The Arktix Culture

## Description

Arktix are short and fat Froge with an adaptation for extremely low temperatures. Their skin is completely black, but sometimes covered in patches of dark blue mucous. This mucous will not freeze due to its high salinity, and will actually form a protective layer around the arktix. Arktix are quite intelligent creatures and have found that ice is an immensely helpful tool for many things. The arms of the arktix are actually extended with an amount of ice magic. This allows them to fight better, and more accurately carve out ice structures. Arktix Froge will spend quite some time walking, and as such have created frost-resistant magic ice boots that allows them to traverse over water, and walk along the snow without making a sound.

## History

Ever since they started a community in the arctic portion of the world, many explorers have come from all sorts of places to "discover" this new land. Upon reaching the Arktix encampment, they exchange ideas and Arktix end up taking in any who wish to stay, while sending those with a mission back on their way with supplies to last them through the cold. Arktix have well realized that communication is hard between different species, so they've studied and created many different technological machines and spells to communicate in any way possible. Those who are deemed too violent are first frozen, before being brought to the main campsite for food and shelter.

## Habitat

All arktix homes and buildings are made completely out of ice formed by ice magic, or more intricate structures are carved by arktisans. Housing is more than a simple bed to them, home is what they love, so arktix homes will be filled with objects they wish to remember, making walking into their homes sort of like walking into a hall of memories. Arktix have no distinction of how large a home can be, some prefer a large home so they can make different rooms for different purposes, while some use a home exclusively for remembering certain things such as lovers, or those they met in their travels.

## Ruling figure

Arktix aren't ruled by a single figure, moreso an understanding of power is amongst the masses. Those that wish to perform their own rulings are given their space to do so, but anything that will immediately impact the area around other arktix are met with extreme caution.

## Fauna

### Frox

Frox is a small canine carnivore adept at swimming in icey waters and can detect even the slightest change of wind with its long pointed ears. 90% of its body heat is produced in its mouth, with its blue tongue utilizing a chemical reaction created by eating Bloofil. The ears grow longer as it ages, and its sharp claws will cause flesh to freeze in the cold air.

### Frolix

a small carnivorous creature capable of hiding in the icey water. While similar to Frox, Frolix do not have the long ears that Frox do. Frolix hide amongst the young Frox to steal food, or even the children for food. While it is hard to tell apart from Frox, they lack the distinct features of Frox, such as the blue tongue and long ears.

### Helvin

Helvin is a 5 legged horse. With wide white hair, it gallops on all fours across the frozen tundra. If a leg is incapacitated, the leg on its back will act as a crutch. When it is not using the 5th leg, it will hold it into the air to summon lightning. Seeing one is told to be a bad omen, and those that make contact call it "an irrational, unthinking beast"

### Dake

The Dake is a family of arctic mollusks that span over a thousand branches of families. No bigger than a foot or smaller than an inch, Dake form large pillars in the water, sticking to each other to better protect from predators. The pillars are completely hollow inside and act as a breeding ground for different species of Dake, depending on the shape of the pillar.

### Bloofil

Bloofil are a species of crustacean that adopted a super fast metabolism that is incredibly efficient. 12% of its calorie intake go towards daily, or sometimes even weekly functions, whereas the rest heats up its specialized blood. It buries itself in the snow to protect from storms and predators, its shell keeping the warmth inside and the cold outside. The shells are quite insulated and are used as a sort of earmuffs for arktix while on expeditions. Bloofil will store ALBA in its burrow, where it lives with 2 or 3 other Bloofil of varying genders. The ALBA provides two and a half hours of heat for the Bloofil, meaning they need to feed many times daily in order to create enough heat to survive. The young Bloofil will inhabit a Dake shell until they grow older and their carapace hardens.

## Flora

### ALBA

Arctic Lactose Berries of Anger are white berries that are grown under the snow. These plants will produce lactose in super saturated amounts, making digestion nearly impossible for most beings. Consuming even one will cause twitching in even the largest land animal. Continued consumption leads to spastic and energetic anger, to the point where the air will taste sweet and your muscles will contract and relax to the point of tearing for each and every move you make.

### Antik

Antik is a large stalk that ends in a hollow cap. This cap is comprised of a tangy membrane that is widely used in Arktix dishes. The membrane, while not insulating, protects from harsh storms but by no means is immune to freezing.

### Cinine

Cinine is a special algae that grows crystalline ice on its fronds to repel predators. It reaches a maximum of 36 feet tall, and typically prefers deeper pits on the ocean floor where theres more room to grow.

### Flold

a sea grass that long ago, climbed to the surface of the water. In todays age the surface is ice, so it grows along the sea floor, crawling and burying itself deep within the sea floor. To find one you must find a small pad on the sea floor, these pads used to sit on the oceans surface but have since changed to catch and digest rotting fish.

## Politics (law and hierarchy)

Those that are deemed too dangerous to keep around are reasoned with to leave, and failure to do so will result in a battle of ice magic. The arktix who care to become involved will attempt to slow down their attacker with walls and traps composed of ice. If more than a handful of arktix get together, they can summon a sandstorm capable of freezing salt water, to the point of being deadly to even arktix themselves. This is only done when a true danger to the species is found. While death is not the preferred option, they will not hesitate to protect those who need it.

