Snowskin
Faerie is not all exploding chaos and wild whimsy. Sometimes it is cold, still, and quiet, like a snowfall on a winter’s night. In palaces of glittering ice, or at the bottom of freezing oceans filled with all manner of unearthly creatures, Keepers enforce a frigid peace at the end of an icicle spear. Their servants become Snowskins to better survive their chilling durances.
Those who interact with Snowskins find them to be chilly, both physically and emotionally. Members of this kith have, at the very least, an unusually low body temperature. Some develop ice crystals in their hair, or constantly fogging breath. Many Lost kindly describe them as “a bit frosty, but lovely once you get to know them,” or less politely, “that frigid bitch.” Snowskins are reserved and mysterious at best, actively antisocial at worst.
Before the Fae took them, Snowskins were stable and selfsufficient, able to take care of themselves should anything fall apart. Their durances sharpened this to a fine point, teaching them not to trust anyone or anything other than their own capabilities. Their Keepers left them to fend for themselves in snowy wastelands or fields of icebergs, often with little clothing or other warmth. They freeze to protect themselves.
It is this total freezing of the heart and soul that allows a Snowskin to evade his Keeper’s tender mercies long enough to escape Arcadia. Bright, expressive souls attract the Gentry, not lumps of ice and shadow. Snowskins usually escape unnoticed once they force this change of heart. Complete empathic shutdown comes with a price, however — Snowskins learn to escape by putting themselves first, and to hell with everyone else, an attitude that does not change easily. Even once they’re back in the mortal world, some never warm up to their fellow Lost, and those who do form extremely strong attachments to those they let in.
Elemental: Her hair might have been platinum blonde once, but it is now the iridescent white of a virgin snowfield. Her finely chiseled face always seems to be sneering at something, and she is never without her motley. Only those pledge-bonded to her know it’s because she’s afraid to be alone in a crowd.
Ogre: She is the hulking enforcer of the Winter Court, all sharp angles and corners. No one has ever heard her speak in more than monosyllables, and she doesn’t make friends. However, no one in the freehold is a fiercer protector of new escapees or a better guide to the local Hedge and trods.
Calm yourself, you won’t get anywhere by panicking. Is anyone dead or bleeding? Is anyone missing?
Kith Blessing: When the Snowskin attempts to use Subterfuge to hide her feelings from others, achieving three successes counts as an exceptional success.
Heart of Ice: A Snowskin’s derision is more vicious than a howling blizzard. When she attempts to shut someone down in front of an audience, spend a point of Glamour and roll Presence + Intimidation + Wyrd, contested by the target’s Composure + Supernatural Tolerance. If the Snowskin succeeds, her target gains the Shaken Condition and suffers a −2 on all Social rolls involving other changelings until the Condition resolves, as her contempt freezes him out of society.
