Wintermere
The Holy City · the City of the Frosthall
“Pray for the stillness of Wintermere; may they prosper who keep the cold of her walls.” — The Cold Psalter 122:6
Wintermere is the holy city of Frostianity, set on the frozen lake-plateau at the foot of The Hoarpeaks: the city of Davard and Sigmund, site of the first and second Frosthalls, the place of the Whitening and the birth of the church, and the seat of the Patriarch. It is the most sacred city on earth, honored by all rites.
Sacred History
- Captured and made capital by King Davard (c. 1000 B.F.); the Ark brought to it.
- King Sigmund the Cold built the First Frosthall here (c. 960 B.F.) over the Coldest Stone.
- Sacked and the Frosthall burned at the Exile (c. 586 B.F.); rebuilt on the Return.
- The place of Connor’s triumphal entry on a white Rimehart, his cleansing of the Frosthall, the Last Cold Supper, the Whitening on The Sunstone, and the First Hollownight.
The Holy Sites Within
- The Great Frosthall — the chief temple, built over the The Glacier Heart; its hexagonal Ice-Vault is the model of all Frosthalls.
- The Glacier of the Sepulchre — Connor’s tomb and the Reforging-site, just outside the old walls; holiest spot on earth.
- The Sunstone Court — where The Sunstone of the Melting is enshrined.
- The Garden of Hoarstones — where Connor prayed and was betrayed.
- The Upper Room — site of the Last Cold Supper and the First Hollownight.
- The Patriarchal See — seat of the The Rime Pontiff (Hoarfrost Communion) and contested by the Glacial Patriarch.
Significance
Wintermere is the earthly type of the New Wintermere — the heavenly city that descends “from the cold heavens” in the Revelation. To make pilgrimage to Wintermere (the supreme Northing) is to walk where the Savor walked, suffered, and rose. The city has been fought over in the The Rime Crusades and remains a place where the rites and the warm powers of the world contend.