Arts & Expression
12.1 Visual Arts & Crafts
Frostborn art often takes the form of intricate carvings in bone, stone, and ice, depicting scenes from their myths and legends. They are renowned for their beautiful and intricate ice sculptures, which serve both artistic and practical purposes. They are also skilled bone carvers, creating everything from tools to jewelry from the bones of the animals they hunt.
12.2 Music & Performing Arts
Frostborn music is characterized by deep, thrumming rhythms and haunting, wordless vocals that seem to echo the sounds of the icy wastes. Drum-like instruments crafted from stretched hide and hollowed icebark wood provide the rhythmic foundation, while vocal harmonics carry melodies that can be heard across vast distances in the still, frozen air.
The most celebrated musical tradition is "Isstomme"
the Ice Voice
a form of throat singing that produces multiple simultaneous tones, said to mimic the resonance of the Singing Ice in deep caverns. Master practitioners of the Ice Voice, such as the legendary singer Solveig Frostthroat, are said to be able to cause ice to vibrate and crack with their voices alone.
12.3 Clothing & Adornment
Frostborn clothing is made from the furs and hides of the animals they hunt, designed for warmth and practicality. However, they also incorporate intricate beadwork and embroidery that tells stories and signifies clan affiliations. Ceremonial garb features elaborate arrangements of ice gems, bone toggles, and dyed fur trim.
12.4 Cuisine
Frostborn cuisine is based largely around meat, particularly from the large game animals they hunt. They also gather hardy plants and lichens, and have developed methods for preserving food through freezing and fermentation. Frostroot is a staple, prepared in various ways from roasting to grinding into flour. During festivals, elaborate feasts feature preserved delicacies and fermented beverages brewed from lichens and snowberries.
Notable dishes include "glacial stew" (a slow-cooked mixture of preserved meat, frostroot, and arctic herbs), "windcake" (dense, flat bread made from frostroot flour, designed to sustain travelers on long journeys), and "snowberry mead" (a fermented beverage served warm at celebrations and said to produce a pleasant inner warmth that lasts for hours).
12.5 Games & Recreation
Despite the harshness of their environment, the Frostborn maintain a rich tradition of recreational activities. Ice-wrestling is a popular sport, with bouts held on polished glacier surfaces that add an element of unpredictability. Bone-dice games are played during long winter evenings, often accompanied by storytelling wagers. Children play "frost-tag," a variant of chase played across ice fields where sliding and balance are as important as speed. During clan gatherings, organized competitions in archery, spear-throwing, and ice-climbing draw participants and spectators from all clans.