Frostclaw, The Everwinter Serpent

Also Known As: The Scales of Ice, The Hibernation Guardian, The Blizzard's Heart
Alignment: Neutral
Domains: Winter, Survival, Strength, Animal
Subdomains: Ice, Resolve, Ferocity, Scales
Favored Weapon: Ice Claws (Spiked Gauntlet)

Description

Frostclaw, known by the title The Everwinter Serpent, embodies the raw power of winter, the resilience of life in harsh conditions, and the cyclical nature of hibernation and renewal. This deity represents the unforgiving yet nurturing aspects of ice and cold, the strength found in adapting to extreme environments, and the wisdom gained through weathering life's harshest seasons. Frostclaw is often depicted as a colossal, serpentine dragon with scales of ice, eyes of blue fire, and claws that can tear through glaciers. In some representations, Frostclaw appears as a hybrid of lizard and mammal, with both scales and fur, symbolizing adaptation and survival.

Teachings

The Everwinter Serpent teaches that true strength comes from enduring and adapting to life's harshest challenges. Winter is not just a season to be survived, but a teacher that hones one's resilience and reveals inner power. Frostclaw's followers believe that by embracing the cold and learning its secrets, they can tap into primal energies that grant both physical might and deep wisdom.

Key tenets include:

• Embrace the cold, for it tempers the body and sharpens the mind.

• Adaptability is the key to survival; change with the seasons but never lose your core.

• Community is the shield against life's harshest storms; protect your clan as they protect you.

• In stillness and hibernation, find renewal and hidden strength.

Followers
The Everwinter Serpent's followers are primarily Arctic Lizardfolk, but also include some humans and other races who have adapted to the colder regions of Aurora's Refuge. They are often druids, barbarians, rangers, and shamans who embrace the raw power of winter and the strength of primal nature. Many serve as tribal leaders, guides through treacherous icy terrains, or guardians of ancient glacial temples. Devotees of Frostclaw are known for their incredible physical resilience and deep connection to the natural world. They often adorn themselves with Ice Claws, either as weapons or symbolic jewelry, and many undergo ritualistic exposure to extreme cold as a form of worship and self-improvement.

Symbols and Iconography

• A serpentine dragon coiled around a snowflake

• A claw made of ice, often used as a holy symbol

• A scale that is half-ice, half-flesh

• An eye with a blizzard swirling within its pupil

Holy Text

"The Frost Chronicles" is the primary holy text of the Everwinter Serpent. Unlike traditional books, it is a collection of ice sculptures and frost patterns that form naturally in Frostclaw's sacred places. Followers learn to read these ephemeral texts, understanding that like winter itself, wisdom can be both harsh and beautiful, ever-changing yet cyclical. The most sacred verses are said to form only during the coldest nights of the year.

Temples

Temples to the Everwinter Serpent are often vast ice caverns or ancient glaciers, where the power of winter is at its strongest. These sacred sites feature natural ice formations that followers shape into places of worship, with altars of never-melting ice and chambers for meditation in sub-zero temperatures. Many temples include hot springs or geothermal vents, symbolizing the balance between ice and fire, cold and warmth, that is necessary for survival.

Relationships with Other Deities

Frostclaw maintains a respectful but distant relationship with deities of other natural forces, seeing them as necessary counterbalances to winter's power. It finds kinship with gods of endurance and survival but stands opposed to deities of uncontrolled fire or those who would seek to eliminate the harsh but necessary trials of nature. Frostclaw and Aurorai, the Eternal Radiance, are seen as complementary forces, with Frostclaw representing the harsh trials that make Aurorai's light all the more precious.

Religions

• Aurora’s Refuge