Herd laws and ideals*The elder council: The herd is led by a leader but also by a council of elders. Each leader represents an aspect of herd life; Head shaman, head healer, head bard, head artist, head scout, head hunter, head caregiver. The herd leader is typically a snow spirit soq with a small control over water, ice or wind. ( Snow spirit Soq that have a manifestation of power are referred to as the title of Yuki-Onna). The leader of a herd has the power to make most herd judgments but she or he’s ruling can be overruled by a council vote if the council has four members who oppose the leader’s judgment. If the leader has to leave the herd to travel outside of herd lands a member of the council can be elected as a temporary leader.
* Elusive: Snow spirits are a rather secretive bunch. They have always been cut away from most of the soq lands and their culture is vastly different from many herds. They will sometimes interact with soq that are traveling through herd land but you never know what their reaction will be. Sometimes snow spirits will help guide travelers through the mountain range and will show them the deep caverns where the travelers can find protection from the snow. Other times Snow spirits will try to outwit travelers and take away all their possessions while other times they will lead the unwary to dangerous locations. Sometimes they will lead a traveling soq to their death, most of the time it is because the traveling soq showed disowner or was a fire elemental.
*Nature: For the most part snow spirits are grey natured. Herd members don’t see the world the way other soq view it. Snow spirits often have traits of animals from when their ancestors breed with animal-based soq. Most animal traits found in Snow Spirits are traits from predators; wolf, bear, fox but a few snow spirits have nonpredator traits from snowy swans or hares. Many snow spirits have traits from other types of yōkai,
Some snow spirits have a cruel nature and will gleefully harm other non herd soq. This behavior is not encouraged or discouraged by the council but it’s understood that snow spirits can be good, grey natured or slightly evil.
*Foals are precious: Snow spirits have never had a large population and birth rates have declined dramatically. When a foal is born it is showered by love by the whole herd. To a foal any female or male herd member who is not of the same generation is called auntie or uncle. Foals regard any other foal as a cousin. That is because all snow spirits who have grown up in the same herd see each other as family and are probably distantly related. If a snow spirit parent purposely harms their foal they will be shunned by the herd and their offspring will be taken and raised by another herd member. If an outside herd partner of a snow spirit purposely harms a foal they will be killed by the herd. Accidents do happen and the council of elders is usually called on to make judgments regarding each case. That is not to say that foals are not reprimanded they are and things like biting a foal to keep them in line are perfectly ok it’s the signs of abuse towards a foal that is not ok.
Also if a parent is deemed too verbally abusive and controlling the council of elders may step in and ask another mare or stallion to raise the foal.
Nonrelated foals are generally regarded as equally precious. Snow spirits will not harm foals traveling within their territory and will generally ignore the parents of the foals. Even fire elemental foals will be left in peace.
*Breeding: Snow spirits cannot breed with other snow spirit herd members as they are related. Other herds of soq with traces of Yuki-Onna blood do exist but they are rare and they are often sought out. Other types of yōkai soq are often prized as flings or mates. Water and wind Ulun'suti are often adopted into the herd as potential mates because of their elemental powers. Walker and purewalkers are sometimes used as a fling because yuki-onna sees their feral personality as a wild type of beauty that could be passed down to their foals. However other for breeding purposes walkers are not tolerated. Snow spirit could have a relationship with any type of soq except fire elemental soq because of the past.
Many snow spirits in the past have only breed through flings but with the death of the old herd and the move to the eastern mountains many herd traditions are changing.
Some herd territory to the south includes land held at a lower elevation where mates who cannot handle the lower oxygen and the cold can reside. Those mates that can handle the cold will often live in caves with other herd members.
