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Description

          Cryomancers are a class of Mancers that many non-magic users are familiar with. This pretty much stems from the view that magic users (or magicians, as the peasants say, which is insulting) do nothing but hurl fire bolts and ice shards at one another. It is one of two elements that they always think of when the subject of magic is brought up. Even with that, many are not aware of how far the sickness goes when a mage who favors ice becomes a Mancer. They only think of the early stages, when one’s study goes solely towards ice and the cold.

            As should be obvious enough by now, Cryomancers start off as magic users who primarily use ice based magic. They are lovers of cold and snow, the type of person who loves the winter season for all the reasons other people despise it. In early stages, they meddle with ice spells and cold-based powers, studying the methods and ways to make this element stronger. Where things really start ramping up is when they eventually start emanating coldness from their own body. Their internal temperature will slowly drop as their studies and use of ice powers continue. As with other Mancers, this happens because their natural mana is slowly being infected with this particular element. As they use the same element over and over again, looking at a span of years, if not decades, their natural mana will start to be altered by it. This in turn starts to change them both physically and mentally. As the changes go on, a Cryomancer will start favoring colder weather, despite the season. They will despise any heat or warmth, finding any presence of it uncomfortable. A sunny spring day to them is terrible weather, and they will spend their time solely indoors where they can control the temperature to their liking. If a Cryomancer has to go outside in such inhospitable conditions, they will bundle up in chilled furs and armor. These cold garments are meant to trap the cold in while they hurry to their destination, desperate to get out of the warmth as soon as they can. While in the middle stages, Cryomancers will spend most of their time indoors while the days are hot, and then outdoors when the chill enters the breeze. To supplement their lifestyle, they will often help around fishing docks and butcher shops, using their powers to create ice for their freezer rooms. A middle-stage Cryomancer is a welcomed guest in any town, as people are more than willing to pay for the mage to fill their ice boxes. Interestingly enough, a good chunk of folk who make their way into Cryomancy come from families who run butcher shops or fish markets.

            Many studiers of Cryomancy will remain at this stage, careful in their use of mana and fearful of sliding down that slippery slope (pardon the pun). They will take the steps that all practiced magic users follow, like transferring their mana into amulets and objects before using it in complicated spells. Like most advanced magic users, many will be strong and smart enough to avoid Mancer Syndrome, but there are always those who take it too far. The first sign of someone becoming a full blown Cryomancer is when they move away to a permanently cold environment. They will suddenly just up and leave, telling no one and taking nothing with them. They will simply migrate to an arctic land, led on by their infected mana. The elemental sickness will eat away at their body and mind, fueled by the change of the environment and their growing madness. Eventually, their natural mana will be fully consumed by the element, and the Cryomancer will undergo its final transformation.

            At the final stage, the internal temperature of a Cryomancer will plummet below freezing. All fluids within their body will freeze solid, and any liquid making contact with their body will do the same. Their flesh will slowly breakdown as the freezing process eats away at it, until all that is left is ice and frozen bones. At this stage, a Cryomancer had transcended the basic needs of food and water. Their body will only feed on snow and ice, their inner mana fueled by the cold. They will build their new body from solid, dense ice, creating a frozen armor that can stop iron and steel. Their entire body will emanate an aura of cold, able to freeze water solid just by standing next to it. Their mastery over the element of ice will be second to none. They can create nearly endless amounts of it, freezing enemies solid or pelting them with razor shards. By using blasts of cold air or ice, they can propel themselves through the air, using their powers to fly almost effortlessly. In their frozen environment, a Cryomancer is king.

