Yalda

Yalda, the King of Winter is one of the four Seasonal Monarchs of Delirium, and as his title suggests, is the ruler of Winter. As one of the Seasonal Monarchs, the King of Winter is a level above the other archfey, co-ruling Delirium and considered a counterpart to the Deities.

= Description = The King of Winter, as the embodiment of the winter season, is often depicted with blue or pale skin. In a change of pace from the mostly clean shaven archfey, the King is also depicted with a large bushy white beard. Whether the whiteness is inherent or simply from a layer of hoarfrost is something that is up for debate.

He is often depicted wearing armor consisting of reflecting ice, white stone, and harsh angles. His very presence brings frigid temperatures and snow.

= Personality = As the embodiment of winter, the King was most well known as a font of brutality, highlighting the crueler parts of Delirium society. The King is not solely cruel, however; in fact, many mortal children on Loctet see him as a gift giver, who sends his fey servants over during the winter to provide for those who are struggling as the cold winds blow. Indeed, the King does have a soft spot for children, and they rarely (if ever) see his cruelty.

= Activities = As one of the Seasonal Monarchs, the King is considered a contemporary of the Areuic Pantheon. He is worshipped by many as the harbinger of winter, and there are seasonal sacrifices in his name to bless farming communities to hopefully stave off the worst of his power.

As a result of this, the King has accumulated enough worship that he can now access divine magic, and as a result can give access to that divine magic to followers of his choice.

= History = The King of Winter existed before Ramunda was crafted; hailing from colder parts of pre-Ramunda Loctet, he looked up into the sky in fear as ***. He was one of the earliest fey creatures, and he had lived for a very long time before the ***. The King shepherded the early fey folk (including the earliest elves) to the forests and kept them safe from things like harsh metal and fire.

As one of the four Seasonal Monarchs, the King of Winter was responsible for building Delirium in the first place, taking advantage of the malleable form of Ramunda to build an “echo” of Loctet where fey creatures could hide and grow, away from the harsh metals of Loctet. From there, fey life would absolutely flourish, as other archfey grew in power and started carving up Delirium into Courts. All denizens of Delirium would pay homage to the four Seasonal Monarchs, however.

The King, now going fully by the title of the King of Winter, established Fuarlean as his seat of power. Many of his vassal archfey would battle for territory and prestige, but all would pay homage to the King of Winter.

It was said that, at some point in the King’s past, he devised the idea of utilizing quirks in the Interstrice to create bags that could hold much bigger than their shape would suggest. He still retains ownership of the largest of these “bags of holding”; his idea, however, would spread like wildfire throughout Ramunda.

Eventually, the King of Winter began sending out servants of his to sneak into Loctet proper, providing struggling families (usually those with kids who believed in him) food and supplies to get through the winter. This would eventually lead to full blown worship of the King, as well as religious holiday in worship (or fear) of him, on the 25th of Kymmen.

= Realm = As one of the Seasonal Monarchs, the King of Winter technically claims one fourth of Delirium as his. His true home, however, is the stark, frigid and imposing citadel of Fuarlean. His court is populated with many royal elves, sun elves, and a handful of vassal archfey, who serve under the King of Winter directly.