Cryovain, The Everfrost

Cryovain, also known as the Everfrost, the White one, is a legendary white dragon of immense power that has recently returned to the frozen heights of the Sword Mountains. Terrorizing the region with his freezing presence, Cryovain’s sudden escape from the Cult of the Dragon has set off a chain of events that threatens the delicate peace of the Sword Coast.

Ancient History and the Dragon Coalition

According to ancient histories, three centuries ago, a coalition of Chromatic Dragons launched a devastating campaign against the rising cities of the North—Luskan, Neverwinter, Waterdeep, and Baldur’s Gate. While Luskan capitulated and offered tribute to the beasts, the other cities formed the Lord’s Alliance to resist them. This draconic coalition was nurtured by Tiamat (the Scaled Tyrant), who wished to crown them as lords of the North. The coalition consisted of four great wyrms:

• Cryovain, the Everfrost (initially driven to the frozen northern peaks known as the Throat of the World)
• Skaldreth, the Red Rage (driven to the west)
• Barakis, the Sandstorm (driven to the south)
• Nocturne, the Dread Prince (driven to the east)

The Lord’s Alliance successfully fought back the threat, assisted by a legendary band of heroes:

• Elminster Aumar, the Sage of Shadowdale and Waterdeep, who remains alive as a leader of the Harpers.
• Lady Tanager Alagondar of Neverwinter, who was tragically killed when the green dragon Virethas’s (the Jade Queen) claw burst through her chest, though she managed to slay the beast. She is buried with her sword in the Dragon Barrow.
• Hrothgar Hillsfar of Kuldahar, a towering Firbolg who went missing and lived for centuries as the amnesiac human adventurer named Farwald. Hrothgar personally helped banish Cryovain to the north during the ancient conflict.
• Esfaloth Nightbreeze (also known as Reidoth), the Fey Touched, a 500-year-old druid and the last of the Naila tribe from the ancient Silverwood.
• Gorion of Candlekeep, a member of the Zhentarim, now deceased.
• Kiara Shadowbreaker, Mistress of the Hunt and a Harper of Keoland.
• Uther Vendrock, the Silvered Star, a Platinum Dragon who is now deceased and buried on Stormwreck Isle.

For 300 years, dragons of this scale remained silent in the North, remembered only in folklore. Cryovain’s recent emergence triggered a surge of forgotten memories in Farwald. It was later revealed via the Altar to Ioun in Conyberry that Farwald’s exhaustion and memory blockages regarding chromatic dragons were the result of a powerful Modify Memory spell cast by Elminster Aumar to lock away his true history as Hrothgar Hillsfar.

The Secret of the Dragon Masks and Banishment

Farwald’s identity was magically suppressed and his memories sealed to protect a dangerous secret of monumental importance: the existence and locations of the Dragon Masks.

During the ancient conflict 300 years ago, Hrothgar and his allies constructed five magical Dragon Masks—one of each primary chromatic color—capable of influencing and controlling dragons of the corresponding color. The masks worked perfectly to subdue the chromatic coalition, with the exception of the cunning green dragon Virethas.

Using the White Dragon Mask, Hrothgar influenced Cryovain’s mind and commanded him to never return to the northern Sword Coast. Cryovain was sent to the frozen north of Icewind Dale, where he was laid to rest in Hrothgar’s empty grave—a tomb situated along the shores of Lac Dinneshere (also spelled Lac Dinnershear) near the Firbolg settlement of Kuldahar. Hrothgar trusted the warmth of Kuldahar’s magical World Tree (created outside the constraints of the giant Ordning by Diancastra, daughter of Annam the All-Father) to counter the dragon’s freezing effect on nature. To ensure the masks could never be abused, their individual locations were kept strictly secret, even from other members of the hero coalition.

Upon realizing that the Cult of the Dragon had begun actively hunting for these masks to secure dominion over the re-emerging chromatic dragons, the restored Farwald sent urgent magical messages to his ancient, scattered allies, warning them that “the sleeper under the ice is waking.”

