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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jfdlsjfd" data-source="post: 8109358" data-attributes="member: 42856">It is explicitely said that her spell prevents the sun from raising above the horizon. While the effect on temperature can be gradual, the effect on illumination is not: her spell is explicitely stated to produce 20h of night and only 4h of twilight around noon. While it is not explicitely written that she's been casting her spell for two years, it is the most natural reading.In the very first page of the adventure, it is explained that she's casting her spell to prevent the sun to rise, which locks IWD into an eternal winter with no sunlight to melt the snow. The absence of the sun is said to be the cause of the lowering of the temperature. It would be strange for the consequence to start appearing before the cause. She is also said to be exhausted by the casting of her spell and can just cause blizzard to block the mountain passes and create bad winds at sea: she is not said to take any other action to cause a drop in temperature or prolong winter than preventing the sun from rising.In the Entertainer background, it is suggested a character could have settled in Icewind Dales three years ago, and "Since then, Auril the Frostmaiden has cast an evil spell over the dale, preventing you from returning home". She is not said to have taken various actions preventing the character from returning home and recently has started to cast a spell... In the Guild Artisan background, the shop was doing well until Auril "cast her evil spell to banish the sun" and now, businesses are suffering. I'd surmise they are suffering because the sun-banishing spell has caused harsh conditions and disrupted logistics, not because the winter was very bad for two years and business was OK but it's just the recent lack of light in the day that disrupted trade?The opening read-alound mentions that "This land has not felt the warmth of the sun in over two years. In fact, the sun no longer appears above the mountains, not even in what should be the height of summer. In this frozen tundra, darkness and bitter cold reign as king and queen. Most Dale residents blame Auril. The shimmering aurora that weaves across the sky each night is said to be her doing -- a potent spell to keep the sun at bay". The residents also seem to think Auril blocking the sun is the cause of the harsh winter, not just a more recent development. I have seen nothing in the adventure supporting the idea that the sun-blocking spell is just a recent development amid the two-years long winter.</blockquote>

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