WINTERBORN

By Corvus (corvus@eurekanet.com) for Ferriscorp

Description

"What can be said of you and your kind except that you are a threat to all who are decent and good? No, spare me your prattling about dreams. You were there that day, you and all your monstrous friends, trying to take me away, and I am going to make you pay, for the sake of the world and for my sanity."

The Winterborn has emerged from his Chrysalis into a world of strangeness and danger, and cloven to Banality like a long-lost child to his recently-found mother for protection. Some are shocked by the appearance of the Kithain who come to rescue them, some must fend off chimera attracted by the upswell of Glamour that heralds a Chrysalis. Whatever the cause, the Winterborn grab hold of Banality immediately and learn of its power, a lesson they never forget.

The tragedy of the Winterborn is simply this: though they are fae, they have never known a way other than that of the Dauntain. To them, Winter is the true way of the world, Glamour is an aberration and the Dauntain are, if not heroes, at least on the right track. Each Winterborn has seen the proof of Banality's power and "truth" and has held onto that image throughout her existence.

Winterborn are, of all the known Dooms, among the rarest simply because the circumstances surrounding their "births" are so specific. Many other soldiers of Banality will not even know the name "Winterborn" and will lump these Dauntain in with all the rest. This suits the Winterborn just fine.

The Winterborn's weakness lies in his naïveté. Banality and the cold are all these Dauntain know. Smart opponents can use this to their advantage.

A Winterborn's salvation lies in making the Dauntain see the atrocities wreaked upon the world by Banality and forcing the Winterborn to realize that only dreams can save it. Making the Winterborn see the Kithain as a necessary force might just break the icy grip Banality holds on the Dauntain's heart.

Appearance

To Kithain, the Winterborn appear to be cloaked in icy shadows, making their features hard and their eyes menacing. Like the Nihilists, these Dauntain project an aura of coldness. This aura, however, is tinged with a chilling strength rather than despair.

Outlook

Kithain: The enemy, a danger to the world itself. They must be extinguished by any means we can bring against them.

The Lost: Perhaps they and we can come together for mutual benefit.

The Cursed: While their goals are admirable, the scope of their vision is too limited. They must expand beyond their single targets.

Black Magicians: Those who would seek to use Winter for their own goals must learn that there is no straddling the fence.

Nihilists: If you were to show them how futile their futility is, they would explode in bursts of tangled logic.

Apostates: Like the Magicians they must learn that Winter will not serve, but must be served. They are close to the truth; nudge them.

Typhoids: It is said these are infections. The truth does out; this is just more proof of how it will find any way it can to do just that.