The frozen island had three names. Each were easily coined but not very original. To the Pharine villagers who were born and raised on its icy shores, hunted in its wind woods, and explored the heights of its thorny mountains, it was known as Heightsland. It was an apt name for a small thorn in the sea. Only two miles from the greater isle of Darenger, this tiny spec of rock stands tall amid misty shores and intensely thick fog. 

Three settlements exist on Heightsland. Near its southern tip, nestled in between a valley of mountains and a clustering wood, the small village of Inner Knot rests in seclusion. Inner Knot is hard to find, and even harder to access. Only a single small stream flows toward it from the greater ocean. Its continued isolation has bred a citizenry that are fiercely independent, and self sufficient. Many of its residents mine the raw ores in the surrounding mountains, and they are the only tribe that knows of any marketable routes through those nearly impassable cliffs. While the males struggle in the smithy’s or mines, the female’s tend to hunt in the verdant woodlands to the south, and fish in the quiet streams. 

There are whispers of things inhabiting the mountains surrounding the village. Angry spirits and ghoulish aberrations are common rumors for the wandering tradesman, and traveling merchant. For this reason, the villagers of Inner Knot are indispensable for anyone hoping to brave the road to the northern side of the island.  

At the center of Heightsland lies the Heights of Leborm where, not so long ago, ‘Leborm The Merciless’ fought and died fighting the merciless armies of Thytosusia. Its terrain is near impassible, except for the villagers of Inner Knot. It was for this reason the Thytosusian armies met their demise, their invasion swiftly halted by natures cruel terrain.

Farther to the north, near the eastern slopes lies the largest town with several hundred villagers. The town of Hitecross is the first and oldest settlement on the island of Heightsland. Its residents are often referred to as the first pioneers, for they were the first settlers to brave the islands dangers and establish a colony. Immediately after setting foot on the island, they were tested by its darkest mysteries. The Sacred Sands are an enigma that dare the natural environments of the world. A small desert, on an icy northern shoreline. But within those sands lies a secret, a creature that sleeps for now…

Somehow the first pioneers were able to venture through this quiet horror until they discovered the rocky inland, complete with pleasant streams and gentle fields. The city of Hitecross was built here, and now it is the center of trade and commerce for those on the island. While few dare to trespass on the Sacred Sands, a small port to the north allows passage through a small brick road. The township also owns the only entrance to a vast basin, one full of beautiful land and dazzling trees. This basin is also home to a rare species of fennec foxes that are surprisingly lovable as pets, making it sacred to the Pharine’s.  

In the north lies the village of Honeybend. Situated on the edges of the Windwood, the small town thrives on hunting and forging. The watermill belonging to the nearby rivers provides an abundance of grain, and is home to a single villa belonging to the governor himself. The same river allows easy passage further inland through the mountains, but farther east lies another river, beyond which the wind woods are avoided at all costs. 

For all these people, the name of Heightsland suits their rocky home nicely. But to the Pharine warrior clans, the Aiverix, it wasn’t…tough enough. The word they designated was simply translated as Knuckle, for it was the knuckle of a greater fist bent to dominate the Fanfow Seas. Despite them conjuring their own name for the isle, rarely do the Aiverix war bands venter near it. There are few glories to be had on the ‘Knuckle’ during the raiding seasons, unless Thytosusian armies come near.

There is one final name given to this island, one not gifted by the Pharine villagers or their Aiverix warrior caste. This name was spoken through the lips of unwanted invaders, and cruel occupiers from across the sea. Thytosia has long harbored harsh resentment to their Pharine neighbors, and its human warriors have laid seige to their isles multiple times. During their last bitter and bloody campaign they began calling the isle of Heightsland as ‘The Island Of Fear’. 

The Pharine are a humanoid species originally discovered to live in what is now the Eseian Khanate. Before the rise of the Khan, the great devil king, its lands were fruitful and broken up into multiple nations. The Pharine’s made their homes in many of these countries and principalities until the onslaught of the Eseian horde. 

For fifty three years the Eseian marauders rained death and destruction across the lands of former Valedonia and Sirenholm until all the tribes of Pharine society were forced to flee in unison. As they fled, they ventured through the nations of Thytosusia, and were met with further hostility. 

The humans of that vast kingdom ostracized the Pharine’s as they sought refuge, and as the years proceeded their hostility only grew. This forced the Pharine clans to venture south, then east until they crossed the borders of the much more friendly Harwickian Kingdoms. 

A century following the rise of the Eseian Khanate, the Pharine’s were favored by the late King Sethre Apice of Harwickia. His favor was strong enough to grant them the ‘Gift of Peace’. This gift was an abundance of yet to be populated lands in the north. It was theirs to freely colonize and build upon. 

These lands were known as the ‘Fjordlands’ or the ‘Whitelands’ by most, for they were expansive, yet harsh. Pirate gangs ventured through the straits often, and lawlessness was rife. Most of the lands were unexplored and, to make matters worse, they were teeming with hostile wildlife. 

The Pharine’s knew this was less of a gift, and more of a plea to expel them from human lands. The Harwickian society had demanded their ejection for some time, and sending them to the north under the guise of a gift was politically viable. 

Regardless of this, the Pharine’s journeyed to their ‘Promised Lands’ and found the cold weather, and harsh terrain, somewhat survivable. Yet, within a single generation the Pharine’s had come to call their founding nation ‘Fanfow’, after their ancient birth lands of legend, and in the generations since they have adapted to its harsh climate. While the nation of Fanfow is young, and struggling, its people have found themselves made stronger. 

A typical Pharine looks very much human-like, externally there are only two significant differences. All Pharine’s are known for their fox-like ears and tails. Their furs differ in tone and volume. 

Other than these physical discrepancies, Pharine’s are surprisingly adaptable to their environments. Whether having to survive in harsh deserts or frozen wastelands, there bodies are known to adjust to the elements and continue to adapt with each generation. 

The Pharine’s of Fanfow, after having lived in the far north for nigh over a century, have started to show a tendency of being born with white fur, thick skin, and of taller stature then their westward ancestors. 

- From the teachings of Syncerastus Aurelio of the great library of Rothetbia