<div class="spoiler_container"><div class="spoiler_header" onclick="hideSecond (this);" role="button">Halgen Hoarfrost</div><div class="spoiler_body"><div class="floatright">(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FXUdKRtUsAYlGZ7?format=jpg&amp;name=large)</div><strong>Name:</strong> Halgen Hoarfrost of Tribe Algid. Yes, <em>that</em> Tribe Algid, made famous–or perhaps infamous–in some lands by following the self-styled Dark God Drogthamon in his attempt to conquer the northern parts of the world. Tribe Algid were feared not for their combat prowess, but rather their skill at blacksmithing and enchanting. It is said they were able to forge the very souls of their enemies into shape, creating enchanted armor, weaponry, and relics of great power. As far as most people are aware, they were executed to the man when Drogthamon was slain by a group of heroes some two centuries ago.<br/><br/><strong>Race:</strong> Minotaur. A species from beyond the mountains to the far north, they are tribular, insular, and unused to dealing with outsiders. The land is inhospitable enough to make warring amongst each other untenable, and their society is built upon worship of the seasons. A given tribe tends to worship only one aspect of a season or weather type, and being nomadic any particular tribe is likely to be found ‘following’ the weather of their preference, moving from place to place. <br/><br/>As war would see them all destroyed and resources are scarce, the sharing of supplies is expected among the varying peoples. Despite this, there’s much friendly haggling and bartering of oaths, favors, and information between minotaurs, something they tend to hoard for when they become aware of someone having something they particularly want. <br/><br/>With small populations and many mouths to feed discouraged, should a tribe become too large it will either break apart into smaller ones or send a few of its stronger members out into the world to find their way. In this way while minotaur are uncommon outside of the steppes, they are not unheard of. Occasionally one will find their way in a King’s employ, as a blacksmith, merchant guard, or some other purpose suited to an individual’s will. <br/><br/>As a rule they distrust liars and oathbreakers, equating such things to stealing. <br/><br/>The only historically notable group of minotaur was that of Tribe Algid, who left the steppes en masse to follow Drogthamon when he promised them a better life, feeding into their pride, ambition, and lust for knowledge. In many ways they were the worst of the Winter tribes, and even now other minotaur do not speak of them, as if they were a shame upon the people at large. <br/><br/><strong>Class:</strong> Soulforger Apprentice. A practically unheard of practice known largely only to historians at this point, Soulforgers are able to pull souls from living bodies and place them in icy vessels which are then pounded to shape. The soul lives on to power the enchantment and protect the object whether it be armor, jewelry, weapon, or some other manifestation of creation. It is said the soul is conscious throughout, and at their prominence it was whispered the very screams of the soul were what made them so effective. After the death of Drogthamon and slaying of Tribe Algid, any written knowledge of such skills were destroyed at best, and suppressed at worst. The more powerful the soul, the more powerful the enchantment. <br/><br/><strong>Age:</strong> 22<br/><br/><strong>Appearance:</strong> Standing at a quite massive eight feet tall on two legs, Halgen appears gray in some light, blue in others. The minotaur has slightly shaggy hair, and a horn protrudes on either side of his bovine-shaped head, curving sharply to a point. The man is quite muscular and largely humanoid in appearance other than his cloven feet, bovine face, and tail. His skin appears to be unmarred by scar or age, with no particularly defining marks. It is rare he is seen wearing anything except a loincloth when it comes to clothing, finding the southern lands warmer than he’d prefer. At an effort of modesty, if pressed he will concede to wearing a large brown cloak that he travels with, which doubles as a blanket. Beyond that, the only things he possesses are a belt with a coin purse, a potion bandolier that goes down diagonally over his chest, a worn leather backpack, and a satchel that rests on his hip, within which is an odd book that appears to be made of pure ice. <br/><br/><strong>Personality:</strong> Perhaps unexpectedly so for one of the Winter aspect tribes, Halgen is quick to anger. It’s something he struggles with and dislikes of himself, seemingly almost ashamed of that part of his personality. Despite that he has a good head on his shoulders and often comes off as somewhat scholarly and learned, though at times it’s almost as if he’s forcing it. He’s also competitive and surprisingly easy to goad into a bet, and has a secret fondness for spicy foods and trying new things. Like all minotaur he doesn’t quite grok the whole ‘currency’ system, finding it annoying more than anything, and much prefers to trade in favors or information. Nonetheless he will do as the humans do while he travels their lands, if not without a complaint or two–if not about their currency, then about their weather or prudish attitudes. His main love is blacksmithing, and it’s easy to get him talking about the subject in detail. He is, admittedly, easy to push to talk in <em>general</em> with a quick compliment or appreciation for his skills, as if he’s eager to show off or hasn’t generally had them well received in the past. Considering his bulk he occasionally forgets his own strength and breaks things, which results in upset humans–which then results in an icy roar of magic flash-freezing the surrounding area as his anger consumes him. He doesn’t enjoy being yelled at. Nonetheless he is incredibly loyal with a quick wit and a dark sense of humor, and as long as he’s treated well he can be a lifelong friend.