Shallan Davar is a disaster and I love her (audio from Tom Cardy)

I sat on the roof of the highest tower in the city, accompanied only by the freezing winds and the distant stars. Sitting there should have helped me hide away from my problems like it always has before but I still felt hollow and empty. I had tried talking to all of them, but none listened or cared. I don't know why I expected them to. No one ever cared about the cursed girl who failed at everything. That didn't matter though. Everything lost it's meaning the second I decided on this path. I don't know how long I sat there, staring at the stars and lost in thought. Hours could have passed, and I'd be none the wiser. Eventually the winds carried in dark clouds and blotted out all the stars in the sky leaving only the moon to look upon me. It was finally time. I pulled the knife from my belt and stepped to the edge of the roof. I made seven deep gashes in my arm, and let the blood carry my pain to the city street far below. It didn't take long for the world to grow cold and dark, and for everything to turn into nothing.

"It seemed as if the world itself was splitting in two. Violent earthquakes struck multiple times every day, cracking the land and spewing magma and stone. Storms blotted out the sky and drowned the cities; tornadoes and fire danced together, painting everything in sight with flames and ash. It was the end of everything, nothing was going to be able to survive. Instead of dying with the world however, we survived, aided by our benevolent goddess. She is not of the heretical ‘Eight True Gods’ but is instead an ancient and powerful wyvern who roamed the lands long before the false gods appeared. Belstarr, the goddess of the sky, carried our lands upon her winds to the frozen waters of the northern most part of the world. She bestowed upon our ancestor resistance to the extreme cold, and the ability to thrive in it. Belstarr saved our people and gave us a new way of life, but it came at a great cost to herself. Rearranging the world wasn’t easy, and it consumed nearly all her strength; she landed upon the mountain at the top of the world and fell into an eternal slumber. We were left with one last blessing, however. Our goddess left behind her most trusted acolyte to forever watch over our people and keep us safe. The Dark Guardian taught our ancestors how to manipulate the cold of our new environment, allowing us to control the ice and snow and bend it to our will. We built grand cities of ice and stone, covering the land with beauty once more.  

Though the land has been healed, the people nurtured and her duty having long since been fulfilled, our guardian remained loyal to her mistress’s final command and continued protecting us. She can still be found wandering the frozen plains and forests of our land. If you’re among the blessed, you may one day find yourself sitting in a quiet tavern, a cider in your hands and the Dark Guardian filling your ears with stories of the gods."

Scroll recovered from a sunken temple off the coast of the Northern Continent

Provided by the Yuidoran Theocracy

“It happened out of nowhere; one moment I was buying supplies with Rin, the next, the front wall of the shop exploded as a large, cloaked figure flew through it and crashed into the counter next to me. Naturally, the shopkeeper and I both screamed. Before Rin could get closer to investigate, the door pushed open, and another figure entered the building. The room's temperature drastically fell as they entered; a scorching summer afternoon turned into a stormy winter night in an instant. They were covered in a strange armor, it appeared to be made of ice from the bottom of a glacier, the type that’s been at the bottom of the ocean for hundreds of thousands of years and has never seen the light of day... It was as if the ice contained the nothingness between stars inside it... That armor haunts me. I hope to never see it again. In a deep, gravelly, feminine voice, with what I can only describe as an ancient Ertsselan accent, the armored figure said three words. “Do. Not. Interfere.” I don’t think we could move at that moment, let alone interfere. She started walking over to the cloaked figure and as they got close, a spear made of the same icy material as her armor formed in her hands. She stopped a foot away from the cloaked figure and leveled the spear at their chest, where the heart would be if it was on the wrong side of the body. “You...” she whispered “have been found guilty of heresy by the Followers of the Dark Guardian. Do you have any last words before I send you back to the void?” The cloaked person only groaned in response. Before I could blink, the armored woman had plunged her spear deep into their chest. It disintegrated, Tellen, the body disintegrated into black dust in seconds. Her armor was ominous, but that spear... ... ... I don’t remember anything past that. The next thing in my memories is waking up in my bed in the safehouse. I’m sorry, I know you wanted all the details I could remember, but I can’t recall that experience without nearly breaking down into a panic attack. You owe me Tellen, you know I hate talking about it. Hopefully this short account helps with your research though. I’d feel better if we could learn more about who that armored figure was.” 

Intercepted letter from Lady Vistett to Lord Tellen 

From the Issare government archives 

No new documents tonight, unfortunately. My sources were nearly captured by Telrenvi soldiers and couldn't recover anything. They'd better get their act together and get me something by tomorrow, or they're getting reduced pay again.

"The island has, as we predicted before I set out, proved impossible to approach. Sailing this far north is difficult enough with all the ice burgs and sheets of ice threatening the ship, but there’s a blizzard surrounding the island. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done lots of sailing in storms and blizzards around the Telrenvi coasts, but this is no natural weather. It must have been conjured back before the fall of Ertssela by a Frost Arcanist of unfathomable power. We know that it’s possible to sail through unharmed though; I personally witnessed a small ship with a strange, unfamiliar symbol on the sails emerge from the blizzard. It appeared to be pulling in nets of fish as it scouted the surrounding area. We attempted to close the distance and try communicating with the strange sailors, but they noticed us and disappeared into the storm before we could get close. I’m not sure, but I think I sensed traces of Void Arcane on that boat as it approached the storm. It’s worth investigating further if you get the opportunity, but my ship can’t stay out here any longer. I’ll return to Remour three months after this letter arrives. I expect you to have my payment ready when I get there this time."

Letter recovered from the wreckage of the 'Windblessed'

From the archives of the Telrenv Nautical Guild

"Not much is known about The Void or the abilities it bestows, commonly referred to as ‘Void Arcane.’ Only the creatures commonly known as ‘Void Beasts’ can naturally channel Void Arcane, but it is possible to access it if you can form a special bond with a Void Beast or if you’re able to encounter The Void and survive. The range of effects of Void Arcane are generally destructive. It seems to be able to manipulate gravity, tear holes in reality, or manipulate friction. No more effects have been witnessed so far as we know. It is believed that channeling Void Arcane stronger than a certain threshold has a strong cost to the channeler’s mind and body. If you ever encounter someone channeling Void Arcane, it is recommended to run away and not challenge the channeler.” 

Estel’s lecture on the nature of The Arcanes 

From the archives of the Telrenv Royal Arcanist Guild