The Arctic Autumn (contemporaneously known as the Fantasial Freeze) occurred for four months in 466 PR (between 12 Grovender and 24 Kentgannon) and affected the entire Quelmar realm.
The realm-wide freezing of land and sea was the act of one monster, a once-hero-of-the-realm Paladin.
Having twice been thwarted by AFEW, the ancient paladin played his ultimatum. Within days, coasts everywhere had frozen over. Within a week, he had conquered the oceans as well, freezing them over with thin ice caps. He had done the unthinkable, all ships were frozen in place, and trade and travel between the continents cut off from each other.
Even with the BEST divination the realm could afford, the perpetrator was never located in the realm. Though AFEW began their own investigation, which led to them following on rumor after rumor to track down the Paladin. His Ultimatum was obvious to the heroes who had fought him: “Hand over the artifacts of Fire, Earth, and Air and the realm will no longer be a frozen hostage.”
With the oceans frozen, realmwide temperature has plummeted, and the once busy streets and bustling towns have become isolated lands where people are forced to stay indoors just to keep warm.
However, the team refused to hand over the artifacts, and instead, spent their time gathering forces. Storm Giants, bugbears, friends, allies, former enemies, and anyone else who wanted a shot to take down the evil man.
