The Cape of Black Ice is a notorious sea passage where the Vhan Myr and Wyn Myr oceans meet and combine their currents; it is located off the headlands of the furthest southern tip of the continent of Azoria.
The Cape was discovered in the year 379/4 by King Axilar Sanborn of Ralas, who is believed to have been the first to successfully navigate it. The waters in this region are quite treacherous. This treacherous southern arctic waterway is the only route between the kingdoms of western Corwyn and the Seven Cities of Bronze.
It is also the only trade route between East and West Corwyn, other than overland via the Eldaran Isthmus. The cape is the only location where the two great oceans of Wyn Myr and Vhan Myr merge with the Sarn Myr, the frozen southern ocean below the continent of Azoria.
The Cape is named for the great chunks of ice that float in the region, and there is very little light, so the ice appears black, even in the grey light of day.
Several factors combine to make the passage around the Cape one of the most hazardous shipping routes in the world: the fierce sailing conditions prevalent in the Sarn Myr, the geography of the passage south of the Cape; and its extreme southern latitude.
Off the Cape, The prevailing winds blow fiercely from west to east around this region, almost uninterrupted by land. These winds are hazardous enough that ships traveling east tend to stay near the rocky headlands of the Cape; well into the zone of fiercest winds. The strong winds off the Cape also give rise to correspondingly large waves; these waves can attain great height as they roll around the southern seas, free of any interruption from land.
Ice is also a hazard to sailors venturing this far south. Huge icebergs are a significant hazard for ships in the region, even in the summer months. These hazards have made the Cape of Black Ice notorious as perhaps the most dangerous sea-passage in the world; many ships have been lost and many sailors have died in the attempt.