of Fury, "Book 1", p.79