Frostborn Conclave

"In stillness, we remember. In frost, we endure."

Winter Faction – Rune-Keepers of Ice – Silent Stewards of Stability

Origin & History: The Oath of Still Winds

Long before the Rune was a tavern, when its leyline howled with chaotic winter power, a circle of glacial mystics gathered at its heart. They were known then only as the Keepers of Still Winds — hermits, witches, and rune-binders who believed magic must be preserved through stillness, not spectacle. 

They came from distant, snow-choked plateaus and silent sanctums where time itself seemed frozen. Their greatest fear was not death — but magical decay. To prevent spells from unraveling or evolving beyond their original design, they sealed unstable enchantments in permafrost, cast rituals that only time could complete, and recorded unfinished spells in glacial runestones set to awaken after centuries. 

They were one of the three powers who formed the Frostbinding Oath, an ancient accord meant to entomb volatile magics and guard the leyline’s cold heart.

Beliefs & Ideology: The Doctrine of Deep Cold

• Cold preserves. Flame consumes. 

• Magic should be remembered — not rewritten. 

• Emotion clouds insight. Patience reveals truth. 

• Let the world warm and forget. We shall remain. 

The Frostborn Conclave believes magic is most pure at the moment of its creation — not years later, when war, chaos, or ambition distorts its form. Their duty is to hold spells in stasis, shelter dangerous enchantments from misuse, and guard ancient relics until the world is ready — or never is. 

They see entropy as the great enemy. Civilization rots what should be frozen. Their response is not aggression, but preservation through delay.

Notable Actions & Legacy

• The Sealing of the Ember Glyph – An ancient fire rune buried beneath 30 layers of glacial enchantments. Said to now be cracking. 
• The Deep Freeze Rite – A ritual that places unstable magic—or beings—into suspended stillness. Often used instead of execution. 
• The Long Silence – A vow taken by entire Conclave branches to remain speechless for centuries, lest words melt what should remain unshaped.

Key Figures

• Glaciarch Tovannar, Keeper of Still Winds – Speaks once a year in a ritual called The Murmuring. His breath freezes midair. 
• Velka the Rune-Silent – Cryomancer archivist preserving spells not yet finished casting. Her veins may carry frostlight. 
• The Deep Rune – A primordial glyph beneath the Rune’s foundation. Only the Conclave can read it — and only during the longest night.

Faction Relationships

With the Silvercourt – A cool rivalry. The Silvercourt views the Conclave as ancient and slow — useful, but in the way. The Conclave sees them as decadent children who mistake glitter for ice. 

With the Hollowed – A distant kinship. The Hollowed respect their silence and endurance. The Conclave honors their shared role in sealing dangerous forces, though they disagree on whether anything should be brought back.

Cultural Aesthetic & Symbolism

• Visuals: Ice-cracked runes, glacial grey robes, frostbitten skin etched with dormant sigils 
• Sounds: Distant creaking ice, breath over stone, silence broken by slow rune pulses 
• Sacred Item: The Stillshard Codex – an enchanted block of ice suspending unfinished spells 
• Sacred Beast: The White Wyrmling of No Breath – a serpentine ice creature said to coil around sealed truths. Appears only to those who fully forget warmth.

Role at The Arcane Rune

• Role: Guardians of magical containment. Cold wardens of the leyline’s unstable roots. 
• Public Disguise: Stoic scholars, glacial bartenders, rune-weaving servers, keepers of locked back rooms 
• Secret Vaults: Ice-sealed chambers behind false walls; runes only revealed under starlight and silence

Whispers of the Others

From the Frostborn Conclave’s archives — their preserved, silent speculations about the other 11 factions.

The Silvercourt

Knowledge Meter: ███░░░░░░░░ (3/10) 

"They dress their politics in poetry and call it elegance. We admit, they understand the importance of restraint — but they mask it in vanity, not in patience. Their command of illusion is impressive, but easily misused. They came close to joining the Frostbinding Oath once... but refused to silence their voices long enough to be trusted."

The Hollowed

Knowledge Meter: ████░░░░░░░ (4/10) 

"A mirror of what we might become if we lose our purpose. They embrace the silence of sorrow; we embrace the silence of control. Still, we have sealed vaults together. When all others fled, they remained. Their rituals worry us — not for their power, but for what they try to resurrect."

The Crimson Throne

Knowledge Meter: ██░░░░░░░░░ (2/10) 

"There is a rigidity to them that we almost respect. But their obsession with legacy freezes even truth. They polish lies until they gleam like crystal, unaware they distort what they reflect. Still, their discipline mirrors our own — had they chosen frost over blood, we might have stood as allies."

The Echo Court

Knowledge Meter: █░░░░░░░░░░ (1/10) 

"They move like echoes on frozen lakes — patterns we cannot track, sounds we cannot place. We know only this: they guard memory as we guard magic. But memory lies. Ice does not."

The Redshift

Knowledge Meter: █░░░░░░░░░░ (1/10) 

"They burn bridges just to prove they weren’t trapped. They shattered something we once entombed. We haven’t forgotten."

The Verdant Bloom

Knowledge Meter: █░░░░░░░░░░ (1/10) 

"Their flowers do not survive the cold. Neither do their philosophies."

The Court of Thorns

Knowledge Meter: █░░░░░░░░░░ (1/10) 

"We know only that their roots run deep, and that they treat pain as instruction. We’ve no use for either."

The Seedkeepers

Knowledge Meter: █░░░░░░░░░░ (1/10) 

"What they store, we seal. But where they see rebirth, we see recurrence. Dangerous magic does not deserve a second season."

The Emberbrand Legion

Knowledge Meter: █░░░░░░░░░░ (1/10) 

"They scream into the blaze what should remain unspoken. If they find the Ember Glyph... we’ll all burn for it."

The Solstice Pact

Knowledge Meter: █░░░░░░░░░░ (1/10) 

"Balance is noble. But the sun forgets winter far too easily."

The Wildflame Revelers

Knowledge Meter: █░░░░░░░░░░ (1/10) 

"We do not dance on thawing ground. Their laughter carries too close to forgotten vaults."