Inekim Ice Peaks

Place

Place Name:

Inekim Ice Peaks

Biome:

Ice Peaks

Size:

Unknown

Continent:

Unknown

Subcontinent

Unknown

Geography

The Inekim region is extremely cold with constant frigid air and winds. Being outside more than a few minutes without protective layers (namely the robes the Swutonsul created) risks freezing to death. The region is medium-small in size, on the Eastern coast, being one of the Southmost regions in Taerel. While not quite a mountain region, the Inekim Ice Peaks sit on a Mesa placing it at a higher altitude to the surrounding areas. This creates the Illusion that there are mountain peaks in the region to the other areas.

The Swutonsul created wooden homes across the region, originally getting their supplies from the few trees on the outskirts of the land. The homes are simple, consisting of 1 room buildings that are roughly 150 square feet each. There is little wood in the totality of the region, so sometimes their supply gathered from trade will get close to depleted and they will need more, but unable to exit the region, they will break down and harvest any burnable materials from whatever homes are not in use.

When it gets extremely cold they will group in the homes to keep warm and extend the length of their fire supplies, though this sometimes leads to the unattended homes being damaged during storms with no one there to tend to it, it could be mistaken as being abandoned. Its relatively rare, but has happened in the past. The region is mainly icy during the summer months, but in the winter, softer snow layers cover the ice, ranging from 2 feet to nearly 7 feet deep. The region is made up of rocky mountain like soil type.

Their town center was where the punishments took place; with a large ditch for stakes to be set up (execution) or a stationary vice type tool for the members who were lashed in the summer month. On the rare occasion that it happens, when a member is ordered to be executed for their crimes, the rest of the clan uses the larger gathered stones to stone them until they die. If there’s not enough stones, ice chunks would be gathered instead. The stones used in the punishment would be taken aside and used in the member’s grave, making them off-limits for any other kind of use in the future.

Being on the coast, the Eastern most edge of the region has an ice shelf that extends out to the south. On the landlocked borders, the other regions are separated by a long plateau of snow and ice. In the winter months, the area gets extreme winds causing complete blizzard and whiteout conditions; which is why the Swutonsul clan gets locked in the region during that time. In the summer months, the weather is less extreme, and due to their evolved long legs, they can travel the plateau in about an hour at a full sprint, with minimal extra weight.

For anyone outside the clan, the trip would take special equipment and a half day journey, due to the plateau being at an incline.

Plants

The Inekim Ice Peaks has a very sparse variety of vegetation. Due to the near constant freeze in the region, there’s barely any soil soft enough to allow any significant plant growth. Those that do manage to grow only have a short period when the snow is thawing slightly before it turns to ice and becomes too tough for new sprouts to form. Nearly all the plants in the region have short roots due to the frozen ground. The only plants that have deep roots were in the region are plants that have been growing for many centuries. There are little to no trees in the region.

Those that are located in the region are located exclusively on the outer most edges of the territory where the soil is the softest. To combat the extreme weather of the region, the trees grow at a slower rate above ground while the roots work to make their way through the ice and soil. Due to this, a tree that is 10 years old in the Inekim region may only look to be 1 year at most when compared mild climate trees. The most common tree was given the name ‘dis'ayln’ as it grew at such a slow rate that to each individual zu’aan generation that saw them were unable to see any true change in their lifetimes.

The tree did in fact grow, but its visual change would only be recognizable when documented every 100 years or so. Unlike other trees, the dis'ayln reproduces using spores that will settle in the snow and go dormant until they reach soil. This allows there to be saplings from trees that were cut down numerous years before; they evolved this way due to the fact that centuries ago they were nearly wiped out after a particularly harsh season. After the season was over, there was only a handful of trees left remaining making the species very close to extinction for a long time.

The rest of the plants in the region are ground cover type plants. They don’t need much in the way of nutrients, and with their roots being extremely short, it’s not uncommon to find them growing on top of the most recent layer of snow. The most commonly found ground cover is called ‘arshriodya’. arshriodya gets its name from the fact that it grows exclusively on the top layer of snow, so with a strong wind it gets blown away very easily. While in the air, the roots clump together in the center, and the above ground leaves on the plant fan out from there.

