Description from original post (created 2013-05-18 04:41):
This skin has taken me quite some time to create/edit. I would love all feedback as it helps me become a better skinner. Diamonds help too, so if you like this skin, don't forget to drop one off before you leave.
Backstory:
Long ago, there was a planet frozen to the core, Arktikae. The inhabitants were a rare species, the Arktiks, who traveled across the stone cold land in search of a resting place. They finally found a massive ice mountain, and decided to build their kingdom upon it. Using they're unique powers to create and control ice, they built a massive village surrounding a majestic castle, Castle Arkadeum. They appointed the ruler of this land, and gave him a truly royal name, Vater Arkticaeus, or Father of the Arktiks. Vater ruled over the kingdom with his queen, Aurora Borealis, and it thrived. Unfortunately, all good things come to an end. During the Lunar Eclipse of Zalthar, Arktikae was visited by the war mongering people of Solaris. They spent the entire eclipse threatening Vater to turn over their rare Arktinium found deep within the planet. Vater refused to give into their demands, and when the eclipse finally ended, Solaris attacked. Vater's army was outpowered due to the ability of the Solari to control fire. With the army defeated, Arkticae began to melt rapidly, exposing the Arktinium that the Solari needed to send their kingdom into an era of utter control over the galaxy. Realizing the war was lost, Vater decided to take the most desperate path possible, he sought help from the Oracle of Ages. Vater, along with Aurora, ventured to the top of the tallest mountain on the planet to reach the Oracle's temple. Once inside the temple, Vater came eye to eye with the Oracle, and with the utmost desperation pleaded "Oracle, you have all the answers to the Universe, tell me what I must do to save my home!"
The Oracle grinned a little, and with a tiny chuckle replied "First, you must venture into the caves of this mountain and battle the ferocious Arkticae bear. Once you bring the head of the bear to me, I will tell you how to save this planet." Then, at the wave of a hand, The Oracle opened a passage to the bowels of the mountain. Vater stepped through the passageway and descended into the caves. Throughout the cave a roar was heard, loud enough to put fear in the heart of even the bravest warrior, but this only put a rush of adrenaline in Vater's veins. He followed the caverns until it opened up to a huge chamber filled with the most spectacular of auroras reflecting off the crystal lined walls. Then all of a sudden the aurora disappeared, and the giant Arkticae bear lumbered towards Vater. The resulting fight lasted but 10 minutes, for Vater Arkticaeus had been in a run-in with an Arkticae bear before. He used the crystals in the cavern to his advantage, using his power over ice to reflect the light from the small opening in ceiling and directing it towards the bear, temporarily stunning it. Vater had no hesitation, he quickly fashioned an ice sword and thrusted it into the front of the bear's neck just below the head, the only vulnerable spot of the creature. Vater cut off the neck and ripped the rest of the head off the spinal cord. He journeyed back to the Oracle and presented the intimidating head. At this, the Oracle began to recite:
With no intention of fortune or fame,
soak your hands in the icy flame.
On your head your trophy resides,
venture deep to the planet's insides.
The heart will open once on your knees,
engulf the land with an eternal freeze.
Without anymore explanation, Vater knew exactly what he must do. He grabbed the Arkticae bear skull and furnished it upon his head, then headed down the mountain to rejoin Aurora. Together they journeyed to Mount Eternia, home of the Sacred Ice. Vater entered the mountain alone, following the tunnels until he found the Cosmic Chamber, said to be the home of the most mysterious happenings. In the middle of the chamber was a pond of blue fire. Instinctively, Vater was drawn to this strange blaze, as it emitted cold waves rather than heat. He closed his eyes and focused his mind, he was here to save his people, his kingdom, his planet. He slowly reached his hands into the frozen inferno, as soon as his hands touched it, the room was suddenly set ablaze with a blinding light. When he could see again, Vater realized the mysterious fire was no longer in the middle of the room. Instead, his hands were alight with the icy flame. At this, Vater left the caverns to join Aurora once again, and they traveled to the Infinity pit, where it was rumored that one could touch the Heart of Arkticae, the planet's core.
