Iceheart is an arrow of uncommon manufacture, its head being entirely chipped from a near perfect ice crystal from the Twilight Peaks. The shaft is carved and shaped from the wood of an oak tree from Cara Fahd, and the fletching is done with woven fern leaves picked from below the same tree. It was constructed by a Troll Archer named Jarren Swiftwind, who had no intention of giving it its unusual properties.

These properties came from the tainted ice spirit that resides within the ice crystal. It is a spirit of cold determination that tempts and influences the user of the arrow in an ever more powerful attempt to control their body outright.

The arrow behaves as a normal arrow designed for a rather large bow until a thread is attached to it, then it begins its insidious quest. Each time the thread rank attached to the arrow is increased the spirit attacks the will of the user trying to increase its hold on them, if the final thread is attached and the spirit still does not have control the spirit gets one attempt per month or one per week while in the Twilight Peaks. The spirit rolls its willpower step plus the rank of the thread versus the spell defense of the user. If the spirit succeeds the users willpower step decreases by one versus this controlling effect only. On an excellent success the user lowers two steps while on a poor result or lower the wielder regains a step. If the users willpower step decreases to zero or below the spirit has taken control of the body and begins to transfer its pattern into it.

This process can only be made permanent in the Twilight Peaks, so the spirit will take the body there in the fastest way possible. When fired the arrow adds the thread rank attached to it to the damage step of the bow it is being fired from in addition to the other powers it confers.

Rank 1 Cost: 200
Key Knowledge: The wielder must know the name of Iceheart.
Effect: The wielder is considered to be under the influence of a Resist Cold spell. This makes him nearly immune to natural cold weather allowing him to stand drastic decreases in temperature

Rank 2 Cost: 300
Effect: By firing the arrow into a target the wielder can cause the effects of the Icy Surface spell to be invoked at that point. The effect step of the spell is equal to the wielderís willpower plus the rank of the thread attached to Iceheart.

Rank 3 Cost: 500
Key Knowledge: The wielder must know the name of the Crystalsmith within the Blackfang clan that helped Jarren Swiftwind fashion the arrowhead.
Effect: Any living target hit by Iceheart is effected by its body numbing cold and is considered to be harried for a number of rounds based on the level of success achieved in the attack: average being one round, good two rounds, excellent three rounds, and extraordinary four rounds.

Rank 4 Cost: 800
Effect: The wielder can extend the bone numbing effect of the arrow by spending two points of strain to encase the target in a thin coat of ice. The target will then be unable to move for 1 minute or until they break the ice. The difficulty to do this is equal to wielderís willpower step plus the rank of the attached thread.

Rank 5 Cost: 1300
Key Knowledge: The wielder must learn the name of the spirit that gives Iceheart its power. The wielder will need to make a willpower test versus the spirit to be able to tell anyone else, however.
Effect: The wielder can cause the effect of a Drastic Temperature spell (cold only) to be enacted at the point of impact of the arrow. The effect step of the spell is equal to the willpower step of the wielder plus the rank of the thread (5).

The Spirit of Iceheart

The spirit within the crystal arrowhead is a Strength 1 air spirit giving it a willpower step of 8. It retains all of its powers but can not use them until it is free of the arrowhead. As the spirit’s hold on the wielder increases the wielder changes becoming more cold and distant from their friends and family. A list of possible changes are below. The more hold the spirit has upon the wielder the more drastic the changes.

• Decreasing tolerance for heat.
• Quick to become annoyed, but inability to get truly angry.
• Eye color changes to become a lighter and lighter blue.
• Body temperature decreases causing others slight discomfort when touching them (body feels cold).
• Inability to adapt to normal social occasions.
• A tendency to say everything that comes to mind, inability to hold back.
• Decrease in the amount of caring and compassion the wielder shows.
• Inability to accept changes, tendency to be stubborn.
• Feeling and understanding decrease.
• Disregard for the feelings of others.