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Tears Elemental — Description

When it comes to the fluids present in the frozen north, there is no doubt which one reigns king. The icy Tears are everywhere, creating vast glaciers, countless icebergs and mixing in with the seawater around it. This whole freezing land was born from the fading giants, who wept oceans as their age ended. Their tombs remain to this day, as well as the vast quantities of Tears. While it is responsible for the creation of this land, it has also cursed certain portions of it. Areas where the ancient despair is most potent, congealed and hardened into Tears glaciers. Here the emotion and chill of Tears turns insidious, hungering for any and all warmth. Those exposed to it will find it difficult to stay warm, the land around them stealing their body heat. And when that is gone, it goes for the warmth of the mind, draining away hope and happiness til only despair remains. Those who cannot fight it will freeze to death out there, reduced to weeping ice statues upon the barren land. It is no wonder these glaciers are rarely traveled, and any who do are warned to take heavy precautions. Yet the emotional aura of Tears cannot be fully avoided out here, as certain strains have become more mobile. After all, with this many Tears in one place, it only makes sense that it is the perfect birthing grounds for elementals.
Elementals are born from large sources of their respective fluid, their bodies a purified embodiment of the Humor. In a land soaked in Tears, such entities can form quite often. In other lands, Tear elementals are incredibly rare, but here in the frozen north, they are more easily found. Born from pools and solid glaciers, they take on an icy winged body. They possess numerous eyes, as that is the organa of Tears, all of them constantly weeping. The being is a mix of liquid and ice, the Tears freezing into sharp icicles as they reach the edges of its wings and tendrils. These elementals are capable of flight, though it doesn't seem to need to properly flap its wings to achieve this. Where a head should be is just a nub covered in orifices, each one leaking out noises that sound like sobbing. At times when it is grounded, it can be seen wrapping its wings around itself as it weeps, while in the air it may cry out to the heavens. It seems like an entity of perpetual sorrow, yet any who encounter one should be wary of approaching. Despair can cause people to do some terrible things, and it is no different for the elemental.
These beings do not just sit around and cry, for there is instinct to them, and one is to lash out in grief. Tears Elementals are prone to targeting any creature that gets close to them. When intruders are detected, they let out a terrible wail and swoop down after them. Their next move depends on which weapon they wish to use, as the elemental has quite a few. They possess tendrils that end in sharp icicles, which are used for snaring prey or stabbing. Their wings are coated in razor sharp ice, with each flap and swing able to saw through fur and flesh. Then there are its weeping eyes, which can spray out liquid Tears that soak victims or fire off icicle missiles. Even its own scream is a weapon, emitting a chilling aura that lowers the temperature around it and fills listeners with sorrow. This combination makes them dangerous to encounter, either resulting in one being impaled by ice or frozen into a statue. These elementals seem to feed off of the heat and fluids of prey, as the wounded are smothered in its wings and drained. And above their corpse, the elemental will weep...
Tears Elementals are entities that are avoided by Skeggrs and outsiders, who know that running into them is only asking for trouble. Thankfully, they emerge in more remote areas of these frozen lands, making encounters near civilization rather uncommon. Skeggrs claim that they are embodiments of the giants' grief, their spirits in perpetual sorrow for their dead age. Best to leave them to their weeping, as they will lash out against the living. They can be hunted to gain a potent strain of icy Tears, one that remains fluid no matter how cold it gets and cool no matter how hot it gets. Skeggrs who travel to warmer climates may use trinkets, armor and hair tonics derived from these Tears to help keep them cool under that thick hair. They can also be used to chill overheated contraptions or preserve food and fluid, yet most people stick to using ice or regular Tears to do this. Going after a Tears Elemental calls for trekking out into the frozen wastes, and not many are keen to do such a thing when chunks of ice are literally everywhere.
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We are so close! So close! I can taste it!