Winter
The Ice Queen
The Seasonal Lord of Winter, more commonly reffered to as the Ice Queen. She is the deity of Winter, Suffering, and Survival.
Divine Domains
The Ice Queen holds dominion over the season of Winter. She grants her divine followers access to the Evil, Void, Water, and Weather domains, and the Fear, Ice, Isolation, and Seasons subdomains.
Artifacts
The Ice Queen has two major artifacts, the Spear of Suffering and the Crown of Winter. The Spear inflicts devestating wounds, and is capable of freezing anything it peirces. The Crown grants its wearer complete control over winter magic and creatures who dwell in cold areas.
Each of the Seasonal Lords also have their thrones, which are powerful artifacts in their own rights. The Frozen Throne of Winter is sculpted out of unholy ice and the frozen bones of those who would challenge the reign of winter.
Holy Books & Codes
The Ice Queen prefers to have her tales and codes told through oral story, while monuments to her power are crafted through ice sculptures. Such statues are often carved out of the unfortunate frozen victims of those who have crossed her or her many servants.
Many childrens tales of the Frost Hold are books written with the antagonist as the Ice Queen. Such tales often try to place the importance of keeping promises and oaths of loyalty, and usually end with the main character added to the Ice Queen's frozen repitior after failing to keep their word.
Tenets of Faith
Like a majority of the Fey Courts, the tenents of the Ice Queen mostly revolve around the stewarding of the natural world, albiet in often a more gruesome fashion. While many of her followers are either indebted or server her purely out of fear, her most devout followers tend to be those who embrace the harshest aspects of nature. The those that can't survive the harshness of the wild will be culled, and old life must die for new live to eventually thrive. These followers usually adhere to some variation of the following code:
- Winter is always coming, so I will always be prepared for when it arrives.
- Those who cannot dwell in the world at its most harsh do not deserve to enjoy it when it is at its most bountiful.
- I acknowledge that suffering is a natural part of the cycle of life. I will endure whatever suffering that might come my way, so I can be stronger for it.
- I will remind those who would stand against the will of nature to just how harsh nature can be
- I will appreciate the cold beauty the Winter will coat the world in
- Just as winter resets the world for spring, I will always be willing to make sacrifices in the name of the Queen
Holidays
There are two major holidays of the Ice Queen, held on the first and last day of winter respectively:
Sculpting Day: Held on the 1st of Ura, it is the day the Ice Queen sheds her physical form and ascend to true divinity. On this day, villiages set up blocks of ice and attempt to carve beuatiful likenessess of the Queen and her servants, in the hopes the the Queens sees them in her ascent, and if sufficiently pleases, will bless the villiage with an easy winter.
Offering Day: Held on the The 40th of Skova, it is the day the Ice Queen returns to physical form. It is a day to offer her gifts and attempt to appease her, as she is often in a foul mood upon returning. While the most devout make the dangerous treck to give their gifts in person at the Palace of Winter, most folks set their offerings, no matter how minor, outside of a pine tree. The weallhy often have their own tree set up outside their home, often having it grow alongside their families for generations, but many villiages set up a communal tree in the center of town. It is also common for those serving under powerful lords, such as a Jarl, to offer similiar gifts to prove their loyalty on this day.
Divine Goals & Aspirations
Beyond overseeing the transition of the seasons, the Ice Queens goals seem to be tempering the ambitions of both mortals and the lesser members of the Fey courts, keeping them from overstepping their bounds. It is said that she fuels the continual growth of mortality by periodically culling the weak, and reminding them of their own fragility.
Physical Description
Body Features
While exisiting in the mortal world, the Ice Queen manifests as a gaunt woman, resembeling a frozen corpse, with piercing blue eyes and thin long hair. Her mighty Crown of Winter always rests upon her head.
Special abilities
The Ice Queen has a mastery over ice magic, able to quickly freeze most creatures. An icy sheet slowly creeps out from her feet, and she can plunge an area into a supernatural blizzard, freezing solid those who are caught in it. Those who meet her icy gaze are also slowly frozen solid under the pressure of her malice.
Mental characteristics
Personal history
Winter is one of the oldest demigods in creation, predating even the first children of the gods, the Titans. After Fall, the Pumpkin King, had ruled for several centuries, eventually, the first bits of snow fell from the heights of Yig. This snow collalesced into the Ice Queen, and most of the Pumpkin Kings divine power was transferred to her, reducing him to that of a demigod. After many years of searching, the Pumpkin King located the Ice Queen, and sought to slay her and regain his power. However, upon seeing her manifest, he was smitten by her cold beauty, and instead attempted to woe her. After another several centuries, he succeeded, and together, they birth Spring, the Pring of Rains. Upon his birth, the power was yet again transfered, now resting with the newborn., and thus the first reign of winter ended and the first spring began. Eventually, another child was born, Summer, the Princes of Flowers, and the new seasons brought prosperity to gods and mortals alike.
However, the divine power of the seasons was now split four ways, and soon the family began to fight and bicker over the rights to hold it. The newborn Princess of Flowers, disheartened by her families conflict, sought the guidance of one of her friends, the Celestial Paragon of Freedom, Vohmana. Vohmana agreed to help act as the steward of their power, and now foever aids in the transition of each of the seasons.
Social
Contacts & Relations
The Ice Queen is considered one of the highest authority figures in the Fey Courts, second only to her husband, the Pumpking King, although he will usually defer to her when they come into conflict. The Ice Queen seems to take a much more active role in governing the Fey Courts, activally seeking tributes and dealing out punishments to the lesser courts.
All the Seasonal Lords have great respect and deference to Vohmana, the Celestial Paragon of Freedom, as she seems to facilitate their process of transitioning through the seasons.
Family Ties
The Ice Queen is the Wife of Fall, the Pumpkin King, and together they have two children, the other Seasonal Lords, Spring, the Prince of Rains, and Summer, the Princess of Flowers.
While the exact origins of the Fey Sovereigns are unknown, many speculate that the Seasonal Lords were instrumental in their creation. Most believe that the Vizir of Violence was somehow created or desceneded from the Ice Queen, as another way to keep mortals in check.
Relationships
Wealth & Financial state
The Ice Queen is said to have ammased a massive horde of treasure, for the annual gifts given to her on Offering Day. Such treasure is held inside the depths of the Winter Palace, and believed to be guarded by the frozens corpses of those foolish enough to attempt to break into the vault in an attempt to steal from it.
Divine Classification
Seasonal Lord
Religions
Alignment
Neutral Evil
Realm
Church/Cult
Honorary & Occupational Titles
Most refer to Winter by her royal title, the Ice Queen. Other names one might use for her is the Lordess of Frost, The Frozen Crone, and the Queen of the Old Ways.
Date of Birth
1st of Ura, 800 AC
Year of Birth
800
3303 Years old
Spouses
Fall
(spouse)
Siblings
Children
Pronouns
She/Her
Gender
Female
Quotes & Catchphrases
"Winter is coming": Said to others as a way to temper hopes and being others back to reality, as no matter how good things are going in the moment, the weather will always take a turn for the worst at some point.
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