by the S e a Towe r, where Luskan's first pirates built
th eir stronghold, while th e northern one is home to
the Hosttower of the Arcane and th e stables it shares
with Ship Kurth.
Fang Island ha s no inha bitants, a nd is named for its
propensity for destroying vessels swept down the
Rive r Mirar.
Harbor Arm Island is a tall s pire shelte ring Whitesails
Harbor from the worst of the storms and wave s that
wash in from the south.THE BRIDGES
The North and South Banks are spanne d by three
bridges: the Upstream Spa n , from the South Bank
s traight to the North Ga te; Dalath's Spa n, the middle
bridge with a name none can place in le ge nd, and
H arbor Cross, s plit between the Short Span that runs
from the South Bank to Blood Is land, a nd the Long
Spa n that continues on to North Bank. Only Ship
me mbers and those authorized by a High Captain may
traverse Harbor Cross.
Dark Arch connects South Bank with Closeguard
Is la nd, and only me mbers of Ship Kurth a nd the
Arcane Brotherhood may cross that s pan unchalle nged.
The sam e is true of Sword Bridge, which crosses
from Closegua rd Island to Cutlass Is la nd. Although
Closeguard Is la nd is officially ungua rded , it's s till true
tha t only m embers of the Arcane Brothe rh ood or Ship
Kurth a re expecte d to be there, s o anyone out of place is
aggressively questione d about their presence.
THE ARCANE BROTHERHOOD
In the last decade or so, two great cha nges have come
over Luskan. The fir s t was the plague that crippled the
gangs that had controlle d the city, allowing the High
Capta in s to reclaim the power they had long held in
THE SYMBOL
OF THE ARCANE
BROTHERHOODCHAPTER 2 I THE SWORD COAST AND THE NORTHLus ka n. The other, far more sudden, was th e return of
the Arcane Brotherhood a nd its five-spired towe r. A few
years ago, th e ruine d Hos ttowe r of th e Arcane began
regenerating its damage d stone, climbing into the sky
once more. Shortly there after, mages of th e Arcane
Brotherhood eme rged, almos t imme dia te ly began
cleans ing th e Luskar ruins of unde ad, and fought off
a dragon me nacing the city. Cheered by the citizens,
they swore to keep themselves out of the politics of the
High Capta ins a nd the city at large, but th e notion that
powerful wizards closely aligned with one another can
truly re ma in neutra l is laughable to a nyone familia r with
s uch things.
Now, the Arcane Brothe rhood again wa lks th e streets
of Lus ka n, m a rke d by the di s tinctive colors a nd patte rns
of the ir cloa ks. From a dis ta nce, these cloa ks all bear
the same cut a nd silhouette, but each wizard of th e
Hos ttower chooses a color or a design, a nd a moniker
to match it. The le ade rship of the Arcane Brothe rhood
is the archmage and the four ove rwizards of the other
spires of th e Hosttower:- Cashaan th e Re d, Archmage Arcane
- Zele nn the White, Ove rwizard of the West
- J e ndrick the Blue, Ove rwizard of the South
- Teyva the Gray, Ove rwizard of the East
- Drue tte the Raven , Overwizard of th e North
Othe r notable member s of the Brotherhood include
Vaelis h th e Brown and Maccath the Crims on.
ICEWIND DALE
Go far enough north, and you will come to th e moun-
ta in s ri ghtly called th e Spine of th e World. Turn west
a nd go toward the S ea of Moving Ice, and you might
eve ntually come upon one of th e scatte red communities
of Ic ewind Da le. You can a lso travel up th e eve r-narrow-
ing road fr om Luskan called the Northern Means, and
eventua lly come upon the frozen tundra beyond.
Why travel s o far? Well, if you're like ma ny who've
drifted up the re from the south, it is because a n easier
life doesn't suit you, you're running from something, or
you jus t don't fit in a nywhere else.TuN-TOWNS
Coming up the hard road from the south, the fir s t thing
you'll see is Kelvin's Cairn, a great mountain scarred
by a crack down its southweste rn face. Eve n in high
summer, its peak is capped in s now a nd ice. In the
mountain's southern s hadow is Bryn S ha nder, the larg-
est, mos t populous, and mos t fortified of the Ten-Towns
of Icewind Dale. Te n-Towns is a grouping of communi-
ties clus tered around the three la kes of the area: Maer
Dualdon, from which the Shae ngarne Rive r flows down
towa rd Iron maste r; Lac Dinneshere to the east, whose
wate rs are nearly always cold enough to kill; and Red-
wate rs, named for an old battle between rival fis herfolk
that left the waters bloody.
Ten-Towns thrive s on fis hing and trade, both endeav-
ors reliant on the knuckl ehead trout of Icewind Da le's
lakes. Without the s e fis h , the people of Ten-Towns
would starve, but there would also be little for the m to
barter or sell. The ivory-like bones of these fis h are the