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High Priest of Winter==
Name: Lael Gelid
Gender: Male
Color: #897575Wick: Essence of Winter
Personality: Lael is quite social and loves spending time with others. He was a traveling minstrel prior to becoming the priest of winter, and though his newfound duties have forced him to settle in one place, he still enjoys going on walks out in the snow from time to time. Others cannot often follow him out in winter weather, since he is immune to cold exposure, though, so he also takes lots of time to remain in the village crafting paper snowflakes during his season, and generally spending time with his people other times of year. He is calm and kind and patient, particularly with children, to the point that those who do not know Lael well may paradoxically accuse him of being insincere. Though he meets even those who would doubt and insult him with the same polite and gentle attitude as anyone else, however, Lael is finding that, over the years, his heart is growing colder and, while it is in his mortal nature to care for others, it feels more like a duty every winter, and less like something he does out of the kindness of his heart. This may be in part due to his mounting tiredness that he cannot alleviate because he cannot get any deeper into sleep than dreams, however he still feels that his burden to bear as priest of winter is his alone, and he carries out all his rites and casts his magics without complaint - because if he was not the priest of winter, who would be?
He knows winter to be a season of sleep and death, when the world dies off in order to be reborn in the spring. Lael does not wish it to be anything frightening, though - after all, people already tend to gather in groups and take shelter against the cold, so it is also a time of community. The aspect of time is, to the former minstrel and story-teller, a reflection on tales past and application of those lessons in times to come. His magic aside, he loves hearing or sharing a good story inside and away from the cold with others just as much as he enjoys wandering alone. Lael became a bard originally to collect as much experience as he possibly could, and now that he is the Priest of Winter, with duties tied to a specific time and place, he still believes that he can collect tales around the fire. Moreover, his ability to travel in the cold unhindered and his spell to create shelter for others allows him to seek out and rescue other travelers who get lost in the snows.
His work is still touched by death and sleep, though, and he hates to see anything suffer. Lael uses his sleep magic to ease the pain of those beyond his help - he cannot heal mortal wounds, but he can aid those passing on. Though he is a social and extroverted person, his sense of mercy and kindness extends to animals, as well.
Loves: flying kites; white noise like waterfalls; making folded or cut paper crafts; group gatherings, especially if there is food; picnics
Dislikes: competitive team sports; listening to arguments; being alone for too long; sitting too close to the fire; spicy food
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Strengths: Resistant to cold exposure - The spirit of winter protects its chosen high priest, protecting Lael from all but the very coldest weather. He can walk on the surface of snow only leaving faint footprints, and can travel out in winter chill and wind without suffering frostbite or other ill effects of cold exposure. He appears to have died of cold already, though, his skin white and lips and fingernails pale blue, but remains very much alive.
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Weaknesses: Thrives only in cold - Warmth or too much warm weather bothers Lael. Sunlight is not exactly his kryptonite, but Lael gets uncomfortable if he spends too much time outdoors in direct sun, especially that of summer. He is willing to go out and about in weather up to about 15°C, but when it is warmer than that, Lael hides out in cool underground places, away from the light. Prolonged spells of hot weather, such as summer heat waves, make him physically ill, as does spending time too close to a fire.
Sleepless - Though he can send others to dreamless sleep, Lael is unable to sleep that deeply, himself. He dreams constantly, getting enough rest to sustain him, but he lacks the level of energy of normal constellations, and tends to tire quickly. He is also a very light sleeper and is easily awakened.
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Magics:Sleep touch - Winter is a time not just of sleep, but of restful sleep - sleep untroubled by dreams. The whole world falls quiet and rests, often becoming completely dormant, or slipping away into death, to recover in preparation for rebirth in spring. Lael can use the power of winter hibernation to put those he touches into deep sleep. Those affected fall directly into slow-wave sleep without dreaming, and can be awakened with no more difficulty than it would ordinarily take to rouse someone deeply asleep. It takes several seconds for this spell to take effect when Lael touches someone, and so it can be prevented by breaking contact.
Dreamwalker - Lael can visit the dreams of others while he is sleeping, but he gains no rest himself while using this ability. If he spends all night doing this, he awakens essentially without having slept at all, and so he cannot use it very often or for very long without it taking a toll on him. Dreams also exist outside of the normal flow of time, and so Lael can take advantage of this to have lengthy conversations with those sleeping over a very short period of waking time. Alternatively, he can also attempt to utilize this ability to
Oracle - The year traditionally changes over during the winter, and it is a time for reflection on the past and plans for the future. The High Priest of Winter possesses the ability to see into the past and the future through the icy stone of his staff. Using this ability, he can alter the flow of time through the information he gains; Lael cannot change past events, but knowledge of them can change future actions, and, similarly, he can also attempt to prevent the futures he sees.
Scrying takes time and concentration, and so Lael cannot utilize this ability during battle. His visions also come with the caveat that he can only tell others of what he sees while visiting them in dreams. Since he can only force someone into dreamless sleep, in order to communicate, his target must fall asleep naturally. If he attempts to convey his visions to others in the waking world, the information slips from his mind like a dream, and he risks irretrievably forgetting it.
Freeze water - Lael can create an aura of cold around himself to freeze small droplets of water in the air around him, or he can touch a source of water such as a full bowl or a pond in order to freeze that. He can also control the ice he creates, moving or reshaping it at will, but this takes concentration, especially in battle. Lael's ice will remain frozen as long as it is cold enough, but he cannot thaw it, and he cannot create ice if he does not have water available. Ice and snow already frozen can be captured and bent to his will as well, making him quite powerful during the winter, but again, he cannot summon ice from nothing.
Create shelter - Though he does not need it, himself, Lael can construct igloos magically for those who are susceptible to cold exposure. It takes him about five minutes of channeling to build one, and he must have snow handy, but when complete, the igloo can house three people comfortably, or up to five if they do not mind a bit of crowding. Body heat will warm the place up, with no help from Lael, but the summoned shelter will keep all bad weather out. It will remain until it melts, but Lael can turn the snow back into powder to dismantle the igloo if he wishes.
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