The ice plague

**The ice plague** or 'plague of ice' is a ravaging plague of seemingly semi-sentient ice that spreads and wreaks havoc across the fae realm, devouring fae, animals, buildings, and land.

## Appears in

Major canon:

*The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire*

*The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas*

*The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague*

Canon extra:

*The Gwyn and Augus Ice Plague Interludes*

## Details

Olphix and Davix wanted to know if they could create a seventh son of a seventh son themselves, rather than accidentally stumbling upon one, in order to 'augment it, tune the world towards a species and there, grant a son [they] could sunder and use.' So Olphix poisons the Aur forest, forcing the Aur dryads to seek out the aid of the School of the Staff, who send them Olphix (though the Aur dryads do not know that Olphix created the disease to start with). Olphix offers to heal the Aur forest in exchange for the Aur dryads' then-non-existent seventh son of a seventh son. The Aur dryads only have two children at the time, and don't believe they'll have more, so they agree. Over time, they eventually have their ninth and youngest child, who is also their seventh son, Mosk Manytrees. As Imshiel Manytrees is a seventh son as well, Mosk is the seventh son of a seventh son, which gives him great power and potential.

When Olphix arrives to take Mosk away, Mosk attempts to shoot him, only for the arrow to disintegrate before it can reach Olphix. Olphix then captures Mosk with his magic and takes Mosk to his family home, where Olphix forces Mosk to watch as Olphix burns everyone alive, followed by the forest itself, as punishment for Mosk's defiance. The twins torture Mosk for some time - though healing him so he doesn't scar from their ministrations - and steal his magic, remove his feeding teeth, and otherwise starve him. Ultimately, Olphix leaves so that Davix can take Mosk's heartsong. Mosk strikes back - killing Davix - and the combination of magics creates the ice plague.

Most of those who even touch the ice plague perish and are consumed by it. Amhar notes that the ice hunts, but would go dormant after 'feeding'. 'If it finds a town and devours it, it stops for a time. But if you get too close, even when it’s sleeping, it will send out shoots and find you.'

Olphix and Davix have elemental magic: Olphix is fire, and Davix is ice. The pair are filisexual, and only care about each other, even beyond death. Mosk notes that his former heartsong is in the ice plague, but Davix's magic is leading it, and Eran Iliakambar theorizes that is why the ice plague targets fire fae - it is seeking out Olphix.

Along Mosk's journey to discover what was wrong with the world and how to combat the ice plague and defeat Olphix, Mosk trains his magic, and becomes quite powerful. Once Mosk re-encounters the ice on land, he manages to drain the magic from it using his own magic, melting the ice, and continues to drain it as the group travels.

#### Known Casualties of the ice plague

* Ada
* Adali
* Adalia
* Ambari
* Ifir
* Iliak
* King Oengus Og
* Vhadi

#### Known Locations Decimated by the ice plague

* Aram'kelton Hills
* Oengus' Tower
* Seelie Court
* Sounhaqh
* Summervale (currently de-iced, courtesy of Mosk)

## Trivia

* Although 'plague of ice' appears far more often than 'ice plague' in the canon, given it is the title of the trilogy, 'the ice plague' has been used here.

## References

1. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 30 April 2020. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17959874/chapters/57536779. Chapter 31: Whatever It Takes.
2. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire.” *Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 29 June 2018. https://archiveofourown.org/works/12036105/chapters/34995836. Chapter 23: The Arrow's Path.
3. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 29 March 2019. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17959874/chapters/43252853. Chapter 3: Pushed Over.
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 27 April 2018. https://archiveofourown.org/works/12036105/chapters/33382401. Chapter 20: Night Terrors.
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 12 March 2018. https://archiveofourown.org/works/12036105/chapters/31845930. Chapter 16: Leave Be.
6. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 1 - The Forest of Fire.” *Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 1 December 2017. https://archiveofourown.org/works/12036105/chapters/29432541. Chapter 9: A Meeting.
7. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 2 - The Seething Seas.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 6 February 2020. https://archiveofourown.org/works/17959874/chapters/53990812. Chapter 25: Reversals.
8. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 3 September 2020. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/63940123. Chapter 1: The Ice and the Dryad.
9. ↑ not\_poignant. “The Ice Plague: Book 3 - The Ice Plague.” *The Fae Tales Verse. Archive of Our Own,* 22 October 2021. https://archiveofourown.org/works/26266345/chapters/66297152. Chapter 5: The Dryad and the King.