The Flame in the Frost (Northern Kingdoms)

Eiðhǫll — The Hallowed Halls of Yulreth

Entered into the Crown Register under Royal Seal

Third Winter post the Breaking of Shadows

Seven days before the events now remembered as the Northern Reckoning, the armies of Skadgard advanced beneath the Frost Queen’s banner toward Yulreth, proclaiming a righteous campaign to reclaim the magic of the solstice.

In the days preceding the march, the Winterbloom Woods were poisoned by Queen Virelya of Skadgard, Realm of the Frostbound Court, fracturing the realm-wide shields that had long safeguarded the northern kingdoms.

The Frostbound Court thereafter declared that the unchecked celebration of Christmas within the human realm had grown dangerously imbalanced, and demanded that King Claus abandon the sacred rites of the season so that the power of the solstice might be reclaimed for Nordveld once again.

Though presented as diplomacy, what followed was a calculated exertion of force, intended to compel Yulreth’s submission and appropriate its power. Yet the campaign unraveled before the first true blow was struck.

Prince Nicholas Claus VIII reclaimed the Heart of Yule, restoring the magic of his realm and reforging its protective wards. Skadgard’s advance was halted, its forces withdrawn, and the campaign was entered into the annals as a failure.

Addendum: Supplemental Record (Partially Redacted)

Only later did fragments of a deeper truth surface, though much of the original account has been deliberately obscured.

Of particular concern is the redacted passage alleging that Yulreth was forewarned of the impending attack, as well as the circumstances surrounding the recovery of the Heart of Yule.

The precision of these omissions suggests intentional excision. To what purpose, I cannot say.

What remains records only the outcome: the failure of the campaign, the subsequent destabilization of the continent, and the beginning of the era now termed The Return of the Frost King.

—Vaelen Thandoril, Lord of Seals,

Emissary to Her Majesty Queen Esjael of Eirenthal, Realm of the Star Court.