South of Withepest, where the steppe begins to transition toward the forested foothills of the Kharvorn Mountains, lies the region called Ethundra—a borderland of scrubby vegetation, frozen marshes, and the first scattered stands of hardy conifers that eventually thicken into the Winterwood.
Ethundra is marginally more hospitable than Withepest proper. Small game survives here—arctic hares, foxes, ptarmigan—and the Zwaeron sometimes establish temporary camps in the more sheltered valleys. But the region is contested territory, with Jotun hunting parties occasionally ranging down from the Jotunhills to raid Zwaeron camps and carry off prisoners for their frozen larders.