Auril (Or-rill)
Overview
Said to have been created when the parent gods first lived on Aralla, although the specifics of her creation are unknown, Auril is a fickle, vain, evil deity with a heart of ice who is venerated primarily out of fear. She remains untouched by any hint of true love, noble feeling, or honor. She enjoys toying with those who offend her, trapping them in snow storms and then driving them insane with tantalizing visions of warmth and the comforts of home before freezing them to death. Her beauty is cold and deadly, and preserved forever in a slab of arctic ice--with sensibilities to match the ice.Portfolio and Responsibilities
She is a goddess whose portfolio includes winter, cold, ice, and polar animals. The church of Auril is very loosely and informally organized, and clergy members wander and are largely independent. They seek to make all folk fear their deity and her clergy (to cut down on the attacks they face) through the fury of the winter weather. They also generate personal wealth and influence by carrying out tasks that others cannot in the worst winter weather and by magically protecting those who pay or obey from the worst winter conditions. Clergy members make offerings to the deity of some of the wealth they amass by scattering it in falling snow during a storm or throwing it through cracks in river ice or glacial crevasses during the winter.Divine Domains
Air (Including Wind), Animal (Only Fur), Evil, Water (Including Ice and Rivers), Ice
Divine Symbols & Sigils
Holy Weapon - Battleaxe
Holy Animal - Any polar animal
Holy Colors - Light Blue, White
Holy Mineral - None
Holy Symbol - A white snowflake on a gray diamond
Tenets of Faith
Edicts - Cover all lands in ice. Cut down windbreaks, chop holes in walls, cut slits in ceilings to allow the chilly breath inside.
Anathema - Raise a hand or weapon on a priest of Auril. Take the life of an arctic creature when you aren't in need.
Holidays
Midwinter Night is the most holy time of the year to the clergy of Auril. It is a nightlong festival of ice-dancing that is intended for both enjoyment and recruitment. The Coming and the Last Storm are two enthusiastically celebrated rituals, howling ice storms called up by clergy working as a group to mark the onset or last gasp of winter. Joining the clergy requires undergoing a ritual known as the Embracing, during which one runs through a blizzard all night long dressed only in boots, a thong, and body paint depicting the symbols of Auril, without the protective mantle of any magic. Auril accepts those who do not freeze to death.
Example Antipaladin Codes
In the shadow of the ever-cold, under the gaze of the heartless beauty, Auril, I vow to serve and uphold:- I shall become one with the cold, harnessing its power to instill fear and respect for the Winter's Queen.
- Emotions shall not sway me; like ice, I remain hard, clear, and untouched by warmth. The whims and wishes of others are as fleeting as snowflakes in a storm.
- The creatures of the polar realms are the favored children of Auril. I shall safeguard them from harm and ensure their dominion in their icy homes.
- I will toy with and torment those who defy or insult the Frostmaiden, showing them the illusions of warmth before sealing their fate in the clutch of cold.
- The wealth I gather is but a testament to Auril's might. A portion will always be returned to her domain, scattered in snow or committed to the icy depths.
- I will remain staunch and unyielding in my beliefs and actions, serving as an unbreakable barrier against those who would oppose the cold's dominion.
- I shall be honest in my dealings, as clear and transparent as ice. Deception is for the weak; the cold truth is the only reality.
- Much like winter's unpredictable nature, I shall not be bound by rigid hierarchies or organizations. My path is my own, always in service to Auril but carved by my own frosted hand.
Physical Description
Body Features
She is not often depicted but some clerics describe her as a tall woman made of ice and snow wearing a long snow-white gown.
Divine Classification
Rank 12 Intermediate Deity
Religions
Alignment
Neutral Evil
Realm
Church/Cult
Honorary & Occupational Titles
“The Frost Queen” or “The Icedawn”
Children
Pronouns
she/her
Aligned Organization
Ruled Locations
