Far to the north, where the seas harden into sheets of blue-white glass and the winds sing like ancient spirits, lies the island of Frostholm—the ancestral seat of the Frostborn Clan, the ruling lineage of the northern peoples. Frostholm rises from the ocean like the spine of some slumbering colossus, its cliffs crowned with forests of frost-silver pines and its valleys cradling hot springs that steam like dragon’s breath. In the center of the island stands Starcrown Peak, a jagged mountain where auroras coil like living serpents. It is here, amid cold splendor and ageless traditions, that the great northern clans gather once each generation for the sacred rite known as The Winter Wedding.
The Winter Wedding is not merely a celebration—it is the hinge on which the fate of the northern world turns. Its origins stretch back into the age of myth, when the land was young and the clans were scattered tribes fighting for survival against endless winter. According to the oldest skaldic sagas, the first Clan Mother of the Frostborn, Joranna the Hearthbringer, forged peace among the warring tribes by offering her hand to a champion chosen not by bloodline or wealth, but by strength, honor, and the will of the gods themselves.
The gods blessed her decision. The winter storms calmed, the seas thawed, and the tribes prospered. From then on, the marriage of the Frostborn heir became a ritual of unity—a covenant renewed every few generations to bind the clans to a common destiny.
But as centuries passed, the Winter Wedding grew into something far more complex. It became a crucible of diplomacy, politics, rivalry, and ambition. To win the Frostborn bride or groom was to secure prestige for one’s clan, to influence the balance of power across the north, and to join oneself to the lineage believed to be chosen by the winter spirits.
Thus, the festival evolved into a month-long gathering of feasts, games, trials, and ceremonies. Clans arrive by longship across treacherous seas, their sails bearing ancestral sigils: the Icewolf, the Stormhall Raven, the Bearwater Crest, the Ironwood Stag, and many more. They bring warriors to compete, skalds to sing, traders to bargain, and envoys to scheme. Frostholm becomes a living tapestry of cultures, alliances, and grudges, each clan seeking advantage in the contests to come.
At the heart of the celebration stands the Trials of Worth, a sequence of challenges that determine which champion is deemed worthy of courting the Frostborn heir. Though the Frostborn Clans claim the trials are guided by ancient tradition and divine will, many suspect political maneuvering hides beneath their surface.
The trials vary with each generation, but several remain constant:
The Trial of Storms – A test of endurance, fought in the open tundra as blizzards summoned by shamans roar around the combatants.
The Hunt of the White Stag – A sacred chase through Frostholm’s glacial forests, said to reveal the purity of a hunter’s heart.
The Long Night Feast – A contest of diplomacy and cunning where participants make alliances, prove their honor, and attempt to outmaneuver rivals in a night of masked revelry.
The Duel of Echoes – A martial trial fought on an arena of frozen lake-ice, where warriors face their rivals in combat overseen by the Frostborn jarl and the high shaman.
The Oathfire Ceremony – The final rite, requiring the last champion standing to swear loyalty, unity, and sacrifice before the sacred Winter Flame.
Victory in the trials does not grant immediate marriage—it grants the right to court. Tradition holds that the Frostborn heir must also give their consent, though that consent has not always been honored by history. Many heirs have suffered under the weight of duty, bound to unions meant to secure political stability rather than personal joy.
This year, however, the festival carries heavier tension than any in living memory.
For three generations, peace among the clans has been brittle. The bitter feud between the Frostborn and the Rimeholt Clan—one of the great clans with deep claim to martial power—has grown dangerously close to open bloodshed. Assassinations in the shadows, raids disguised as accidents, and old grievances inflame both sides. Frostholm stands at the heart of this tension, for the Frostborn heir—Lady Astrid Frostborn—is now of age to enter the Winter Wedding, and every clan sees opportunity in the match.
Most fierce among the contenders is the Rimeholt Clan, whose chieftain believes that binding his bloodline to the Frostborn will restore honor and give them influence over the future of the north. But hatred between the Frostborn and Rimeholt is old, and many fear that a marriage between their houses would be a union forged under threat, not love.
In this volatile environment, the arrival of new clans at Frostholm sets the stage for intrigue. Many new clans have long been overshadowed by greater rivals but sees the Winter Wedding as a chance to rise in standing. They enter Frostholm with hopes of securing Lady Astrid’s hand—but not all is as simple as ambition and tradition.
For within the Rimeholt Clan, a young woman—Sigrid Rimeholt, daughter of the rival chieftain—has grown close to a unknown suitor and is being pursued by other clans as an alternative to the Forstborn heir, a challenge to the status qou. Her presence complicates everything. Sigrid represents a forbidden path, a spark of affection that challenges the very foundation of the tournament and its political purpose. Her feelings run deep, but she is torn between loyalty to her family, fear of escalating the feud, and quiet hope for a different future.
Unbeknownst to the guests, Sigrid has uncovered secrets that could shatter Frostholm: whispers of a faction inside the Frostborn Clan seeking to manipulate the Winter Wedding for their own ends; rumors that the Winter Flame, long thought to be the blessing of the spirits, is weakening; signs that the winter spirits themselves are restless.
As the festival unfolds, tensions rise. Skalds sing tales of ancient betrayals. Icewolf warriors sharpen their axes for more than sport. Envoys from distant clans meet behind sealed doors. And beneath it all, the auroras over Frostholm flicker strangely, as if watching, waiting.
Many new clans find themselves walking the knife-edge between duty and desire, tradition and rebellion, peace and war. Every feast, every duel, every whispered conversation holds the weight of destiny.
Will they pursue the honor of winning the Frostborn heir, binding their clan’s future to the ruling lineage?
Will their warriors pursue forbidden affection and risk becoming outcasts—or sparks that ignite a revolution?
Will they uncover the truth behind the weakening Winter Flame and avert the spiritual catastrophe foretold by the shamans?
Or will they become pawns in a political game older and colder than the island itself?
The Winter Wedding is not merely a festival.
It is a battlefield of hearts, blades, and ancient powers.
It is the moment when the north holds its breath—
and waits to see which path the heroes choose.