Domains: Life, Nature, Travel
Specialties: Nomads, Winter
Race: Elves

Frost Elves, Isreitha among their own kind, are also sometime called Winter Elves by their distant kin. They live in the forests and on the small islands of the southeast where they herd elk a they have done as long as their ancestors remember. The Isreitha do not remember when their ancestors came to live in this place, it has always been so. Based on the long lives of elves, that must mean it was long long ago since they still claim the Summer elves as distant kin in their legends. They are skilled riders, hunters, and survivors thanks to a mystic bond with their chosen elk companion.

Isreitha stand around 6' tall and have thick frames for surviving the winter cold. Their arms and legs tend to be shorter and, thus, they tend to be less graceful than their Summer kin when out of the saddle. Some have even accused them of waddling. In the saddle, however, they are one with their mounts and move swiftly and adeptly over the terrain. They hunt with spear and bow. Their eyes tend to be white, pale blue, or vivid purple. Their hair is white but always tinted sky blue, pale green, or lavender. Isreitha wear thick furs most of the year and buckskin in the brief southern summers.

As with many wilder peoples, their beliefs structure their lives.

The Isreitha language bears the soft sighs of winter air combined with the cracks of breaking ice. Their war cries are the fierce howling of the winter winds accompanied by the trumpeting of their elk.

Everything in Frost Elf culture centers around the elk. Their movements during the seasons are for the benefit of their herds of domesticated elk though some kin groups simply follow wild herds. Certain rituals are required when elk are butchered and female Isreitha are taught these rituals when young. To butcher a Klenik requires the presence of a Rune Carver and a Priestess of the Moon. Males are taught how to hunt, fight, and tame elk in the ways of Velkith, the Isreitha god of the hunt and war. All Isreitha bond with a Klenik. This is a rare species of elk that is large, stronger, and more aggressive than typical. An unbonded Isreitha is still considered a child and may not leave its parents' king group. The only exception to this are the Ice Walker kin groups. Though bonded to Klenik which travel with them, these kin groups track the migrations of the seals on the ice islands. During the summer, when the seals are in their mating cycles, the Ice Walkers use hide canoes to travel among the islands and hunt the seals for hides and meat. Luckily, Klenik are omnivorous, and the Ice Walker Klenik have the most meat-centered diet of all the tribe during this time. In winter, Ice Walkers retreat to Ice Bay to avoid the harsh island winters.

In the south of the Frozen Forest, the kin groups tend to stay close to the river during the summer. There they fish and hunt wild elk with their Klenik allies. Of all the Isreitha, the southern elves are the most adventurous and they tend to like exploring the forest during High Summer. During the winter, they tend to retreat toward Ice Bay to trade and reconnect with their distant relatives. These river elves also make hide canoes to travel quickly along the river at this time since it is their custom to allow their Klenik bonded animals to run wild in winter. It is no strange fact that Klenik herds are most common in the south due to this practice.

In the north, kin groups tend to follow elk herds during the spring and summer. Each kin group will have its small herd of Klenik and many also have small herds of domesticated elk. Not all see this as natural though and practice the "old ways" of tracking and hunting wild elk. During summer, the Isreitha range far afield but will all return to Greengate by the Autmnal convergence to trade, celebrate festivals, and stay the winter.

Isreitha culture is also dictated by a strange biological fact: four in five isreitha births are female. Males are rare and from birth taught the ways of Velkith. Females are taught how to butcher, create, and make all the things Isreitha use in their society. Each part of their society understands that the other is required for them to survive though. And both males and females must undergo the Ritual of Bonding as performed by a Rune Carver as a rite of adulthood. After this, they leave their kin groups and travel alone for several years or decades during summer. During this time, they grow their skills and develop their strengths. Some join the religions orders. Eventually, a core of females will for a new kin group. These are typically good friends or allies. Males will then compete for admittance to the kin group and its resources by demonstrating hunting prowess or martial acumen. Rarely, males are allowed access due to magical acumen as Rune Carvers or Druids.