Awakening and Escape

Cryovain’s peaceful slumber in his tomb in Icewind Dale was violently interrupted when agents of the Cult of the Dragon attempted to dominate his mind. Though they nearly managed to convince the dragon to join their cause, Cryovain ultimately resisted. Crucially, the cultists’ intrusion disabled the ancient protective wards guarding his lair. Seizing the opportunity, and realizing his ancient binder Hrothgar was no longer an immediate threat, Cryovain abandoned his lair and fled south to the Sword Mountains.

Cryovain’s escape has had massive ripple effects across the Sword Coast:

• The Cult’s Disarray: According to the personal journal of Nezznar the Spider, the Cult was too foolish to control the dragons they sought, and Cryovain’s sudden freedom became a massive distraction that allowed other dark factions to advance their plans unhindered.
• Talis in Jail: Meanwhile, a figure named Talis is currently being held in Neverwinter’s high-security Peninsula Prison cells.

Motivation, Desires, and Environmental Influence

Through esoteric divinations performed at the Altar to Ioun, it has been revealed that what Cryovain desires most is to create winter everywhere, and he has acquired unnamed allies to aid him in this frozen conquest. He is a massive beast of winter, leaving an unmistakable and terrifying mark on the environment as he travels:

• Physical Traits: He is a shape vast and serpentine, carved from living frost with wide-stretched wings. His scales resemble jagged ice plates that shimmer in pale light, leaving trails of frost in his wake.
• Freezing Aura: The dragon’s arrival causes an immediate, unnatural drop in temperature. Swirling flurries fill the air, and ice instantly coats the hair, clothing, and faces of those below, evoking a cold so intense it feels like icicles piercing the heart.
• Nature’s Mourning: The ecological toll of Cryovain’s return is severe. When Nalini, a fairy druid, attuned to the mycelium network, she felt a mournful, agonizing lament echoing from the north. Nature itself is grieving and filled with a sharp, red-hot anger due to the dragon’s disruptive frozen presence.
• Sound of Flight: His massive wingbeats do not howl, but instead produce a deep, bass-like thump that sounds like a steady drumbeat shaking the air—beating the wind around it like war drums.
• The Roar: His roar is a cataclysmic sound, resembling the cracking of a massive glacier.
• The Shadow: He is large enough to blot out the sun, casting a vast, pale shadow—whiter than the surrounding sky—over the mountain peaks.

Tactical Analysis and Combat Strategy

According to Lucian Nightshade, the Zhentarim Spymaster of Neverwinter, dragons are exceptionally clever creatures that will easily spot ambushes from afar. They also possess incredible aerial speed, flying roughly twice as fast as a fairy like Nalini. To engage Cryovain successfully, hunters require either matching aerial transportation or a guaranteed method to ground the beast—most likely by retrieving the true White Dragon Mask to command or subdue him.

While his presence actively drives the unnatural cold and shifting weather systems of the region, the ancient druid Esfaloth (Reidoth) does not believe the white dragon is the core evil threatening the Sword Coast. Esfaloth, who fought dragons three centuries ago, monitors Cryovain’s movements but prioritizes protecting Neverwinter Wood from human encroachment, choosing to tolerate the dragon’s presence as long as the natural balance is not entirely shattered.

Recent Sighting and Current Threat

Following a devastating attack by Ice Trolls and Ice Mephits on the Snowmont Monastery, a group of adventurers known as the Magnificent Five witnessed Cryovain firsthand. Though the party managed to defend the monastery, the sanctuary lay in ruin, and neither Clarissa nor Dorian survived. Only two surviving monks, Jackson (Jaque) and Caitlyn (Zoe), remained to seek refuge in Phandalin. During the aftermath of the battle, the dragon blocked out the cold afternoon sun, flying quickly southwest toward the highest peaks of the Sword Mountains.

In the weeks that followed, the mind-mage Griselda and a halfling cleric named Sandra at Helm’s Hold fully unlocked Farwald’s mind, revealing his true form as a towering, gray-and-blue skinned Firbolg and restoring his 300-year-old memories of fighting the Everfrost.

Seeking a path forward to neutralize the white dragon, Hrothgar spent 25 gold of incense to cast an Augury spell to determine if pursuing the true White Dragon Mask would lead to a favorable outcome. The campfire smoke twisted into the shape of a white dragonbone mask hovering above his empty tomb, signaling a path of Weal. The party must now venture north to secure allies and find a way to stop the icy threat before the Sword Coast is consumed by an eternal winter.