The Aurora-Bow
The Cold Rainbow · Sign of the Covenant of Rime
The Aurora-Bow is the “cold rainbow” — the shimmering arc of aurora-light set in the northern sky by The Hoarfather as the sign of the Covenant of Rime after the The Great Whiteout. As the warm world’s rainbow is born of sun and rain, the Frostian sign is born of cold and dark and the holy fire of the aurora: a bow of green-and-violet light promising that the world will never again be unmade by the white flood, but kept until the Rewhitening.
Meaning and Use
The Aurora-Bow signifies covenant, promise, and mercy after judgment — the Cold’s pledge of keeping. It is among the chief signs of the sacred art, arching over depictions of The Bergark and of Halvard’s altar, and its colors are the aurora liturgical color (see The Liturgical Colors (Symbol)) worn at Aurora Night. To “see the bow” is a Frostian idiom for hope renewed in the dark.