[ The sudden snow and ice is exceptionally irritating. The Maidenfish hate it, refusing to leave Lumina's manor to venture outside; he can't quite say that he blames them. The wolfhounds love it, frolicking and chasing each other, tumbling down mounds of snow and snapping at snowflakes. It's amusing enough to watch for a while, but then the Outsider rouses himself; the snow is not meant to be here, and while he doesn't mind its presence really, he is irritated that it's getting everyone all in a fuss -- and he's irritated that the water life is having to deal with it.
At night, he dons the Drowned Crown and goes to the beaches. The red gem set inside of it allows him to summon and control fire, and he has always been good at magic. The flames are used to belt ice from the beaches, to thaw out the seaweed that so many creatures need to eat or hide in. Bonfires are left on the beach for residents and people passing through, though they're often claimed by cold mermaids and selkies before others can get there.
He travels between his shrines as well, thawing them out first and leaving small fires lit to keep them warm. Travelers begin to find them, spending their nights near the warmth. He moves on, travels along the rivers and melts the ice, naiads waving at him as they wake. It is along one of the rivers, deep in the woods where no one has disturbed the fresh snow, that he finds the ship. It is covered in ice; there are tracks in the opposite direction belonging to its small crew, marks where they stumbled and fell. Without fire, they would not have survived, but the tracks are old; he does not follow. He thaws out the ship instead and then boards, fingers trailing along the wood, working ice out of frozen sails and oars. He had not expected to find the captain frozen in his cabin, but he does nonetheless. The Outsider thaws his eyes enough to close them, murmurs the words that Lady Red-Hand had once taught him, and carries him out. He is burned on the riverbank as the Outsider asks the Shuck to guide his soul, and then the Outsider boards the ship.
There are more places that are frozen, after all, and he travels faster over water. ]
MARCH | THE ROC'S DEEPFREEZE
At night, he dons the Drowned Crown and goes to the beaches. The red gem set inside of it allows him to summon and control fire, and he has always been good at magic. The flames are used to belt ice from the beaches, to thaw out the seaweed that so many creatures need to eat or hide in. Bonfires are left on the beach for residents and people passing through, though they're often claimed by cold mermaids and selkies before others can get there.
He travels between his shrines as well, thawing them out first and leaving small fires lit to keep them warm. Travelers begin to find them, spending their nights near the warmth. He moves on, travels along the rivers and melts the ice, naiads waving at him as they wake. It is along one of the rivers, deep in the woods where no one has disturbed the fresh snow, that he finds the ship. It is covered in ice; there are tracks in the opposite direction belonging to its small crew, marks where they stumbled and fell. Without fire, they would not have survived, but the tracks are old; he does not follow. He thaws out the ship instead and then boards, fingers trailing along the wood, working ice out of frozen sails and oars. He had not expected to find the captain frozen in his cabin, but he does nonetheless. The Outsider thaws his eyes enough to close them, murmurs the words that Lady Red-Hand had once taught him, and carries him out. He is burned on the riverbank as the Outsider asks the Shuck to guide his soul, and then the Outsider boards the ship.
There are more places that are frozen, after all, and he travels faster over water. ]