Sitting in their homes, around their fires, listening to the wind screaming through the trees, no one wants to go into the darkness. But the darkness holds more than just frostbite and death. In the bare branches of the creaking waving trees, dance the frost maidens. Frost maidens are tall women in ragged clothes, ice blue skin, and long white hair, who dance amongst the trees. It is the frost maidens who eat the last fruits of the trees, and the last bits of life in the bones of those claimed by the frost are theirs.
The Frost Maidens are often thought to be hags or witches, though some claim they are simply feral women of the woods. However, the frost maidens are born of the winds. Once the blood moon has been seen in the sky, whenever the winds scream through the naked trees, a frost maiden is born. They are born to herald the coming of winter, they bring the final decay to the fading of autumn. They are the Shepard of the fading of the world
Frost Maidens will die very quickly if they do not eat things by causing decay, and so they immediately begin to go and claim the last fruits. They can only eat rotting fruit, and when found in the woods travellers will often find great tables loaded with rotting fruit with Maidens celebrating and dancing around it. Despite their needs, the Maidens will always share their food, and find it insulting to reject their hospitality.
Worse, Frost Maidens are not simply fruit eaters. They consume flesh, including the flesh of humans and dwarves. Whenever they find a wounded or exhausted person they will come to them, showing pity, and fussing over their wounds. Many travellers will be beckoned to the glades of Frost Maidens, where they think their wounds and starvation will be treated, only for the maidens to cause their flesh to blacken with rot and frostbite, and then quickly watch them die. The maidens will consume animals in this manner as well, rotting and consuming the ones too slow or unwise to ready for winter. If asked, the Maidens always claim that they are simply eating like any other creature.
The Frost Maidens are all sorcerers. Their skills in the arts of sorcery are considerable, and they are born with them. This means that they are often sought by sorcerers to teach or be sources of knowledge. Many sorcerers have summoned a Frost Maiden to teach them their secrets, only to watch her quickly die of starvation. Even the scrupulous wizard who has prepared foods for the Frost Maiden, is still racing against time. For Frost Maidens may be nature spirits, but they are not long lived.
Frost Maidens are as easily killed as any other creature, but they are also very short lived. Frost Maidens are heralds of Winter, but they are creatures of Autumn. This means that as soon as the first snow lingers in the grass for a day, they die. The early sleet or flurries that melt will begin to presage their death, but it isn't until the snow has managed to cool the earth enough to last that they finally die. Many travellers have been being slowly fed upon by Maidens, only to watch the entire clan die at sundown, and be forced to watch themselves die alone in the woods wishing their wounds didn't make them unable to walk to town.
Lifedrinker: Frost Maidens desire to consume the last moments of things. Being creatures of autumn they do not wish to harm anyone, they simply want to watch them die. Whenever someone takes a wound in their presence the Frost Maiden will be drawn to them. When a Frost Maiden touches, kisses, embraces, or strangles a person, their wounds all deteriorate one step immediately. Cuts necrotize, poison surges, and the wounded person begins to fade. The Maiden is fed by this fading of her victim. As she helps them realize the coming of winter.
Blue Heart: Frost Maidens suffer no pain or penalty due to cold. They do wear clothes, but often ragged and ratty clothes, since everything around them decays, but they do not wear them for warmth.
Born of Autumn: Frost Maidens are not long lived, and they are not aware of any of the other seasons, they can learn, but their lack of knowledge is notable.
Spirit of Nature: The Frost Maidens are technically spirits, but they are part of the natural world. They are not law breakers, and they properly interact with the world, but otherwise they count as a Spirit with a Strength equal to their Will.
A Burning Wheel Monster Every Week