I really wanted to just step away and let it all go...I tried...I really did.
The problem I have with Sionad's yearly thaw is not just that it happens (as I think I've mentioned). I'm not even saying that permafrost cannot melt. What I am saying is that permafrost does not thaw as described on the Hyoite page. The lore states that "much of the permafrost thaws to form bogs or shallow temporary streams." My problem is that this isn't permafrost. As said, ground ice only qualifies as permafrost if it remains completely frozen for two consecutive years. In fact, permafrost does not even technically require ground ice to be classed as permafrost.
Also, from a possibly more relevant perspective, "Permafrost" as the term is used today is a very specific and scientific concept. From a narrative, cultural and architectual perspective and to a lay person who isn't drilling out core samples and measuring subsurface temperatures; "Permanent frost" never melts in a meaninful way.
Moving back to my concern regarding the lack of a taiga/subarctic belt: The problem is that, fundamentally (Spirit)Earth is (RL)Earth. Granted, not everything is identical but as I said, the climate rules are followed. The tropical zone does form a Rainforest, Subtropics have a sandy desert, highly populous temperate zones for agrarian populations and tundra up near the arctic circle. That's why the absense of a subartic taiga is so confusing to me. Not just that it isn't there but rather that no one even seems to notice.
The transition between the temperate zone and the tundra, according to lore is incredibly abrupt. And no, a razor thin mountain range is not enough to justify this. Climate zones are fundimentally a consequence of incoming sunlight. The more direct, the more consistent the supply of solar radiation, the warmer the earth becomes (hence hot, humid tropical rainforests). What this means, according to (Spirit)Earth's lore, is that something is happening in the subartic region to nullify the effect of solar radiation, turning it into tundra. And considering that the tundra does share a border with (assumed) temperate Connlaoth...To illustrate, if someone were to climb the mountains between the two regions, Sionad could well be in the dead of winter while Connlaoth is enjoying the beauty of a late spring day.
That's why Fell is such a bad comparison: Fell both exists and people know that it exists. Yet no one seems to recognise that the sun dims in an obviously unnatural manner as soon as they cross some imaginary line or that unlike everywhere else one Earth, unshaded ground does not warm up for 8 months out of the year.
PS: Sorry if I seem abrasive, defensive or testy. I promise, I don't mean any offense. There is a distinct possibility that I am just Obsessive Compulsive (Undiagnosed) with a bad habit of projecting my expectation and standards onto other people and projects.