There are three magical orders among the Isreitha. The Druids of Velkith, The Rune Carvers, and the Pale Sister. The druids and rangers which serve Velkith are all males. They learn the rhythm and balance of nature and both serve it as well as use it. Rune Carvers practice the rituals of Maderakka, the Mother of All Elk, and use elk parts, especially antlers, to work their magics. These function as lore masters for the Isreitha as they record all of their history in elaborate runes on elk antlers and hides. The Pale Sisters are priestesses of the triplet goddess (Jabme-Akka, Juksakka, and Sarakka.) Unusually, the seal hunting tribes of the south also venerate a spirit known as Thjathje who is a spirit of water and created the fish and seals. Many Isreitha also acknowledge the spritis of Biegolmai (Summer winds) and Biegkegaellies (Winter winds.) The Isreitha also fear a collection of evil spirits know as Stalla and dismiss the Ipmil of other peoples as weak. It is a strange duality in their religion that they acknowledge their distant relationship to Summer elves via Velkith but also view themselves as having been created and born to Maderakka and Velkith as distinct and separate from other elves.

Isreitha leadership, thusly, revolves around these three constants. Kin Groups form and dissolve over time after all, on an elven scale of things anyway. Regardless, Isreitha leadership is a nebulous things but it revolves around the priesthoods. Among any group of females who corm a kin group, at least one is a priestess of Juksakkka, the goddess of the moon, hearth, and hunting, and they will always seek the blessing of a Priestess of Jabme-akka, the goddess of death, ice, and wisdom.  Thus, the Pale Sisters are the heart of Isreitha society. The Rune Carvers are the memory of the Isreitha. TO become one, a young elf must seek out a master Rune Carver and go through trials to apprentice themselves to that master. The period of training requires no less than a century to master the art. After that time, they are allowed to travel among the kin groups and serve freely. Only after recognition as such by three other masers is a Rune Carver then elevated to Master themselves and allowed to take apprentices. Rune Carvers function as traveling lore masters and law speakers. They are always called upon to settle disputes. Upon their 650th name day, a Master Rune Carver is elevated to the rank of Grand Master. Nothing but age can elevate an elf to this position. Grand Masters rarely leave Greengate or Ice Bay to travel anymore but are sought out for matters of great importance. The last priesthood are those dedicated to Velkith. Almost all males spend some time serving Velkith in their youth, few make a it the matter of their lives. Among these Chosen sorts are the Green knights, terrifying mounted warriors that defend the Isreitha, wise druids, and stealthy rangers. The Temple of the Horned God sits at the site of Greengate and serves as the training grounds, gathering place, and center of defense of Isreitha lands. Among the Velkith, each order elevates and recognizes a single Champion. This triumvirate guides and leads the order and sits in conference with the High Priestesses of the Pale Sisterhood and the Grand Masters of the Rune Carvers.

While the Rune Carvers and Chosen of Velkith are straightforward organizations, the Pale Sisters are not. The Temple of the Moon is located in Ice Bay and serves partly as a reason many Isreitha gather here in the winter. When a young female joins the sisterhood, she is initiated as a Priestess of Sarakka, The goddess of fertility, beauty, and dancing. Strangely, Sarakka also functions as a goddess of war and many of the young priestesses spend much time training in the spear. Most such Priestesses never move on from this level; these warrior-priestesses serve as guardians of the temple and doughty warriors. A great many move on as they age to join the ranks of the Priesthood of Jaksakka. Now they train with the bow and learn the rites to butcher elk. Again, almost all Priestesses leave the temple at this level and form kin groups. Very few priestesses serve at the temple long enough to elevate to the last rank as priestesses of Jabme-akka. Now, they learn deep magics, the rites to butcher Klenik, and the deep secrets of the Isreitha. Some aging females do journey to the temple to serve out their last years as priestesses of Jabme-akka as well but these are not seen as among the most senior of the priestesshood. Only those who progressed through each rank are given the title of High Priestess. These are the leaders of the Isreitha along with the most senior members of the Chosen of Velkith and the Grand Masters of the Rune Carvers.