The House of Frost and Rime
From Changeling Venue
Contents |
Location
The House of Frost and Rime is a precarious ice castle situated upon a prominent spire of rock surrounded by cold mists, vicious thorns, and other less desirable things. It is a stark, depressing, and lonely place. The House is run by the Silver Lady, a cruel mistress who amuses herself with the torment of the other dwellers of the House.
Weather
The weather about the House is always strong winds blowing sleet, hail, or flurries of snow. Sleet is the most common as the tiny shards cutting into the skin seems to best suit the temperaments of the Fae that live within the House. Flurries are the least common, tending to take place only when the Fae residents are in relatively good moods. The fortifications of the House keep out the worst of the weather but the strong winds find ways through the walls and windows making every room drafty and uncomfortable.
The House
Life in the House
Life inside the House is usually quite dull and boring, and so the Lady often captures mortals and brings them back to craft them into playthings and toys to better entertain herself and guests. The Lady is driven by a Lust for new experiences, but quickly tires of current obsessions and must seek out new ones. Changelings brought into her House must often fend for themselves once they have lost her interest. Due to the many Fae guests that the Lady entertains, it is also not unheard of for some of her neglected toys to be carried off by visiting Fae and put to better use elsewhere.
Residents
The Silver Lady
BrittleBreak
BrittleBreak lives deep within the stone beneath the House. He is seen rarely within the House itself as he has an aversion to others. The Lady allows him to stay within the foundations of the House because she enjoys sending particularly obstinate Changelings to him for proper training. BrittleBreak delights in snapping things. The small cracks that are sometimes heard echoing through the Halls are as often BrittleBreak at work upon the bones of a lost or punished Changeling as they are the sound of the ice that the Hall is composed of adjusting.
'Tink' TwinkleWhisper
Tink is one of the lesser beings of the Fae. It (Tink is gender netural) usually takes on the form of a sheen of light across a glassy plane or a small glimmer caught within a translucent object. Tink is a trickster, lurking in unexpected places to eavesdrop and then taking the gathered information and using it to hurt those who spoke it in the most vicious ways possible. Tink likes to whisper quietly to intended victims when they are alone of its plans for the indiscretions it has gathered from them so that it can enjoy their cries for mercy and forgiveness.
Maelcount
Maelcount guides and drives the storms that rage outside the icy palace. He ensures the captivity of the Changelings within the Halls.
House Celebrations
Feast of Good Will and Fortune
The Feast of Good Will and Fortune is one of the most celebrated events at the House of Frost and Rime. The Lady invites other Fae that she respects to come and take part in her banquet. She then has some of her 'lost children' (Changelings who have escaped) retrieved and prepared for the meal. Depending upon how popular the meal is, she must retrieve more of those who have gone beyond the Hedge to adequately satiate her guests. It is during this rare feast, and only during this rare feast, that she offers a thin slice of meat to any of the Changelings currently in her house to remind them of what happens to those who try to escape.
Waking the Frozen Dead
This is a common amusement at the Halls. Several of the resident Changelings are abducted in the night and are buried or bound outside of the Halls. Those who are not abducted are beaten and berated about the missing Changelings and are forced outside the Halls to retrieve their wayward companions. It is not uncommon for some never to be found or for those found to have expired due to the mistreatment.