This creates the illusion of a dragon’s silhouette. Depending on the winds, the remains of the arshriodya will either end up in the neighboring regions, where it will sometimes be taken to make nets or traps for hunting, or be sent into the ocean where the various fish species would consume it. Despite its short roots, the vines and branches are extremely strong and resilient due to growing in a specific way of burrowing into the ice layer as a way of anchoring itself in place.

The arshriodya as a sapling requires relatively soft soil and little resistance, so only established plants last until the blizzard season where they are then taken away by the winds.

Animals

Like the plants of the region, there aren’t many animals that live in the region. Most of the animals group along the edges of the territory; specifically the Eastern ice shelf coast. Groups of penguin like creatures, named ikorala, group on the coast line. They live in large groups, but don’t make any permanent residence in any area as the high amount of snow fall and blizzards would cover the homes in a few hours if they were not inside and clearing it out. They are large creatures about 3 feet tall, with a talon like claw that grows out of the tip of their flipper.

They hunt fish and other aquatic animals off the Eastern coast, often consuming large amounts- 5 to 10x their own body weight- of food during the warmest time of the season. After that they move inland, closer to the Swutonsul’s homes as they learned over time that the blizzard winds are fractionally less severe as the structures cut down the wind. Artic fox-like creatures named ok'era will often be found roaming the region. They are a little larger than the size of an average house cat, making them extremely easy to miss when there’s extreme winds.

They often stay in the Swutonsul town, taking whatever scraps they can during the warmest times until the ikorala make their way closer. ok'era will make under the snow and ice tunnels, digging through the frozen ice and soil. They make their tunnels around specific areas in town so that they can easily find their dens after a storm; its not uncommon to find multiple generations of ok'era living in the same den, as it is the only place the younger generations recognize, but also provides more warmth to those living in that den.

When the ikorala make their way back to the Swutonsul town, the ok'era will switch from gathering scraps to hunting the smallest ikorala- full grown or babies. They usually hunt individually, making sure to feed themselves first before bringing back any other successful kills back to the den for those who were not as successful (if there are not any pups that season). One of the few animals that lived in the Western side of the region, was a nomad bear type creature and moved across multiple Southern regions throughout the season.

They stand, from the shoulders nearly 2x taller than any zu’aan or kin’toni. When on their hind legs they are nearly 3x taller. They evolved to the climate, so that they have extremely hot internal body temperature that is hot enough to melt snow and ice while they walk. This is not a constant internal temperature, as over the course of the coldest season in the Inekim, they will wonder Westward from the Eastern ice shelf, so by the time they reach less extreme temperatures the external chill has cooled their bodies to a more average temperature in comparison to other species.

When not hunting for food, they were ‘gentle giants’ as it expended much energy to move or fight, so they would often only react when provoked in a threatening manner. The Swutonsul named them vialda, and sometimes would hunt them for their pelts but they were difficult to bring down without injury due to their large size and strength, so more often than not the Swutonsul would leave them be if they crossed paths.

Historical Timeline of Ages

Age Name	Dates	Controller
Stone Age	Before 1E 0	Unknown
Copper Age	1E 1–1E 2200	Unknown
Bronze Age	1E 2200–1E 4400	Unknown
Iron Age	2E 0–2E 700	Unknown
Ancient Age	2E 700–2E 2200	Unknown
Middle Age	3E 0–3E 2050	Unknown
Early Modern Age	3E 2050–3E 2600	Unknown
Industrial Age	3E 2600–3E 2700	Unknown
Machine Age	3E 2700–3E 2800	Unknown
Atomic Age	3E 2800–3E 2850	Unknown
Space Age	3E 2850–3E 2875	Unknown
Information Age	3E 2875–3E 2900	Unknown
Genetic Age	3E 2950–3E 3000	Unknown
Awakening Age	3E 3000–3E 3415	Unknown
Twilight Age	4E 0–4E 500	Swutonsul Kin'toni Clan

Place

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Inekim Ice Peaks

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This article is written by Crystal Iris. Copyright 2026 Crystal Iris. All rights reserved.