## Notable People

### The Frozen Cinders, Legend of Grok'Gip~Gip

Long ago, in the cold arctic regions of Delthoria lived a simple Arktix family. They had 3 children and another batch was coming. They weren't particularly rich or well endowed, but they always won the ice sculpting competitions in their village. Most arktix are able to manipulate ice, ranging from a small puff of snow to the deepest, darkest blizzards. Eventually the family's power grew weaker as their kids grew. One night, their father went missing. He was never found, and within a week the coming clutch was growing their first limbs. In anger and desperation, the mother had thrown the whole clutch out into the cold arctic ocean. There was only one survivor, Grok'Gip~Gip, a name given to him later that meant "downhill". In the cold arctic nights, Grok'Gip~Gip would have died if it weren't for his strong magical abilities. Being born to an adept magical family, he soon taught himself how to keep himself warm with hot ice called Grok'Grok~Grok, or the Hotter Cold. His ability to create ice that would freeze something in place while it burns served him well. Torches, campfires, even buildings for protection were things he made in his search for his home. Eventually he grew and grew, and had never found his mother, siblings, or any other kind like him. As the days went by, he eventually put the pieces together and realized what had happened. Marking the flow of the ocean undercurrents, he set off in the opposite direction. Shortly after, a storm rolled by but stopping was not a part of his plan. He crafted a set of Grok'Grok~Grok armour, which kept him warm while constantly causing his body to burn. He braved the storm and spent weeks walking back to his village. Eventually he made it back, and discovered something dire. Some of the homes were been abandoned, and only a few families were here. He searched around, asking if anyone knew where he could find his family. The second house on the left held a particular scent that made him feel nostalgic. He stepped up to the door, and knocked softly. A female opened the door as two males looked from the back. They stared at each other for some time, the simple Arktix family standing across from an Arktix dressed in white hot armour. Grok'Gip~Gip told his story, his quest to find home, and immediately the three of them stepped forwards. They told him they knew his mother well, she was a fine woman but had died quite some time ago. Distraught and lost, the heart of Grok'Gip~Gip had been broken. A storm cloud slowly constructed itself above the village, and as tears ran down his face, Grok'Grok~Grok began to pour. The entire village was burnt to a crisp, leaving behind an icey residue that kept every detail intact. It was at this point he took the name Grok'Gip~Gip, a name which can mean downhill, or surrounded by fire (high behind, or hotter behind). Grok'Gip~Gip would never know that he is now the last of his family's kin, and remains in the Frozen Cinders to this day.

## Culture

### Special machines:

The arktix utilize many movement devices to explore the arctic. The machines they make are Helrun, Brantik, Blank

#### Helrun

A mechanical platform that utilizes spiked "hooves" to gallop through the icy surface. They need to be careful to make the hooves small enough to not crack the ice, but large enough to stick and retain traction. It can hold one arktix and one passenger, or three passengers.

#### Brantik

Modeled after the Antik, it is a combination of magic and technology. A simple mechanical connection activates metallic claws that extend from the base with the click of a button, and shortly after the magic Cinine crystal is used to summon and control a sheet of ice and wind that covers you in a 360° radius, protecting you from the elements, rain, snow anything really.

#### Blank

The Blank is a large metallic exploration vehicle based on the Bloofil. It has several pairs of treads that allow it to go in 3 directions, front, back and to the side. It has several claws used to grab and hold ice or metal. With a small amount of pressure these could be cut into smaller pieces. All Blanks are equipped with several tanks of fuel, in the case of an attack, Blanks are also defensive machines, able to expel fire from any direction using the extra fuel on board. It is also equipped with a simple cloaking device, white shields that allow it to hide buried in the snow.

## Production

A few very popular items created by the arktix are ice sculptures, mystic mirrors, frost, and other things they sell to other nations are: Cooked meals such as Dake and Flonine, and basic machines. Ice sculptures can be comprised of anything from a lover, an item of value, or abstract emotion. Sculptures are widely used for direction, landmarks, and attractions. Mystic mirrors are a memory stored in ice. People may buy one to experience an emotion, or to recall something they wanted to remember. It acts as a notepad for some, or a leisurely device for others. Made mostly of ice from the arctic, a small layer of Cinine crystals are infused with magic and built into the mirror, creating the mystic mirror. Frost is a highly valuable item, as it is used for many purposes. Frost can be stored in a small bag and used to freeze something in front of you, it can change the taste and texture of food, its essentially any ice spell in a sack, depending on the method of delivery as well as the amount used, anything from a small gust to a snowfall can be summoned. Arktix make machines for a living, most of which are used to explore the surrounding area and are modeled after the local wildlife. As for cooked meals, dake are a popular food amongst the locals and are shipped off frozen in bulk, other premade meals are made for various uses. Flonine is a mixture of Cinine algae and Flold sea grass, it is sold to folks in the desert as a spice to cool them down from the inside. It is said inside each Cinine crystal lies 27 hours of cooling effects.