Blizzard Snowgrazer

Blizzard Snowgrazer is a female cow born in 280 ADD in the Frozen Fields of the Ice Moon of Cryo. Her independent nature found herself as a lone bounty huntress, using her archery skills to track down people. She would eventually become a prominent figure in the protection of Daymian the Drekloga and the kingdom of Auravalle after rescuing Commander Frida Winterspear.

Personality

Blizzard is a very reserved but nurturing cow who tries to remain polite and unassuming unless directly wronged. She is extremely loyal to those she cares about, and is proud of her skills as an archer. She has a gentle demeanor, but may occasionally become snarky if provoked. She values her independence, but works well in a group usually as a voice of reason and compassion. However, her introverted nature means she may get flustered easily if she gets embarrassed.

Abilities

Blizzard is a master archer, able to expertly hit her mark from long ranges.

Growing up in the snowy wilderness, she is a capable tracker and knows how to traverse difficult terrain.

She has some knowledge on mechanics, and drives a ski speeder while tracking her charges.

She is very emotionally intelligent, giving her passive perceptiveness and the ability to read body language.

As a cow, she produces vitamin rich whole milk.

Design

Blizzard is very fluffy with mainly white fur, and blue patches running along her chest, arms, hips, and back. Smaller rings surround her blue patches. Over her left eye and ear and running down the left side of her face is another blue patch. Her eyes are bright sky blue, with shiny cyan hooves. Two pointy horns the same color as her hooves stick out of her forehead. At the end of her snout is a squishy pink nose, and along the lower side of her belly she has a large pink udder. Her hair is the same blue as her patches, with a white streak running down the center. Her tail has four main stripes, with smaller rings around them, and ending in a soft blue tuft with a similar white streak as her hair. The insides of her ears are also cyan, similar to her hooves and horns.

Attire

Blizzard's standard attire consists of a gray blue tunic and pants, with cotton patches along her shoulders and hips for additional insulation. Around her neck she wears a bandana with cosmic printing. Across her arms and torso are several leather straps for her quiver and bow to attach. Around her wrists she wears a pair of brown bracers. More straps around her waist button into an armored gray cloth that protects her udder. Over her thighs she has additional cloth leggings for extra insulation and armor.

Story

Early Life

Blizzard grew up in the Frozen Fields of Cryo, a small settlement of cows on Concentra's Ice Moon which harvested icegrass grains for the planet and provided dairy products for the moon. She attended school in the nearby city of Nyon, where she was friends with an arctic fox named Cerulean Azura. Growing up, her parents told her of the importance cows had on providing for the world, though Blizzard never had much interest in the dairy industry. And at a young age, she began exploring the glacial cliffs of the moon while taking up archery as a hobby.

When she was sixteen, she carved her own bow out of the bark of a glacial mist tree, a species only found on Cryo. The bow was then endowed with an enchanted energy from the springs where the mist trees grew, giving it silver runes. Now nearing young adulthood, her parents encouraged her to stay in the Frozen Fields to help harvest the icegrass and make milk, though she didn't agree with the idea of reducing her identity to just being a cow, which she felt many others of her kind did by joining the dairy industry. To avoid confrontation with her family, she began spending more time in the wilderness on her own, perfecting her archery skills and developing an affinity for tracking. After months of practice, she soon learned how to identify traces left behind by people, noticing details many others might miss.

The Huntress

Now 18, she was finally old enough to go out on her own in the world, though her parents continued to plead with her to stay in the Fields. But Blizzard had decided she was going to make a living tracking down fugitives and missing people, heading into Nyon to start her new career. Many in the city were skeptical of her skills due to her being a cow, but after successfully locating a tax evader outside the city, she quickly began to make a name for herself, acting as an independent contractor or taking up bounty charges set up by the government. Soon she made enough money to purchase a ski speeder to traverse the treacherous wilderness outside the city, tinkering with its design in her spare time to learn a bit about mechanics.