Vater and Aurora stood on the edge of the pit, staring into the vast darkness of the endless chasm. Using their powers over the land and ice, they slowly descended into the depths of the pit, unaware of an unwanted guess stalking them. Finally Vater and Aurora reached the bottom of the pit, and they stood face to face with the Heart of Arkticae, a giant molten ball of Arktinium encased by a shell of impenetrable ice. Vater knelt down and touched his hand to the shell and the Sacred Flame burned through it. With his new found powers given to him from the from the Cosmic Chamber, he began to permanently freeze the Heart of Arkticae, causing the entire planet to be encased by the impenetrable ice. Then, all of a sudden, a bright light lit up the area, and a huge fireball crashed into Vater and the core. Standing at the bottom of the pit, was the Solaris Emperor Canis Majoris. Aurora tried fighting off Canis to buy some time for Vater to finish the Eternal Freeze, but it was too late, the core had already ruptured and was beginning to become unstable. With one more blast, Canis super-heated the core, causing the entire planet to melt at an accelerated rate. Suddenly Aurora collapsed, and the entire pit was overwhelmed with brilliant colors, in a last resort effort, Aurora bound her spirit with Vater's and encapsulated her powers within his brooch, making him the ultimate Arkticae being. Vater turned, with his eyes glowing a fierce cold blue, and looked directly at Canis. Canis' blood stopped in it's tracks, and he became frozen there forever. Vater then turned to the core and engulfed it with the Eternal Flame, unfortunately it was already too late, and the core imploded in on itself, blasting Vater and the remnants of his planet through a black hole. Somewhere in space, the unconscious Vater became frozen solid, along with some fragments of Arkitcae.
Far away from Arkticae, there is a new planet called Earth: This planet is filled with massive beasts and luscious lands. All kinds of creatures inhabit Earth, land creatures, flying beasts, and water monsters. It is the perfect planet due to the balanced ecosystem and thriving lands. One day, there is an event that changes everything, all the creatures of Earth flee at the site of it, it's the day the sky went black, and fire rained from the sky.
Remnants of Arkticae, fell into Earth's atmosphere and blocked out the Sun. The meteors rained down like fireballs upon Earth destroying most of the planet's life. The creatures that survived this meteor storm suffered through an age of an unbearable freeze. Vater Arkticaeus had arrived, and it plunged Earth into an Ice Age. Many milleniums passed and Vater finally regained consciousness. He traveled the land due to his immense loneliness, but soon realized the despair caused by the mass amounts of ice on Earth. He soon went to work on shrinking the ice sheets, retreating the glaciers, and creating areas suitable for the Earth creatures to live on, he single-handedly restored Earth back to it's former luscious state. After this exhausting test of his abilities, Vater retreated to the arctic regions of Earth, where he found a few Arkticae bears that managed to survive the implosion and crashed on Earth with Vater. He grew an increasing bond with these bears. being the only Arkticae beings left. This was the closest family Vater had, and it is believed that Vater still lives with the polar bears, the descendants of the surviving Arkticae bears.
Folklore:
There have been tales of explorers venturing into the Arctic and being found frozen solid, even the blood in their veins turned to ice. Other explorers have reported seeing an odd creature in caves where polar bears dwell, all the reports are the same:
"I saw the head of a bear, bigger than any polar bear I've ever seen, and it seemed to be standing upright like a man. It's hands mysteriously glowed blue, almost as if they were on fire, but like a cold fire. The strangest part was the mouth of the bear, it seemed as if, in the mouth, were two eyes. The eyes, oh the eyes... Glowing more intensely than the hands, but just seeing them, even at a distance, will send chills up the spine of even the bravest man alive."
Many believe Vater Arkticaeus is just a myth, like the yeti, but there's one undeniable occurrence that makes the story of Vater Arkticaeus so much more convincing: The Northern Lights. A mysterious phenomenon in the Arctic region of Earth, scientists shrug it off as light particles reflecting off the atmosphere, but there's a bigger, more supernatural story behind this phenomenon. Every night, before Vater Arkticaeus must wander the night in the darkness, he unleashes the spirit of Aurora Borealis to watch over him, be his guardian. Her vibrant spirit lights up the Arctic sky in what we call the Northern Lights. Her spirit then returns to Vater so he has the power to maintain Earth at the equilibrium Arctic level, preventing Ice ages/Global warming.
Vater Arkticaeus is: The Father of the Arctic
Features of the skin:
A helmet that is the impenetrable skull of the rare Arktikae Bear.
The Soul of Aurora Borealis embedded in his brooch.
A robe woven from the Arctic Ocean.
Arkticaeus Cape- Infused with the remnants of his planet.
Hands lit up with the Sacred Ice.
Permafrost eyes that glow an intense light blue, if you look into them from too close a distance, it will send a freeze your entire body on the spot, forever dooming to be a frozen statue.
Previous versions:
Original (lighter) http://i.imgur.com/qVExvYN.png
Smooth dark: http://i.imgur.com/7NMQcDm.png
Anyways, I hope y'all like it and thanks for any support.
Don't forget to diamond.
-Doughty