In the frozen northern lands of Amantanea, there is an old legend that girls with white hair bring misfortune. For generations children born with this "curse" were sacrificed immediately after birth as it was said they were the reincarnation of a great evil. Yet human memory is short - three generations pass and no new cursed child is born in the village of Frozen Vale. Upon Glacia's birth, Old Meg, eldest of Frozen Vale cried out in fear and demanded that the girl be killed immediately or the village would fall to the curse. A young priest named Pedro, a Sparnisch missionary of the church of Pelor who had spent years converting the villagers and subverting 'old wives tales' stopped them, calling their faith into question and forcing them to back off. Proud of his piety, the mayor took her in and raised her.
Seven winters pass, and Glacia becomes your normal, everyday well-adjusted girl. I mean, granted, the boys that hit her particularly hard with snowballs had a habit of injuring themselves soon after and the winters
had been harsh as of late, but really, she had absolutely nothing to do with it, honest. Though little did the residents of Frozen Vale suspect that the young girl really would be their undoing. For her birth had attracted the eyes of three sisters who had been counting seasons until this very moment.
During Winter Solstice an unusually strong blizzard struck the village. Even Glacia, who had never minded the cold, didn't argue with the mayor's orders to stay inside. At the church, there was a banging at the door. Pedro left the fireside and quickly rushed to the door to find Old Meg, who he chastised for being outside, especially at her age. "The girl! It's the curse!" she shouted. Yet Pedro refused to heed her words, yet Meg refused to yield. "Fine. Their house is not far. Come with me and I'll prove to you that there is nothing to fear." ...And then they heard screams.
With no visibility and trusting on his feet to find the path he had tread a thousand time, the priest and the old lady marched as quickly as they could over the frozen path, coming to an open door, swinging back and forth in the wind. "Oh Pelor..." the priest says under his breath, seeing the eviscerated bodies of the mayor, his wife and their two blood children. Glacia sat frozen in fear in the corner, three hideous and tall women standing above her: Ice Hags.
*cackle* "Finally, the Ice Child has reached her seventh winter. At least we may feast upon her essence and grow in power." the tall wrinkly one said. "And restore our youthful beauty." the fat ugly one said. The short one with a hunched back looked her over. "You sure there be enough essence for all three of us in this skinny little thing? I reckon there be only enough juice in her for
two of us." "Then one of us will be left out!" the fat one sad angrily. "Well, ye two will have to decide amongst yeselves. I be the one who
found her!"
An argument ensued over the child. Blessing himself with divine protections, Pedro drew his staff and shouted, "You will not harm that child." The trio turned to the source of the audacious statement and upon seeing a mere priest and a woman with one foot in the grave already burst out into hysterical laughter. "Silly follower of the Sun God, ye know nothing of the lands where the light's rays only free the frozen earth a few scant months of the year. Ye do not even recognize a Child of Winter herself nor did ye recognize the signs around them placed by your very order."
"See? I knew she would be the end of us!" Meg said. But Pedro silenced her with a gesture, his attention on the hags. "Explain yourself, foul creature." the confused priest said. "Who should tell it?" the short one said. "You tell it best, older sister." the fat one said. The tall one nodded. "Yes, yes. I will tell the fool. Ye see, this child here be kin to a creature the likes of which makes us look like Devas by comparison. Ye order beat the Queen of Winter with a powerful curse of the Sun, which finally let her meet her end. But ye cannot place a curse on Nature herself without knowing the consequences! Nature seeks balance. What was once cursed to misfortune shall bring misfortune to others in its next life. She who felt it shall become she who dealt it!" The priest pointed his mace at the hags. "I do not care what you think she is. The only evil I see here is you!"
Glacia did not understand the full meaning of the words, nor did she remember most of them except in her nightmares. All she remembered is the Priest and the hags clashing and somewhere a voice inside her soul saying that she was better than them all. That she should not let such weaklings end her life. Seeing an opening she dashed for it. A hag, seeing this, moved to grab her but tripped over some furniture. "It be the curse! Don't let her escape!" She ran past old Meg, accidentally knocking her over. "You
monster! I wish you'd never been born in this village" were her last words before the hags ran over her weak body, causing a fatal wound.
Glacia ran for hours in the snow, somehow not succumbing to the blizzard despite its piercing cold. When the blizzard subsided she followed a stream to a lake, collapsing on the outskirts of a fishing village by the sea. When she awoke she found herself staring at a large boy a few years older than her that had the same white hair she did. When she inquired about it, he said his name was Typhoeus or "Ty" and that he had some giant's blood in the family. Ty's father had found her and their family had nursed her back to health. Ty's mother had insisted that she stay with them until she was better and that with having nothing but boys and having the same color hair as Ty that Glacia was like the daughter she had never had.
Minus a few nightmares, she had a wonderful childhood with Ty's family. That is, until one day when she was 12 when Ty ran away. She found a note saying, "This is boring. Going to become to a sailor. -Ty" When the family checked the dock, one of the ships had just left and they all knew that Ty had left with it. Three lousy months pass and Glacia steals some parchment and leaves a note. "This is boring. Going to find Ty -Glacia."
Well, she never did find Ty, but she did get a chance to see the world, stowing away from ship to ship. After going from job to job, she finds herself as a 15 year old waitress at a bar filled with adventurers. She had since given herself the last name 'Frostvale' in honor of her first home. One day she got sick of the rude patrons and checked the posted jobs. There were kobolds in the countryside...
Through many many places and experiences, Glacia's abilities began to awaken and she became known as a witch. Although she never saw Ty or her home town again, she remained generally cheerful. Well she
did black out every now and then while using her powers and her teammates
never wanted to adventure with her more than once for some reason, but she had grown used to being mistrusted these days and thought nothing of it. She knew that she was a good person and that they were just jealous of her. After all, deep down she knew she was better than all of them.