Two years later, the notorious weasel scientist Frostclaw Eclipse raided the Frozen Fields, taking the entire population hostage and vanishing. With the settlement deserted, Cryo soon began having dairy shortages, and a large bounty was placed on Eclipse's head. A few mercenaries tried to locate him, but all failed. With the situation personal, Blizzard was determined to bring him down and save her people, and using her tracking skills, she made her way to the Tundra Cliffs on the far side of the moon. There, she discovered a scientific fortress built into the bottom of the cliff face, with holographic cloaking around the entrances. Eventually, she infiltrated the fortress, which she soon learned was a laboratory designed by Eclipse to create a monopoly on dairy products across the moon, using the cow colony as slaves. Blizzard was soon captured, Eclipse explaining he had heard of her exploits in Nyon and knew she wouldn't be able to resist a direct attack on her home. And with the last cow on Cryo in his possession, Eclipse would control the entire milk supply of the moon.

Blizzard was subjected to a series of uncomfortable milking sessions, further reinforcing her disdain for the dairy industry. Though during one session she managed to free herself and retrieve her bow, avoiding capture and confronting Eclipse directly in his office. The two fought, the weasel revealing he was a cryomage as an Ice Elemental. During the scuffle, Blizzard was injured by Eclipse's ice dagger, but eventually she was able to kill him by strangling him with her tail. Afterwards, she infiltrated the lab's operating room and sabotaged the controls, dealing with Eclipse's henchmen and freeing the captured cows. The harvested milk was then surrendered to the government and distributed throughout the moon.

Protector of Auravalle

Shortly after her return to Nyon, Blizzard was contacted by a wolf named Marak Winterspear, who had been childhood friends with her mother and had heard of her recent defeat of Frostclaw Eclipse. Knowing she was capable enough for the job, Marak informed her that their hidden kingdom of Auravalle was under siege from the neighboring kingdom of Polaris and that his daughter Frida had been missing, along with another figure only identified as the Drekloga. She'd never had a contract on Concentra, but Marak informed her Auravalle was located in the frozen region of the Distant North, and knew she'd be able to handle the terrain better than any other mercenary.

Taking her ski speeder with her down to the planet's surface, Blizzard spent the next three days traversing the sparse icy expanse of the Distant North. Eventually, she reached the coast, where a langskip had been moored, with a crew of polar bears from Polaris setting up camp. Traveling west, she discovered Frida trekking alone in a frozen valley. Using an identifying phrase given to her by Marak, she was able to get Frida to trust her, and showed her the langskip, explaining they could take over the ship and use it to get Frida to safety. But the wolf refused, threatening Blizzard if she followed her and leaving the cow by herself. Blizzard decided to stay by the langskip, intending to take it herself once she staked out an attack plan.

The next day however, Frida returned, charging at the Polari soldiers guarding the ship. Blizzard spotted her, keeping watch from a distance as Frida took out the bears, until the wolf was struck down by a debilitating blow from a war axe. But before the bear could kill Frida, Blizzard launched an arrow, killing him and getting to Frida's side just as she passed out. Now surrounded by more soldiers, Blizzard prepared to fight, until a silver dragon arrived, threatening to kill the Polari unless they gave up the ship, and the bears soon surrendered. Helping to get Frida aboard, the dragon soon introduced himself as Daymian of Auravalle, the Drekloga, and explained the reason for the Polari invasion of Auravalle was to capture him, as he was the last dragon on Concentra, and that Frida had been planning to face the general of the Polari army alone once they returned.

Frida awoke a few hours later, too injured to continue with her plan. Blizzard and Daymian explained to her Daymian would be the one to return to Auravalle, and though Frida didn't want to accept it, Blizzard was there to support her as Daymian departed the ship. After they sailed back to Auravalle, Blizzard delivered Frida to safety, where she was taken to the medics to treat her injuries. Blizzard then met with Marak face to face, who told her how Daymian had convinced the Polari to clear out by going with them back to their kingdom. A few days later, the cow was taken to meet the Auravallen royal family, with Marak and Frida supervising. There, Blizzard was honored as an official trusted protector of Auravalle, and offered refuge in the city.

