In the Northern wasteland, the river Torni marks the semi-official divide between territory claimed by the Sviar and that claimed by the Kvenir nomads. At the mouth of the Torni stands the island of Ulfsey, where outlaws known as vargar, “wolves,” have made a home for themselves, where the ulfhedhnar have made a thing of pride out of the name given them in scorn, and the cult of the wolf totem flourishes. Following the river north into the howling wilderness leads to the source of the river in Lake Tornathraesk, fed by frigid springs and streams. Few have traveled so far north, and folk say that only the mad would settle there.

     A little to the north of Lake Tornathraesk, there was blood on the snow. So much blood, blood everywhere. The...

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