Origins

?Unknown?
 
I woke in the dark.
Cold snow and dirt surrounded me, and as I opened my mouth to breath, the dirt cascaded into it.
Desperately my hands clawed at the dirt and snow digging in front of my face until I felt a cold sharp wind at my fingertips.
My lungs burnt at the cold air causing me to wretch and cough with rasps of sweet relief as my aching body emerged from the ground.
Where was I? looking up at the sky and at the snow I instinctually knew that I was in the Frostweald.
But how did I get there? I reached into my mind and found… nothing.
Panic flooded me as my very existence seemed to just be a fog of darkness, my head pounded with a pressure. Mouth was dry as I cupped snow and ice into it to quench my thirst. I searched around for any clues and saw in the clearing were several mounds of snow, similar to the one I found myself, the nearest had the hilt of a short sword protruding from it and I grabbed it.
My hands were numb with the cold and fumbled with the sword in hand.
Then I saw it, at the edge of the clearing stalked a humongous white wolf, I stared it down sword in hand, keeping myself low, as it slowly circled the area before shortly disappearing into the trees.
My eyes continued to search around and I saw the mouth of a cave just beyond the clearing. I moved towards it shivering as the whipped my legs and back as though pushing me towards the relative safety of the cave.
The cave seemed to be more hospitable than the cold of the outside. Though for the strangest feeling I could sense it was not warmer, but just less painful, perhaps as a relief from the wind.
It was dark, and my still blinking eyes struggled to see clearly, but standing in the cave was a gentle glow of ethereal light surrounding a fair elven lady.
I can’t really express how magnificent she was, she was certainly beautiful, with porcelain skin and dark hair, her eyes were the deepest blue I could have imagined.
She asked who I was, and her voice had a lilting harmonious quality to it, I tried again for some recollection of anything, and couldn’t remember.
She thought that curious and with the slightest of expressions, her chin nodded towards what I could now see as silver bound chest a short way from her.
I moved towards it, not wishing to displease this lady. She encouraged me to open it and I saw a long wrapped cloth of cyan adorned with silver stars. The blade was clearly elven in design, a long thin curve of silver, the handle a cris-cross of blue and white with an uncut diamond for the pommel.
I grasped the handle of this beautiful blade, felt a force wash over me as memories which were not my own played out in my mind.
I’m an elven woman cutting through dozens of orcs across fields of death, I’m a dwarf driving the blade through the skull of a minotaur, dozens of memories of people who had come before…
and I was plunged again into cold darkness.
She said she was curious to see what would happen and gestured to our surroundings, my eyes became clearer now and saw dozens of frozen statues throughout the cave, fear and pain wrought upon their frozen faces, apparently the blade was not so forgiving for them.
She told me her name was Mab and that I was to be her servant, and she my lady. The blade had the name Frostweaver and it was forged in a time of great war to be a weapon that would slay gods. She took it from me then and said that I wasn’t ready for it now as it contained the very power of winter. Instead her hands passed over the short sword on the floor changing its shape to that of Frostweaver but without the runic magic.
Her cool hands reached out and took my face, I felt a rush of energy between us, her eyes looked deep into my and she spoke again.
“Travel to Syngorn and find yourself an identity. Await my instructions, and prove yourself.”
 
Syngorn
I slept in the streets, I stole what I needed, and survived best I could, I kept watch over sleeping children living in the streets as I was. One day a golden ring found it’s way into my possession. I had lived on the streets for long enough, why not use this ring and build myself a more noble identity. I persuaded a tailor to make me some fine clothing and slipped into a new class of nobility and found it to be comfortable.
From a book, I read of Lyrengorn, the elvish mountain city in the north, and chose it as my new ‘home’. It serves two purposes, it’s remote enough to have few who can confirm my stories, and it’s neutral position in politics will mean no allegiances owed and given.
I also read something about my queen as well, whilst the books seem to ignore her magnificence and beauty, they do explain something of the nature of fey and the courts, it’s intriguing, especially if I am now a follower of winter and my lady. It even suggests that the mysterious Raven Queen is a deity aligned to winter and possibly the court.
It took some time but I’d built Lord Raphael Neverwood up from nothing, a hedge knight within the order the Moonweaver, and a servant to a high priestess. I rose quickly in the city, and established contacts and papers that would fool all but the keenest of eyes.
Then it came. I am incredibly grateful to have had a missive from my lady, the instructions were to relieve a noble of his belongings in front of a certain tavern at a certain time. My quick hands served me well and I learnt later that he was servant of summer.
 
Kymal
Upon arriving, it quickly became clear that this was not a place where Lord Raphael Neverwood would thrive, so I took to the more seedy taverns, and asked people to call me Kyros Kalantir. A gentleman and a rogue, which served me well. I relied on information bought and sold between street urchins and eventually I performed some small tasks for the Clasp.
During a night of drinking, a fight broke out with a few bearing the tattoo of the Ravager and few locals. One Ravager Half-orc focused on me and I felt the cold breeze and some spectral frost guide me to the savage’s heart, and I understood what my lady wished me to do, he turned to strike me but I was faster and with a single thrust of my blade I drove it deep into the heart of my attacker.
The next day a missive appeared in my coat telling me to head to Drynna. My work seemed to have pleased her.