The Treasure Hunters

Deciding not to return to Cryo, Blizzard used the money she got from rescuing Frida to lease a small log cabin in the Alpine Mountains, just south of the Distant North in the country of Paradyce. There, she began looking for potential charges to track down, seeing Concentra as a wider opportunity than she was used to on the Ice Moon. Eventually she came across a posting by a jackal named Daze Maghamir, searching for a tiger named Pyro Wildfyre, who had stolen several precious stones from his collection. He seemed like an easy charge, known for traveling by catamaran through the Alnamari Desert on the eastern continent. Though she wasn't familiar with warmer climates, Blizzard decided she needed the experience, and it wasn't too long before she had made it to the crowded market city-state of Madina an-Tajir.

She got in contact with Daze, explaining her intentions to find Pyro. The jackal briefed her on the tiger, and informed her he was on a day trip somewhere west of the city. Using her ski speeder, now outfitted with treads to traverse the desert sands, she tracked the path left behind in the dunes by Pyro's catamaran. Soon, the boat came into view, Blizzard keeping her distance as she tailed him. Pyro and his partner, someone Blizzard had been unaware of, noticed her and began the chase through the desert. Eventually the cow was able to launch an arrow which attached a cable between the speeder and the catamaran. In defense, Pyro's partner, who Blizzard now recognized as a kangaroo, suddenly pulled the catamaran back, causing Blizzard's speeder to crash into it and send the cow into the desert, where she was knocked unconscious.

Blizzard awoke hours later around a campfire, with Pyro and the kangaroo standing over her, who soon introduced herself as Peppermint Mist. Cautiously, Blizzard observed them, and though Peppermint was kind enough, Pyro was suspicious as to why she had been following them in the first place. Still not seeing them as a threat, Blizzard readied her bow, revealing she was being employed by Daze to return the stones Pyro had stolen. As Blizzard could not be trusted, Pyro readied his khopesh, and though the two fought briefly, Pyro was able to knock her down, as she was still sore from her crash. Peppermint, acting as a mediator, suggested they look after Blizzard for the night before bringing her back to the city the next day. Pyro agreed, as long as Peppermint kept watch on the cow. While Pyro slept, Peppermint explained to Blizzard who Daze really was, and that he wanted the stones to imbue himself with the power of the Elemental magics, whereas she and Pyro were charged with protecting them. As they talked, Blizzard started taking a liking to the roo and, though they had just met, believed her to be telling the truth.

The next day, the three returned to Madina an-Tajir, dropping Blizzard off before going their separate ways. But as they left, Peppermint gave Blizzard a way to contact her, hoping they'd be able to speak again. Rejoining Daze, Blizzard lied, claiming Pyro did not have the stones with him, and that she needed to retrieve her ski speeder so she could keep an eye on him. Once she had reclaimed her vehicle, she was left alone in the desert. Not knowing where to go next, she deleted all contact with Daze, being wary of the treachery Peppermint had revealed to her. Eventually, she determined she would have to simply look for more charges to track, but decided to contact Peppermint. Over the next few months, the two became very close, and eventually Pyro accepted her enough to let her officially join them as part of his team.

Relationships

Blizzard is currently in a romantic relationship with Peppermint Mist.

She has a friendly rivalry with fellow cow Dusty Sugarcream.

She is childhood friends with Cerulean Azura.

She is a guardian to Auravalle, and is a trusted protector of Frida Winterspear and Daymian Auravalle.

She is like a sister to Melonie Mist, and an aunt to Melonie's son Clem.

Trivia

-Her cosmic bandana is almost always worn.

-As a cow, she requires two milking sessions a day to stay healthy and comfortable.

-She loves blueberry milkshakes.

-The runes etched in her bow and quiver represent the main elements of the natural world--Air, Water, Earth, Fire, and Spirit.

-She is often embarrassed by her udder, and prefers to cover it up to protect against stares.