The Ice Lady

When Father Baen broke away from Sera?s Perfect Symmetry he promised the young Count Erik Danig that he would pay for soldiers to defend Talhundt against Rjurik raiders. Erik allowed him to raise a militia but demanded the right to place his own officers in the unit to ensure its loyalty. Over the years the militia became fully fledged infantry; when the Ice Lady murdered father Baen and corrupted him into an animate, she started systematically removed the loyal Danigau officers and encouraging the men to be loyal to the church before the count.
Over the past few years she has encouraged a culture of brutality in the unit and it now answers to her alone, although Major Edsel Stark (a minor cousin in the family) is outwardly loyal to the count. He was in fact one of the Ice Lady?s first animates, fortunately the legendary temper of the Stark family, Edsel?s famous tolerance for physical injury, and his notorious love of eye-wateringly strong garlic have covered up the evidence of his true nature; those who have suspected him have joined the officers who would not follow the Ice Lady?s lead in becoming his prey.

The realm's historic temples of Kriestal date from before the Ice Lady?s domination of the independent churches and are far smaller than the temples of Sera. If the Ice Lady ever lost control of the temples of Sera, the temples of Kriestal would be only level 0 holdings in Talhundt and Starkhundt, and non-existent on Hoklep.

• Brother Wilheim Stark
  
• Sister Thelma
  
• Father Garth
  

Animates. The Ice Lady?s animated victims continue to look alive as long as they can feed on intelligent life-force regularly. They possess their old memories and skills but have a malevolent nature and delight in twisting the independent temples of Sera under their control. Animates have little real empathy for others however which risks their exposure, particularly in a priestly role. They are controlled by crystals that the Ice Lady wears around her neck, as long as she wears these crystals she can send mental messages to the animates and, if they are within eyesight, force them to obey her will ? most of the time.
The Ice Lady has recently convinced a magician named Tanbert to seek vengeance on the Danigers after knowledge of his goblin grandfather became widespread and he was shunned by his countrymen. Tanbert uses the bloodstone, a cursed crystal ball that feeds on the blood of its watcher to spy on the Ice Lady?s enemies and even to whisper her messages and nightmares in the dreams of those scryed.
Another ploy involves a young Brecht called Heidi Kappen; the Ice Lady has encouraged one of her followers Selma Ultricht to befriend the bitter huntress and encourage her to seek vengeance on Volse Redbedtehr for the death at sea of her father. If Heidi succeeds the Ice Lady will seek to replace him with one of her agent?s amongst his ranks, if not Selma?s membership of the Burgundy Tolsted is sure to cause chaos of its own when the trail inevitably leads back to Ilse.