In the first age, the sun began to burn with a hunger that would consume the world. Vaelthyr forged seven seals, Hrimuo surrendered the final warmth of mortal hope to power them, and Skeldra resisted the sacrifice by tearing a passage through the heavens. The seals held, but the passage became the endless winter now called the Rimefold.

The world is folded inside an endless winter called the Rimefold, created when Vaelthyr sealed the dying sun to prevent a greater cosmic fire from consuming existence. Hrimuo governs the necessary endings within that frozen order, while Skeldra moves through its seams, creating breaks, storms, and unexpected possibilities. Spring is not absent, but imprisoned somewhere beyond the gods' accord.

The religion has three related but rival branches. The Quiet Houses serve Hrimuo through funerals, hospice, and rites of release. The Vigil Orders serve Vaelthyr through watchtowers, archives, lawkeeping, and communal defense. The Unmapped Circles serve Skeldra through itinerant shrines, secret routes, acts of rebellion, and aid to the displaced. A High Conclave rarely gathers representatives of all three branches, usually only when a supernatural winter threatens the balance.

Most mortals regard the gods as distant forces rather than beloved patrons. Hrimuo's clergy tend the dead and mediate grief, Vaelthyr's servants maintain settlements and laws, and Skeldra's devotees operate at society's edges. The three traditions coexist uneasily: communities need Vaelthyr's order, Hrimuo's mercy, and Skeldra's disruptions, though few admit the need for all three.

The dead pass into the Rimefold, a silent expanse of snow-covered roads beneath a starless sky. Hrimuo gathers those who died with unfinished grief, while Vaelthyr judges whether their final memories should be preserved or released. Those who cannot accept an ending are claimed by Skeldra, who transforms their regrets into frozen lights that drift beyond mortal reach.