Thursday, November 1, 2012

Dalerain VII: The Winter Queen


Cheneitha
Winter Queen, Lady of Ice, Frost Maiden
Power of the Dalerain
Major AoC: Cold, Frost, Ice, Winter
Minor AoC: Frost, Death by Cold, Stagnation, or Being Trapped.
Symbol: A snowflake, a snowy owl.
Allies: None
Enemies: Brigit, Umoth
Avatar: Cleric 12 / Fighter 11 / Wizard 12

Cheneitha appears as a young woman of medium height, with silver-white hair and pale, almost colorless, blue eyes, clad in a robe of white fur and a gown of white silk. In combat she wears crystalline scale mail and helm and carries a spear of ice called Frausein, or Littlefrost. She is vain, and often wears pale or colorless jewels, and enjoys these as gifts. 

In a few rare myths, Cheneitha is represented as as a sister to Brigit, or Alaron and Eial, but tempted away from them and into Kajalla's influence. At one point she was part of a trinity of goddess, including Kajalla the Crone and Malis the False; her place in recent centuries has been overtaken by Yilwyn, the Bleak Maiden. She rarely deals with the Crone anymore, but any rumors of her desire to reconcile with her sister(s) are swiftly extinguished by her priesthood and probably untrue.

Cheneitha is worshiped by ice elementalists and those seeking to keep things as they are; she is appeased by nearly everyone. She is generous with those who please her, but fickle in her attentions; those who are not vigilant find her whims have turned against them. Her priests are solitary between themselves, preferring to surround themselves with minions and cohorts rather than rivals. They hope to win their goddess’s favor by eliminating warmth and the heat of change from the world, and bring unchanging cold. They often use undead in these tasks, and some see undeath as the ultimate existence, stagnant and cold.

Cheneitha is rare among the Dalerain in her rulership of a material realm, the High Ice. This desolate, glacial land has slowly expanded its reach over the centuries, and now covers almost everything beyond the Kameurhorns. Her interest in the High Ice has waned as its influence has grown, and the goals of the High Ice, whatever they may be, are increasingly determined by a shadowy power or powers embedded in the deepest ice.

Winterlady /Winterlord (3e)
Domains: Battle, Cold, Summoning, Water
Skills: Intuit Direction, Wilderness Lore
Favored Weapon: Spear.
Bonuses: +2 class bonus to Intuit Direction and Wilderness Lore checks in winter or arctic conditions.

The image is by Harald Siepermann; original is here http://haraldsiepermann.blogspot.com/2008/07/blog-post.html .  I probably shouldn't use it, since I didn't ask permission, but the Dulac Snow Queen is so...staring. 

4 comments:

  1. Given I'm not familiar with all the gaming systems out there, I'll ask: From whence comes "the Dalerain?"

    Interesting goddess. I can see several uses for her. Glad to see that you're getting back into the swing of things. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Campaign, not rules, reference. The Dalerain are the "common" gods, intermediate through demi-power. There are five "classes" of divine being in the Shadowend: Elder Host (primal powers), Dalerain (Elder Host/Dalerain + mortal), Envidier (immortal heroes/quasi-powers; no clerics but can grant occult magic, ie warlocks & witches), Typhos (child of two divine beings; think the Titans of Greece; 100% amoral & selfish; no clerics but can grant occult magic), and cults (blinds that divinities sometimes hide behind; a means of granting occult but not divine magic to followers with deniability). Slightly more here: http://secretsoftheshadowend.blogspot.com/2009/05/gods-demons-i.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The power or powers contained within the High Ice is likely a Typhos that Cheneitha struck a bargain with ages ago. My next post is probably going to be on one of Cheneitha's children, who might be an Envidier, or just below them.

      Delete
  3. Keep them coming! I'm always on the "look out" for ideas for my stories. This is "good stuff."

    And I'll be checking out that link. Thanks!

    ReplyDelete