Ice Wraith
Ice Wraiths are spectral undead infused with elemental frost, born from the souls of those who died in freezing agony or cursed by winter-bound necromancy. They are incorporeal phantoms, haunting blizzards and snow-choked ruins with eerie silence and deadly intent. These entities are feared not only for their supernatural cold but for their ability to drain heat, hope, and life from anything they touch.
Ice Wraiths are the souls of the frozen dead, caught between elemental fury and undead curse. Beautiful in their spectral grace but utterly deadly, they are the icy echo of death itself—a chilling reminder that even the cold can hunger.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Ice Wraiths appear as shifting, ethereal wisps of blue-white mist, sometimes vaguely humanoid in shape, sometimes little more than a swirling vortex of frost and hate. Their core flickers with a cold azure light, like a frozen soul aflame. Their movement is fluid and windborne, often accompanied by falling snow or a sudden drop in temperature.
Some manifest a chilling visage—a skeletal face glazed with rime, or a twisted mask of sorrow, anger, or terror frozen in spectral ice.
Biological Traits
- Frost Drain: Ice Wraiths sap the body heat of nearby creatures, dealing cold damage and potentially slowing or freezing them.
- Phase Through Ice and Stone: As incorporeal beings, they can move effortlessly through solid matter, especially glacial surfaces, making them excellent ambushers.
- Deathly Howl: Some Ice Wraiths emit a haunting wail that chills the soul, causing fear or paralyzing those who hear it.
- Cold Immunity: Completely immune to cold and frost magic; many even absorb cold spells, using the energy to heal or empower themselves.
- Frozen Possession (Rare): Particularly malevolent Ice Wraiths can inhabit and animate frozen corpses or statues of ice, becoming more physically dangerous in this state.
Weaknesses:
- Fire and Radiant Magic: Vulnerable to intense heat, holy power, and light-based magic that can disrupt their cohesion.
- Sacred Relics: Holy wards and blessed weapons are more effective, particularly if tied to fire, sun, or spirits of warmth.
- Binding Anchors: If their place of origin is destroyed or purified, the Ice Wraith often loses its hold on the material world.
Genetics and Reproduction
- Born of Betrayal or Abandonment: Many Ice Wraiths are the spirits of warriors or wanderers who perished alone in the cold, forsaken by comrades or lost to blizzards.
- Created by Cold Necromancy: Certain necromancers or cursed locations can forge Ice Wraiths from fallen souls, binding them with elemental ice to serve as guardians or hunters.
- Bound to Frozen Places: They cannot stray far from the place of their death or binding unless summoned or directed by powerful magic.
Behaviour
- Solitary or in Spectral Packs: Most roam alone, but some gather in spectral flocks, especially in areas heavy with recent death or strong necromantic presence.
- Territorial: Fiercely protective of their haunting grounds—often glacial ruins, ancient battlefields, or frozen barrows.
- Silent Hunters: Unlike banshees or ghosts, Ice Wraiths often move without sound, their only herald being the sudden arrival of frost, breathless cold, and the sound of ice cracking.
Civilization and Culture
Common Myths and Legends
- In ancient times, an entire battalion of soldiers lost in a blizzard became Ice Wraiths and now guard the path to the Anvil of Winter, attacking any who come near.
- Some whisper that the Ridge-Spires of An’Khul are haunted by Ice Wraiths born of an ancient betrayal during a siege, and that their cries can still be heard in moonlit storms.
- It is believed that the most powerful Ice Wraiths, called Winterbound, remember fragments of their past lives—and may offer cryptic warnings or riddles before striking.
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