<br/><br/><strong>Background:</strong> At <em>“Friendship Level 0”</em> as Halgen tells it, he’s just a traveling minotaur looking to find work and increase his blacksmithing skills. He’s hoping to find someone worth following, someone strong and charismatic and ambitious, who will let him advance to the highest levels of “enchanting”. He will not, outright, call it Soulforging immediately upon meeting someone. He misses his tribe but there were more mouths than could be adequately fed, and so he left to find his own way. Such is the path of the ‘honorable’ minotaur. <br/><br/>At <em>“Friendship Level 1”</em>, Halgen will admit to being a member of the Algid Tribe. This may or may not coincide with admitting he’s a practitioner of Soulforging. As he tells it, the Algid Tribe was indeed largely slain when their Dark Design failed to manifest. Their ambitions foiled and their tribe in ruins, a handful of survivors escaped and lived out their lives in exile. Halgen is the first member since Drogthamon’s death to practice Soulforging, and he hopes to prove he’s worthy of the skill and restore his tribe’s name. <br/><br/>At <em>“Friendship Level 2”</em>, Halgen will admit that he’s not, truthfully, a member of the Algid Tribe. As far as he knows, they were all <em>actually</em> slain. He’s learning from a book written in the last years of Drogthamon’s reign, which has been hit or miss as he struggles with the language and the powers and capabilities within. He comes from a Winter tribe, and hopes to learn more of Soulforging to help his people and bring the minotaurs into a more modern era.<br/><br/>At <em>“Friendship Level 3”</em>, Halgen confesses he’s not actually a Winter tribe minotaur. He was born of Summer, but largely felt dissatisfied with the life. With several brothers, Halgen always felt that he was the weakest of his family, just a drain on their resources with little to offer. This was made obvious by their pitying glances when he was younger, and their resentment as he got older. Eventually he fled, nursing his own ambitions and desire to be strong. He found a mentor in Winter almost by accident, and he struggles to act as he feels he ‘should’ as a Winter minotaur. Of how he learned Soulforging, he says little. <br/><br/>At <em>“Friendship Level 4”</em>, Halgen will offer more of his story. Once he proved himself to his mentor he was gifted the book of ice that he now reads from religiously; unknown to his mentor, who could never figure out how to open the book, the tome was filled with the last words and techniques of the Algid Tribe. What was meant to be a symbol of acceptance into a new tribe became an entirely new path for Halgen to walk, one born of greater ambition than any minotaur since the original Algids. Practicing Soulforging and seeking to reawaken their Dream, he searches for a new Dark God to ply his trade for in hopes of showing everyone that he was stronger than they’d ever imagined. He stayed with his mentor until the old minotaur died, and on the man’s deathbed his soul became the first that Halgen claimed. It rests in an icy vessel at the top of his potion bandolier, the one soul he has yet to forge into anything else, and never will. It is his way of honoring the man and letting him walk the path with Halgen, showing him his faith was not misplaced.     <br/><br/><strong>Skills:</strong> Drawing, sculpting, traditional and magical blacksmithing, and history. Magically speaking he is able to conjure and shape ice. This is something he is somewhat new at and it is attuned heavily to his moods, resulting in more than one frost-coated room. Though able to hold his own and tank a blow, outside of providing cover or perhaps crowd control his skills do not currently lie in combat. As far as Halgen is concerned, the only reason to be in battle is to continue his mastery of Soulforging and collect the souls of the fallen. Unfortunately, such things must be harvested while an individual is still alive. It is for this reason he has begun to grasp tactics and strategy, so as to move people into positions most favorable to him and his allies. While in combat he wields a large hammer coated with rime, and he can manifest frozen gauntlets with which to block–notably, though he <em>wields</em> a hammer it is not with any skill, but rather brute force. The process of drawing out a soul is largely based around the conjuration of ice, the creation of a vessel, and time to draw it from the still living body. He is <em>particularly</em> interested in more powerful souls, finding little interest in people or creatures he considers beneath his effort. Lacking other options, however, he will make do. <br/><br/><strong>Language(s):</strong> Aside from Common, he speaks Winter-Speech as the language of his ‘home’ tribes, a trade cant used among the myriad minotaur tribes when speaking with each other that has no official ‘name’, several runic alphabets, and, bizarrely, Summer-Speech, which isn’t a language he <em>should</em> know. Strange.  <br/><br/><strong>Extras:</strong> See author O/Os for any considered in-story romantic scenes, or out-of-story sexual scenarios. Author is a gay male whom identifies as top-slash-dominant. In regards to the character's alignment, I would say it has more to do with who he ends up following than any regard towards good or evil. One man's Dark God is another man's Freedom Fighter. He is, however, quite loyal to those that treat him well, and willing to go out of his way to learn things and do his absolute best to keep from being a detriment.<br/><br/><div align="center">(https://i.imgur.com/0yHx0t8.jpeg)(https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BQ2XBPHNQc6bXiDFRKKHNLat82DEcbvHgh6u7wcQmXjMOhFD18n9btePjYX5Xk0j6omVYqFnjIYLT4SxTCoN35RbCeXgD-9RYxokeQ=w1400-k)</div></div></div>