Night of Frost

Summary

The Night of Frost is the name of an incident where the Dessica Desert froze over, becoming a Tundra.

The Night of Frost Sermon

A Sermon written by DI in 1009.

This information was written by a character! It may not be entirely factual!

"What is the Night of Frost?"

"To understand the incident, we must understand the before."
"A long time ago, the homeland of Isegard was not a land of ice and cold. Centuries before, Isegard was built on the land of the Dessica desert, a place south of the Valley of Elaen. It was in this desert that Emperor Balin Sketch discovered the Coil, a vast underground network of tunnels and caves that the Draconians resided in. Speaking with the, Balin would be allowed to descend into the Coil and meet the patron of the Fire Draconians, Zahhak."
"It was stated that the dragon never woke up in all the time that the Draconians knew Zahhak, yet they were capable of telepathy even through the long slumber. Given this, records on what the Emperor and Zahhak spoke of simply don’t exist, but some sort of bargain, or maybe alliance had been formed between the two."
"It was due to this partnership that it’s believed that Zahhak would usher his chosen to Isegrad when the Night of Frost did fall, the desert became the Tundra."

"Now what was the Night of Frost itself?"

"The day it happened is unknown. What is known is what is called the Flamebearer’s call. A resounding order that echoed through the minds of the Draconian people as Zahhak themselves was said to vanish. The order for his people to go to Isegrad, to leave the Coil and join the Empire. The order itself left confusion, but would be followed as the depths of the Coil where Zahhak slumbered began to grow cold."
"It is from this coldness that we believe the onset of the blizzards began. Horrible cold shrouded and consumed the land that once was Desert, freezing sand dunes into miniature glaciers, chilling some of the roaming caravans to death. Many people would die when the Night of frost occurred, a loss of life that almost wiped out the entirety of the Empire itself. However, it is often said that due to the Draconians and their bodies being able to handle the change in extreme temperatures, that the Empire was able to recover, even as some small groups began to split off."
"An example of such a group is Grand Boshnovia. Once members of the Isegardian Empire, as the food stocks ran dry due to caravans being unable to make it through the desert, a number of Isegradians blamed the Emperor for not providing for their people. They attempted a violent overthrow of the Emperor and the weakened forces of Isegard, but they were pushed back, and their leaders executed, causing the supporters of the Boshnovia vision to flee the Empire and turn into a caravan people."

"How did the Night of Frost affect the world?"

"Some people looked at the night of Frost and blamed Balin for it. Going by the records, this is untrue. If we are to examine the records for a moment, one would have to notice the dates for this do not align. Balin was pronounced dead shortly before the founding of Isegard in eight hundred. By comparison, the Night of Frost was an event that took place in eight hundred seventy, seventy years after the death of the Emperor."
"Aside from breeding distrust, the Night of Frost is also why the people of the empire are so used to cold environments, including where we’ve settled Providence. It reminds us of our home for so many years, and thanks to the adaptations of the Draconian people, the Isegradian Empire has been able to survive and keep surviving, even when it seemed that many crops of people would freeze."
"Of course, this was the incident that many know of which caused the search for the Dragon. With Zahhak going missing from the Coil, it is only natural that we have attempted to find him in the past hundred and forty years, however, the location of him, as well as Melusine and the other dragons remain unknown at this time. The hints of their location have been few and far between."

Q&A

Q: "..Did - Or - How likely is it that Zahhak froze the Capital purposefully? Were the Draconians ever questioned regarding this?"
A: "Great question!" "It is very unlikely that Zahhak purposefully froze the capital. Zahhak went forwards to send the Draconians to Isegrad. It is unlikely that they would have done so if their intent had been malicious, or war." "Unfortunately, the Draconians that were questioned did not manage to obtain the exact wordage of Zahhak's order. However, their questioning is partially how we gained the information we have today."

Q: ... Have there been attempts to undo it? The Night of Frost impacted so many lives - Were there those who sought to find out what caused it, in an effort to revert Isegrad's realm to normal?"
A: "There have been some attempts to undo the effects of the Night of Frost. However... It is extremely unlikely that such an event can be undone without Zahhak. Zahhak was the dragon of flame; IT may be speculation, but a common belief is that he is the reason it was desert, as opposed to tundra in the first place." "So to fix it, he may have to be found."

Q: "The cold that ravaged the deserts came from Zahhak's lair first, right? As we all know, blizzards come when the cold air sinks and... does cold things. So there has to be something weird within the Coil to cause such madness."
A: "While the cold did come from Zahhak's lair first, it is believed not to actually be something there. Zahhak vanished entirely from view during the night of frost. It is belief to not be so much something weird in the coil that caused this, As it is him not being there."

Q: "Did anyone bother to ask Velin of the Eidolon's whereabouts?"
A: "I don't believe that I recall Velin mentioning anything about the Eidolons. However, there is a chance that he simply is unaware. The event happened around a hundred and fourty years ago, and given that information, and the fact we've only found Sarea a good thirty years in the past, he may simply not be aware of what happened."

Q: "If everything is done via telepathy, and Balin died before the incident, how is it that we know that Balin was the one who struck the deal? Apologies, merely confused on some details. Is there a record of Balin's journals that such a deal was made, but perhaps Zahhak didn't follow through on it until several decades later?"
A: "It is a deal that would have been struck prior to the found of Isegrad, given that the Empire was only solidified after eight hundred. However, I believe that it is known due to the telepathic message the Draconians recieved, as well as the notes that had been taken by Balin prior. It would have been information that was kept by his council and comrades at the time. We don't have reccords of his journals at this time, however, it is something we could seek and look for."

Q: "Harbinger, you recounted to us how the Draconians were capable of communing with Zahhak, even in his deep and prolonged slumber. This was by method of telepathy.. an ability I presume is inherent to dragons, those who are full-fledged. Is that to say that communication is possible, if someone is able to do the impossible and uncover the location of one of The Four?"
A: "I believe it may have been the opposite. Zahhak was capable of communication through telepathy. Those who spoke with him would have to be around him to properly respond. That said... I suppose that if someone attempted to learn such a magic, they may be able to attempt to reach out and talk to Zahhak anew. Then again, maybe his power did allow for two way communion."

End of Character written information.