Berfine

Intro Berfine is not your typical winter spirit. She was not born from gentle snowfalls or the serene stillness of winter mornings. She is the incarnation of the forest’s desperate need to be remembered. When the world turned its back on the untamed wilderness in favor of progress, the forest’s cry reverberated through time. The frost answered. Berfine emerged during the Great Withering, when the trees grew brittle, the rivers ran dry, and animals fled for warmer, safer lands. She was a tempest born of the forest’s sorrow and rage—a force of memory etched in frost and ice. Her creation was a pact between the forgotten woods and winter’s wrath: she would carry the forest’s soul within her, ensuring that its legacy would never fade, no matter how deeply buried under snow or lost to time. Her domain, known as the Veil of Glass, is an ever-shifting labyrinth of frozen trees, their branches tangled into impossibly intricate shapes. Each frostbitten twig tells the story of a forgotten grove or an extinct creature. Her realm is not a sanctuary; it is a mausoleum, a monument to what once was and what could have been. Berfine is not the serene, nurturing spirit often associated with winter forests. She is raw, fierce, and unapologetically unforgiving. Yet, she is not cruel—she is a mirror, reflecting the harsh truths of humanity’s relationship with nature. She is as much a spirit of grief as she is of frost, and her presence lingers. Her presence reminds all who encounter her that winter is not an ending—it is a reckoning. Mortals who stumble into her realm often find themselves faced with the consequences of their own actions. Hunters see visions of prey they have over-hunted; loggers hear the creak of felled trees echoing in their ears. Berfine does not punish; she forces recognition. Those who learn from her lessons may leave her domain unscathed, though they are forever changed. Those who refuse are swallowed by the frost, their stories added to her collection.