            Unlike certain Mancers, a Cryomancer does not pose an immediate threat. Many of them will live out their lives as hermits, keeping far away from others. They will often claim a snowy mountain top or a frozen crave, making it their territory that one should never invade. There they will overlook their domain, watchful for those who may try to defile it with the foul substances known as heat and fire. At this stage, Cryomancers are only a threat to those who enter their territory, especially if said intruders bring any kind of fire with them. These trespassers will be frozen into ice blocks and left as a warning to others. Those who are frozen by a Cryomancer are not killed, but merely put into a cold hibernation that will only end when they are thawed. There are indeed tales of lost travelers that were frozen centuries ago, forever in slumber until one can brave the frigid tyrant and set them free.

            The real threat is when a Cryomancer seeks to expand its territory. Eventually they will decide that their frozen kingdom must be larger, or in some cases, they seek to extinguish the oppressive heat. Becoming a Cryomancer already calls for the loss of one’s humanity, but when a Cryomancer becomes fully feral, they can be a kingdom wide threat. Their maddened minds will see the world as a boiling, burning place that must be calmed by the peaceful cold. Those who burn and melt beneath the blinding sun must be saved from its deadly rays. Even the suggestion of a nearby Pyromancer can send them into a frenzy, sending them into a suicidal hunt for their elemental enemy. With these insane thoughts swirling through their frozen minds, they will leave their territory and begin attacking outside settlements. The land they tread upon will become cold and dead, and they will use their powers to bring on a false winter. All heat and fire will be extinguished, and those who bear it will be frozen. Entire towns will be entombed in ice, and the Cryomancer will continue on this rampage until they burn themselves out or are killed.

            Eliminating a Cryomancer is not an easy task. One must be prepared to face unnatural cold and a wide array of ice spells. Failure to defeat one in battle will result in you being forever entombed in ice, unsure of when you will ever wake again. The key to defeating a Cryomancer is heat. Their frozen bodies can only exist in extreme cold, their internal temperatures unable to handle anything warmer than a mild, sunny day. Any temperature above freezing will cause their body to soften and melt, which is why they always surround themselves in an aura of cold and ice. Exposing them to prolonged fire and heat will start to melt their bodies, which will eventually kill them if their bones thaw out. The important part is that they need constant exposure to heat. Simply hitting them with a fireball will cause damage, but they can easily refreeze the affected area and heal almost instantaneously. One needs to overpower the cold and force them into a warm environment. Facing them in their territory is almost suicidial, as the weather and conditions are in their favor. One should find a way to lure them out of their environment and into warmer conditions. That way they must spend energy to maintain their cold aura, which can weaken them over time. One should have a large stock of mana-infused objects so that they can outlast the Cryomancer’s. If one hits them with enough heat and fire over a long period of time, their energy will be exhausted and they cannot fight back. At that point, one just has to keep up the heat until all that is left is steaming bones. Another tactic that has been thought of but never tested is using sound against them. Scholars have theorized that since one can use sound to crack ice, then one should be able to do the same with Cryomancers. It is a decent idea, but one that hasn’t been tried out. Not many want to face a Mancer to test out a theory. One last piece of advice for those who wish to fight a Cryomancer is having an artifact or rune on their person that will thaw them in case they are frozen. Some delayed spell or set of runes that will activate in case they fail and are put into a cold sleep. This is mainly so you know you will wake up in case you are beaten by the frigid creature.

            A final note that I feel I must add is that there are some Cryomancers who are able to retain some piece of humanity. At one time I believed that all Mancers had lost what made them human long ago, but I have been proven wrong. When the Scourge of Steel ran rampant and was consuming our lands, it was they who aided in bringing down the metal monstrosity. There were both Cryomancers and Pyromancers who retained their minds during their transformation, and they chose to aid us in such a dire time. If not for their help, we may have failed in extinguishing that beast's burning heart. So with this I say that there are those Mancers out there that are still right in mind and still able to relate with us humans. They are few and far between, but they exist. If the world is ever threatened by the likes of the Scourge of Steel ever again, may we pray that those honorable few still remain and will come to our aid once more.

- Cavarious Shaid

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Been a while since I have posted some Mancers up here, mainly because these hefty descriptions! Whew!

