The Legend of the Ice Queen
"Long ago, the many Gospodar clans lived upon the Endless Steppe. Like today, it was a vast province and was lashed with the terrible energies of Chaos. The Gospodars were beset by all manner of foul foes, and the Daemon Gods offered to cease these attacks if the Gospodars would but bow their heads in worship.
But the Gospodars were stubborn. Unlike the neighbouring tribes—the Kurgan, the Hung, and the Norse—they would not be coerced; instead, they turned to other Gods, Gods they hoped could protect them from the northern taint. Most important among these was Ursun the Bear, who taught
his worshippers how to survive the freezing winters, how to war against Chaos, and how to respect the spirits of the land.
But, even with Ursun’s help, the Gospodars’ plight was desperate. Then a great spirit—called “The Ancient Widow,” “Kislev,” or simply “The Land”—whispered to a Gospodar shaman-priestess. It promised her great power if she swore to seize a distant, frozen realm where the spirit was trapped by the Daemon Gods. The shaman, desperate to aid her people, readily agreed and was granted the power of winter in return. With the Ancient Widow’s guidance, the shaman quickly mastered her new powers and used them to gather what she needed to fulfil her promise. Soon, she had bound the disparate Gospodar clans into a single people and placed herself above them as their first Khan-Queen. This done, she
took her people and began her search for the Ancient Widow’s land.
After generations of bloodshed on the Endless Steppe, a descendant of the Khan-Queen led the Gospodars across the Worlds Edge Mountains. There, wide-eyed, she encountered a vast snow-covered plain pulsing with icy power. She immediately collapsed to the ground and wept frozen tears, for she knew her search had finally ended. By this time, there were many women wielding the Khan-Queen’s cold magic, so when the Gospodars
blew their horns of war, the native Ungols, Ropsmenn, Ostermarkers, and Ostlanders had little chance against them. The Gospodars swept down from the mountains and founded a new nation in the lands of those they conquered, and their Khan-Queen, Shoika, became the first Tzarina of Kislev.
Now, many centuries later, those who practice the old, cold magics of the legendary Khan-Queens are known as ice witches, and their power has not been diminished by time.”
—Militsa Lushadoch Gmelin, Ice Witch
Tsarina Katarina Bokha - The Current Ice Queen
Katarina is the only child of Boris Bokha, the Tzar of Kislev.
When Tzar Boris undertook the initiation rights to become a High Priest of the Cult of Ursun, he disappeared into the wilderness and nothing was heard of him for nearly eighteen days. Finally, it was decided that Tsar Boris must have perished and the nobility of Kislev was moved to crown the still infant Katarina as the new Tzar of Kislev.
However, Boris was later discovered unconscious yet alive alongside a mighty Bear.
With the weight of rulership thrown off her shoulders, the future Tzarina grew to become a powerful Ice Witch, some saying she is the reincarnation of Khan-Queen Miska, the first ruler of the Gospodar and the greatest of the Ice Witches.
Magic Items
Fearfrost: Forged by the ancient Khan-queen Miska of the Gospodars, this blade has passed from Tzarina to Tzarina through the ages. Only a Tzarina can wield the blade, and were a man to lift the blade, he would find himself frozen to death within a heartbeat. The blade is infused with Ice Magic and the intense cold can kill with a single scratch.
The Crystal Cloak: A swirling mist of dancing ice crystals surrounds the Tzarina, warding off the most serious of injuries and confounding her foes’ attempts to strike her.
"You all know I bore no heirs. But I have all my sons and daughters here with me today. On this rain-soaked hill, we are all one people, one land. Today we fight for Kislev! Today we fight for her lost sons and daughters, for her proud mothers and fathers! Kislev is people, and people are Kislev!"
—Tzarina Katarina, the Ice Queen of Kislev
"The strength of Kislev lies in you all. The land has called you all here, and it is here that you will put that strength to the test defying Chaos. There is power in this land, and tomorrow it will run in all your veins. Use it well."
—The Ice Queen of Kislev
“I hear tale of Great College of Magic and how it save Kislev from Chaos. Nekulturny talk! Many century before College and precious Elf founder, Kislevarin witches guard land with old Human magic. Yha, Imperinyi and Elf wizards come to Kislev’s Gate in Great War, but they are few to Kislev’s many!”
—Olegva Olga syn, Retired Kossar
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