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Rant 13 - Snow

This rant will have two halves to it- the first part I will focus on my own meandering thoughts on snow in our world, and then in the second half I will focus on some interesting aspects of snow in the world of Yggdrasil.

I chose to write this rant because it's currently snowing outside. Sarah and I walked down to the neighborhood office, and I was surprised by the just how different our reactions to the weather were. Sarah, being a warm weather kind of person, was cold and clearly wanted to return to the inside. I, on the other hand, didn't even bother closing my coat, and enjoyed kicking through the snow immensely.

What makes people react so differently to the cold, wind, and snow? It can't be just that I fare better in cold weather or have some special aptitude for icy environments (I have no such aptitude, I can't even ski). There's something much deeper at play; at some fundamental level, I believe that I enjoy being surrounded by snow. It represents an adverse environment that I still somehow belong in. I believe that somewhere deep in my personality, I want to be surrounded that something that forces me to work harder, look closer, plan better. Snow forces us to time our bus stops better, it makes us walk with a bit more caution, it makes us rethink our meals (I'm all about coffee-based meals during snowstorms).

Some of you are probably asking Why does this matter? Some people, kids and the like, enjoy snow, but it really doesn't mean anything. I disagree, I believe that people who still like snow as adults are not just being childish- by the time you're an adult, you know what it's like to get really cold, you know the scary side of snow. Still enjoying it for what it is takes some level of resolution that is distinctly mature in nature. Inside of me, it's a resolution to be self-sufficient no matter what the conditions. Inside of someone like 4drn, it's a resolution to see the beauty in anything and enjoy it. In others, snow provides a means to create and build, and they have to be resolute enough to do so, even if they're older.

Snow is about being a clean white slate which you can paint whatever you wish. It takes an unusual person, even an odd person, to realize what they can do with that canvas.

Snow in Yggdrasil

Yggdrasil has many harsh environments, and among them are snow-capped mountains almost everywhere, the great white foothills of the far north, and the frozen chasms of the deep south. Snow is known to almost all surface cultures, and there are whole kingdoms that live in perpetual snow.

Because Yggdrasil has so many large mountain ranges, any culture that has traded with it's neighbors, explored, or generally taken the time to just look, has run into snow. Cultures that are entirely underground, and the few cultures that do not leave volcanically active territory, may not have seen snow, but usually they've still heard of it. Even in the deserts, snow will fall on cold nights.

The result of all this is that snow and ice are regarded on an equal footing with liquid water. As previously mentioned in the magic rant, ice is commonly used for offensive spells. Weather mages have written countless volumes of the subtleties of snowstorm creation and management.

Part of what makes snow so common across Yggdrasil and magically difficult is that each snow crystal is a simple yet impeccable casting diagram. Geometrically speaking, a snowflake is artfully elegant, which means that any magic coursing through the snow will be focused and amplified at a tremendous rate. However, snowflakes are bare of any written instruction; without code to govern their use, magic moving around will be completely without direction, and can loop endlessly until the snow simply can't handle the stress and something breaks. A snow spirit is therefore very dangerous, especially to themselves.

Snow has one final property that makes it special on Yggdrasil. Because the roots and branches of Yggdrasil are mostly in upper/no atmosphere conditions, the whole area is very cold. Loose water that is not magically governed to stay liquid will turn to ice or snow quickly. The denizens of the branches are used to seeing snow and ice everywhere, as are the denizens of the outer edges of the roots. These denizens, including the gods of Yggdrasil, are therefore more comfortable in when it has been snowing recently. Divine visitations are notably higher in snow areas and in the winters of most regions. This peculiar detail has not gone unnoticed by the religions of Yggdrasil, and most cultures therefore associate snow with exceptional happenings. There's even a saying that has popped up repeatedly in Yggdrasil's history:

"A night of white, keep eyes open and bright. Whether good will or ill, change comes from that wint'ry still."