Description

          Cryomancers are a class of Mancers that many non-magic users are familiar with. This pretty much stems from the view that magic users (or magicians, as the peasants say, which is insulting) do nothing but hurl fire bolts and ice shards at one another. It is one of two elements that they always think of when the subject of magic is brought up. Even with that, many are not aware of how far the sickness goes when a mage who favors ice becomes a Mancer. They only think of the early stages, when one’s study goes solely towards ice and the cold.

            As should be obvious enough by now, Cryomancers start off as magic users who primarily use ice based magic. They are lovers of cold and snow, the type of person who loves the winter season for all the reasons other people despise it. In early stages, they meddle with ice spells and cold-based powers, studying the methods and ways to make this element stronger. Where things really start ramping up is when they eventually start emanating coldness from their own body. Their internal temperature will slowly drop as their studies and use of ice powers continue. As with other Mancers, this happens because their natural mana is slowly being infected with this particular element. As they use the same element over and over again, looking at a span of years, if not decades, their natural mana will start to be altered by it. This in turn starts to change them both physically and mentally. As the changes go on, a Cryomancer will start favoring colder weather, despite the season. They will despise any heat or warmth, finding any presence of it uncomfortable. A sunny spring day to them is terrible weather, and they will spend their time solely indoors where they can control the temperature to their liking. If a Cryomancer has to go outside in such inhospitable conditions, they will bundle up in chilled furs and armor. These cold garments are meant to trap the cold in while they hurry to their destination, desperate to get out of the warmth as soon as they can. While in the middle stages, Cryomancers will spend most of their time indoors while the days are hot, and then outdoors when the chill enters the breeze. To supplement their lifestyle, they will often help around fishing docks and butcher shops, using their powers to create ice for their freezer rooms. A middle-stage Cryomancer is a welcomed guest in any town, as people are more than willing to pay for the mage to fill their ice boxes. Interestingly enough, a good chunk of folk who make their way into Cryomancy come from families who run butcher shops or fish markets.

            Many studiers of Cryomancy will remain at this stage, careful in their use of mana and fearful of sliding down that slippery slope (pardon the pun). They will take the steps that all practiced magic users follow, like transferring their mana into amulets and objects before using it in complicated spells. Like most advanced magic users, many will be strong and smart enough to avoid Mancer Syndrome, but there are always those who take it too far. The first sign of someone becoming a full blown Cryomancer is when they move away to a permanently cold environment. They will suddenly just up and leave, telling no one and taking nothing with them. They will simply migrate to an arctic land, led on by their infected mana. The elemental sickness will eat away at their body and mind, fueled by the change of the environment and their growing madness. Eventually, their natural mana will be fully consumed by the element, and the Cryomancer will undergo its final transformation.

            At the final stage, the internal temperature of a Cryomancer will plummet below freezing. All fluids within their body will freeze solid, and any liquid making contact with their body will do the same. Their flesh will slowly breakdown as the freezing process eats away at it, until all that is left is ice and frozen bones. At this stage, a Cryomancer had transcended the basic needs of food and water. Their body will only feed on snow and ice, their inner mana fueled by the cold. They will build their new body from solid, dense ice, creating a frozen armor that can stop iron and steel. Their entire body will emanate an aura of cold, able to freeze water solid just by standing next to it. Their mastery over the element of ice will be second to none. They can create nearly endless amounts of it, freezing enemies solid or pelting them with razor shards. By using blasts of cold air or ice, they can propel themselves through the air, using their powers to fly almost effortlessly. In their frozen environment, a Cryomancer is king.

