Frostfairn; Races of Sarterra

The Frostfairn have existed in Sarterra for a short amount of time. Emperor Ittondor took his Elven armies and sought to make them more powerful than any race on Sarterra. Using magics of all disciplines, from the adepts of all the other races, the Emperor set out to transform his children.

He sought fearlessness, he got a complete lack of emotion. He sought passion, he got vindictiveness. He sought beauty, he got cruelty without bounds. He sought immortality, he got eternal death.

The Frostfairn epitomize all that is cruel and unrelenting in Sarterra. They do not take slaves or prisoners, none are left in their wake. They do not ally, even temporarily, with other races no matter the benefit. They are not mindless, far from it, but their bodies are devoid of any life. In death they live eternal. Their bodies, resilient as they may be, suffer from decomposition over time. This occurs at a fraction of the rate found in basic biology, but it happens nonetheless.

Emperor Ittondor's ingenious solution to this tragic flaw was to relocate the Frostfairn to the frozen southern pole. Here their slowly decomposing bodies remain intact. Halindar and Eulonteos are the first two Frostfairn cities that have been raised from the ice and snow, but certainly not the last. The architecture of the cities is as cold as those who dwell within them, as cold as the freeze that permeates the land. Tall, dark spires pierce into the gray veil of shifting clouds. Walls of ice, carved with chisel and magic, encircle the great fortresses.

The Frostfairn, at initial glance, physically resemble the Elves or the Darque. This is in form only, the two races, Darque and Frostfairn are nearly exact opposites. Frostfairn have eyes that glow with an unnatural yellow with centers the color of molten gold. Their skin, long dead, isn't taut, but retains a surprisingly healthy feel and their hair is kept long and is thick and dark to the point that swallows up the surrounding light. Like the other Elves of Sarterra, Frostfairn are lithe and tall with a powerful, sublime strength. There is great speculation as to the nature of the Frostfairn, but it is unknown if their cruelty is born or learn. It doesn't matter the origin, their spite in the world is renown.

Races avoid contact with them at all costs, and those who haven't encountered them yet, quickly learn to keep away. Because of this, many myths and legends surround the Frostfairn, making them as unappealing a target to other nations as possible. Not only that, but given the extreme cold of their environment, no other nation is remotely interested in acquiring that territory.

Doing a random google-image search I came across the piece you see here (used w/o permission). It came from End-Reitanna at DeviantArt, check their gallery out here. Check out tomorrow and I post my finished "evil ice elves" who now not only have a name, but a background!