House Iceheart

"Our ice is eternal. We will never melt or fade away. We are the coldest death you will ever face."

An ancient house with enough might to rival that of House Ironborn, it is said that those of House Iceheart are born from magical ice known as Isulnir, or "Eternal Ice." In the early days of Goliath society, House Iceheart was the only house that could challenge and put House Ironborn in their place. However, not much is known of this mysterious house, as their might was never displayed for all those to see. Instead, members of this house hid within their mighty ice fortresses deep in the Frostback Mountains and continued to create weapons and armor made of their enchanted ice.

House Iceheart Origins

In the earliest days of Goliath society, in the year 1680, as tribes were beginning to form into more civilized groups, a clan of Rime Smiths, those capable of forging weapons and armor out of magical ice, banded together and formed a coalition of creators and smiths. Combined with the Isulnir Mages, or ice mages, House Iceheart was born.

It is truly unknown where the Icehearts came across this magic ice, and how they learned to use it, as that secret has been buried with the rest of their clan. However, when House Stormcaller eliminated the last members during Drathos' Conquest of Jotunrath in the year 1578 ADW, they managed to save a piece of their knowledge, using it for their ships and war vessels when the Bloody Seven came around.

This small sect of smiths and mages were small, but they had aspirations of creating a ruling party of Goliaths that could oversee all the other tribes. However, by the time they banded and claimed their region of Jotunrath, many other houses had established themselves. Most notably, House Ironborn, who saw the Icehearts as a direct competitor, as they shared the Frostback Mountains that both claimed as their homes. In order to quickly create more members without having to marry and create offspring, the Isulnir Mages used their control over ice bending magic to create Bleakborns, creatures of magic and ice that resembled shambling humanoids. They encased the dead in this magic ice, and through a magic ritual, they were able to revive the dead. They would soon have a horde of Bleakborn at their disposal to defeat their enemy with.

For fear of the Icehearts doing this to their dead, House Ironborn claimed sanctuary at the highest peaks within the Frostback Mountains, and claimed it as a sacred burial site for all of Goliath kind. This decree came in the year 1700, when House Ironborn claimed the first rulership of all the Goliaths.

Respecting their rulers' wishes, the Icehearts turned to more deadly practices. They began using this ice bending powers on themselves, attaching this magical ice to their bodies to keep them alive for eternity. This deadly process would only ensure the strongest survived, and that the weak were eliminated. But the weak were not entirely useless, as their bodies, often overtaken entirely of this ice, were turned back into ice ingots to be used as weapons and armor, giving that set of items Soul Bound properties.

The Fall of the Icehearts

During Drathos' Conquest in the year 1578 ADW, the Icehearts remained loyal to themselves and hid away within their ice fortresses. When Drathos broke through the Fryr Yis Wall, also known as the Frost-Death Wall, the Icehearts were given a choice; submit to Drathos and a united Jotunrath, or be removed as an enemy of the state. The Icehearts, being lone and stubborn Goliaths, tossed the head of one of Drathos' close allies over the remnants of the Frost-Death Wall as a response.

Instead of Drathos destroying the Icehearts, she called upon House Stormcaller to do it instead, proving their loyalty to her. Swiftly and with no hesitation, House Stormcaller swept through the many ice fortresses within the Frostback Mountains and removed the Icehearts. They broke through the near-impenetrable Isulnir with their own firepower: Yultin Runes, or Lightning runes, and Tulfa Runes, or thunder runes, another magical ore capable of shattering through other magical ore such as Isulnir.

The fighting was brutal for both sides, with the Isulnir Mages and Bleakborns being put to full use. However, the Stormcallers came out on top, from sheer luck and swiftness. In fact, it was a loyalty test to House Stormcaller, rather than a punishment to the Icehearts. Drathos wanted to see if the Stormcallers would back out of an order, and they did not disappoint. In the final months of the year 1578 ADW, the Iceheart house was no more. The only pieces that remained were the soaring ice fortresses and the knowledge of how to use Isulnir.

To this day, House Stormcaller incorporates the knowledge of the Isulnir into their storm-bending magic, now with control over lightning, the waves, and ice.

Notable Members

• Svajinr Iceheart
• Vothak Iceheart
• D'geo Iceheart, the Ice Lich