            Unlike certain Mancers, a Cryomancer does not pose an immediate threat. Many of them will live out their lives as hermits, keeping far away from others. They will often claim a snowy mountain top or a frozen crave, making it their territory that one should never invade. There they will overlook their domain, watchful for those who may try to defile it with the foul substances known as heat and fire. At this stage, Cryomancers are only a threat to those who enter their territory, especially if said intruders bring any kind of fire with them. These trespassers will be frozen into ice blocks and left as a warning to others. Those who are frozen by a Cryomancer are not killed, but merely put into a cold hibernation that will only end when they are thawed. There are indeed tales of lost travelers that were frozen centuries ago, forever in slumber until one can brave the frigid tyrant and set them free.

            The real threat is when a Cryomancer seeks to expand its territory. Eventually they will decide that their frozen kingdom must be larger, or in some cases, they seek to extinguish the oppressive heat. Becoming a Cryomancer already calls for the loss of one’s humanity, but when a Cryomancer becomes fully feral, they can be a kingdom wide threat. Their maddened minds will see the world as a boiling, burning place that must be calmed by the peaceful cold. Those who burn and melt beneath the blinding sun must be saved from its deadly rays. Even the suggestion of a nearby Pyromancer can send them into a frenzy, sending them into a suicidal hunt for their elemental enemy. With these insane thoughts swirling through their frozen minds, they will leave their territory and begin attacking outside settlements. The land they tread upon will become cold and dead, and they will use their powers to bring on a false winter. All heat and fire will be extinguished, and those who bear it will be frozen. Entire towns will be entombed in ice, and the Cryomancer will continue on this rampage until they burn themselves out or are killed.

            Eliminating a Cryomancer is not an easy task. One must be prepared to face unnatural cold and a wide array of ice spells. Failure to defeat one in battle will result in you being forever entombed in ice, unsure of when you will ever wake again. The key to defeating a Cryomancer is heat. Their frozen bodies can only exist in extreme cold, their internal temperatures unable to handle anything warmer than a mild, sunny day. Any temperature above freezing will cause their body to soften and melt, which is why they always surround themselves in an aura of cold and ice. Exposing them to prolonged fire and heat will start to melt their bodies, which will eventually kill them if their bones thaw out. The important part is that they need constant exposure to heat. Simply hitting them with a fireball will cause damage, but they can easily refreeze the affected area and heal almost instantaneously. One needs to overpower the cold and force them into a warm environment. Facing them in their territory is almost suicidial, as the weather and conditions are in their favor. One should find a way to lure them out of their environment and into warmer conditions. That way they must spend energy to maintain their cold aura, which can weaken them over time. One should have a large stock of mana-infused objects so that they can outlast the Cryomancer’s. If one hits them with enough heat and fire over a long period of time, their energy will be exhausted and they cannot fight back. At that point, one just has to keep up the heat until all that is left is steaming bones. Another tactic that has been thought of but never tested is using sound against them. Scholars have theorized that since one can use sound to crack ice, then one should be able to do the same with Cryomancers. It is a decent idea, but one that hasn’t been tried out. Not many want to face a Mancer to test out a theory. One last piece of advice for those who wish to fight a Cryomancer is having an artifact or rune on their person that will thaw them in case they are frozen. Some delayed spell or set of runes that will activate in case they fail and are put into a cold sleep. This is mainly so you know you will wake up in case you are beaten by the frigid creature.

            A final note that I feel I must add is that there are some Cryomancers who are able to retain some piece of humanity. At one time I believed that all Mancers had lost what made them human long ago, but I have been proven wrong. When the Scourge of Steel ran rampant and was consuming our lands, it was they who aided in bringing down the metal monstrosity. There were both Cryomancers and Pyromancers who retained their minds during their transformation, and they chose to aid us in such a dire time. If not for their help, we may have failed in extinguishing that beast's burning heart. So with this I say that there are those Mancers out there that are still right in mind and still able to relate with us humans. They are few and far between, but they exist. If the world is ever threatened by the likes of the Scourge of Steel ever again, may we pray that those honorable few still remain and will come to our aid once more.

- Cavarious Shaid

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Been a while since I have posted some Mancers up here, mainly because these hefty descriptions! Whew!