To the north of Jarr and past Kanada the oceans start to ice up and the sun stays in the sky shorter and shorter. At what is almost the limit of a seafaring vessel that is made to endure these harsh environments is a small collection of islands that serve as Xadune’s harshest and cruelest prison: El Rural Dante. She lies about 25 miles inside the dead magic zone that covers the top of the planet and is the only prison on the planet that is capable of holding a Gatherer. On these islands there are no walls, almost no guards, and mostly nothing for the prisoners to do but die. Those that choose to be productive in their sentence by helping in the mining have a shot at making parole.