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harbinger | transitory | aloof | cyclic

Known only by names that others have given to her - Harbinger of Winter, Vetrliðr, Snowsinger - this esk wanders the edges of the Arctic in constant movement. Winter’s first snowstorm trails her as she slowly walks across the land in a cyclical, seasonal pattern, both following and followed by summer.

She is mainly seen in passing, often obscured by the storms she carries; a vague form moving through dense snowfall, a strange shape above the grey wintry clouds, antler tips breaking out from a coniferous tree line. Though her elemental can be dangerous and the season she brings is often difficult, she is not ill-intended - it is simply the way it is. Those living where she makes yearly passage may see her as the herald of the season, and animals know to find refuge in her wake as her tail sweeps aside freshly fallen snow and carves a safe path.

Though she spends most of the year walking without stopping, every now and then she pauses for rest in places that hold meaning to her. During these moments her elemental is calm, allowing for clear skies so she can gaze at the stars while she finds respite. These moments are rare but peaceful for anyone who is present during them.

Birch branches and Alpine blooms

Downy birch trees grow farther north than any other coniferous tree. It is considered a pioneer species and can be useful in establishing new forests.

Forget-me-nots, milk-vetch, and yellow-violets are colorful Alpine blooms that provide valuable food to animals and insects in often harsh environments.

Impressions

• Snowsinger’s presence is difficult to miss, even if you can’t see her through the snow: she is surrounded by crisp, cold air that bites your nose, glimmering snow, and the ethereal knell of her chimes. Her vibration is low, slow, and rhythmic, like a swinging pendulum or turbine.

• Her snowstorms can range from moderate but widespread flurries to impenetrable whiteouts. They have a strange silence about them, as if the snow muffles the sound of life

• Her chimes have carvings which depict tales. Their sound has an otherworldly quality to it, whispering and echoing through the muffling snowfall.

• Though she often stands tall enough to see above things before her - treelines, mountains even - she has size shift which allows her take smaller forms when it suits her.

• She does not talk and, being mostly in perpetual motion, does not often keep company or hold friendships. Though she may nod to those she passes by with regularity and leave small flowers behind for them

• Snowsinger’s transformations are primarily animals and humans who she feels may have a particular duty or purpose in their second life. Unfortunately, she does not stick around long enough to get to know them, though they may accompany her on her walk.

• Chasing the seasons and spreading winter is her sole focus, and so she does not visit the conservatory. She travels beyond her boundary every now and then as her calling demands.

Dubaib rathib rogemrid
robarta tonn turgabar
íar tóib betha blái.
Brónaig eoín cach íathmaige
acht fiaich fola forderge
fri fúaim gemrid gairg.

In the dark season of the deep winter
heavy seas are lifted up
along the side of the world’s region.
Sorrowful are the birds of every meadow-field,
except the ravens of dark-red blood,
at the uproar of the fierce winter-time.

-Author unknown (translation by Kuno Meyer)
From Aígidecht Aithirni in the Book of Leinster, ~11thC