The Great Spire of the Ice Sea
Located in the middle of the Yal Tengri is a small island, uncharted on any map. It is a cold and windy place, with few comforts. Little grows on its rocky surface, only a few scrubby trees and scraggly patches of heather. Dominating the island is a single, towering, cathedral-like spire. it rises from the center and can been seen from anywhere on the shore. it glints and shines in the sunlight, sparkling like a mirror. Ships sailing the Yal Tengri use it as a beacon in the daytime.
The spire is the product of gnomish engineering. The island is home to a small colony of gnomes, a somewhat strange cult of Gond, the Wonderbringer. The gnomes live in half-buried communities clustered around the base of the Great Spire. Here they toil in their workshops, making the durable glass needed to build the tower. Heat and power come from the many hot springs and volcanic vents that cover the island. The gnomes are struggling to fulfill an ancient prophecy. This promises that when the spire is completed, the world will once again be returned to the glory of Gond. Lost since the days of the Empire, the prophecy was rediscovered several centuries ago. This group of gnomes took the words to heart and have been attempting to fulfill the words ever since.
Work is nearly complete on the tower, and would have been much sooner if it had not been for the Glass-breakers. The Glass-breakers are a splinter sect of this cult. Fifty years ago, as the work first came close to completion, a charismatic, but fearful, gnome argued a different interpretation of the prophecy. According to Lurdas Jasperstone, all the world would be plunged into fire—i.e., returned to the glory of Gond—if the tower was completed. Falling to persuade the elders, he and his followers embarked on a campaign of terrorism and destruction, setting the work back several decades.
Today, the two groups are in a stalemate. Lurdas and his followers have been driven to the farthest corners of the island. Members of the cult of Gond continue to build the spire. Meanwhile, the Glass-breakers try to destroy the tower as quickly as it is repaired. They make midnight raids, burn factories, terrorize workers, and even bombard the tower with catapults. Neither side has been able to make significant headway.
