Constellations of Snowflakes and Ice

They're FROM the crown. Like it had grown extra behind the mask

What do I think this means? I think, with the additional detail of it being solid and driven into her skull, that this is another manifestation of what the rot does emotionally. It looks staggeringly similar to what the red crown does when enraged/executing its power

TLDR: I don't think that Yngya was ever possessed with the rot, I think it just amplified and corrupted the already present anger at her circumstances

So anyways what do I mean by that? I've seen a lot of interpretations circling around: that her disciples were controlling her to do all these things, that something in the rot possessed her by the end, that she was never truly there in the first place. I'd like to challenge that

I believe that, while it wasn't her decision to be corrupted by the rot ritual in the first place, she still was present and cognizant enough to see it through to the end. She was the one to guide the Lamb in the direction of her flock's souls and wool, and she was the one to guide the Lamb deep into the rot

Her flock had loved her regardless of their actions, they wouldn't have pretended to be her just to manipulate the Lamb into sacrificing themself. Honestly, Yngya's flock was pretty straightforward with their intentions by the very beginning. No, they don't outright say they performed a rot ritual using Yngya's heart, but it's not exactly subtle. They wholeheartedly believed that the Lamb was on their side; there was no reason for them to think they had to conceal anything.

Upon receiving the first lamb souls, Yngya directly introduces herself, and says that the Lamb resurrected the remains of her existence. I consider this the first example of this genuinely being her, rather than a possessed copy.

If this had not been Yngya, the Lamb would not have awoken the power of winter in the first place. Only the bearer of the winter crown is able to do that, and since the winter crown wasn't repossessed... you see where I'm going here

Additionally, all of her disciples' souls aren't even active until AFTER the Lamb buries their wool in Woolhaven. None of her disciples were around to seemingly puppeteer Yngya, so this had to come from her. Yngya mentions the rot before Baraq's wool is even retrieved from its resting place:

Rot is a physical manifestation of grief, pain, and anger. It spreads through the collection of lamb souls and the recollection of their horrific deaths. The more souls you bring back to her, the more she feels their pain and suffering, and the more anger and suffering she feels for them. By taking them home you bare their pain to their god, who corrupts with the rot that burns with rage. She says as much here:

Rot is a corruptive force. Not a force of possession. It amplifies, magnifies, and overwhelms negative emotions because it stems from grief. People who become rotted don’t automatically lose all personality or sense of self. They are corrupted, turned into festering wounds and distant thoughts. When Yngya pushes you toward furthering the rot, I believe it is because she has chosen to utilize it. It’s the last hand she has been dealt, so she might as well use it. It’s the last choice she is allowed to have

Yes, she does get mixed up and more distorted with all the decaying souls inside her, and she slips into using the pronouns “we” and “our” more often as time goes on. But I don’t believe this means that she completely loses herself by the end of Woolhaven. She is still the center of Woolhaven. She is still their heart. At MOST she may be in a dreamlike, half awake state. She’s still able to speak, even in her final form. She calls to the Lamb still, clearly and coherently. AND TO BE HONEST, she's actually the most coherent a rotted being can be in this game. If you compare her dialogue...

...to Marchosias and other beings infected with rot:

They actually do not really lose their sense of self. They lose focus, they likely have difficulties thinking and reacting, and their body slowly convulses into something unrecognizable, but that's still them in there. There is no complete loss of self

When the lambs all flood inside her heart, that is NOT them possessing her, that is them offering their souls as the final pieces to provide her power. Gods draw power from their followers’ devotion, after all. Had it been that they were possessing her for some reason, she would’ve stopped fighting and flailing once they were all stripped from her. That end scene is them recognizing the pain they caused, the corruptive festering wound they’ve melted her into. It’s not them going “fuck we reanimated her corpse and it’s angry.” They are realizing they put YNGYA. IN PAIN. BY DOING THIS. Specifically YNGYA.

Does this mean I think this is all Yngya's fault instead? No of course not. It still is quite clear that her disciples, lead by Sariel, chose to use her heart for this rotting ritual. She did not choose any of this. However, I don't believe it is fair to consider her a mindless, inanimate corpse of a monster by the end, when the same perception is not given to Marchosias, who also becomes a corrupted monster of rotten flesh. He keeps his sense of self, but Yngya doesn't? That doesn’t sit right with me

The monster you fight in the rot’s core is STILL Yngya. Despite the rot, despite her death, despite everything that had been done to her, that was still her. And I think it’s very important that it is. Because in the end she did not deserve this much suffering for things she never chose. I think it’s narratively important that she is still at least somewhat cognizant of her situation. It adds more weight to the tragic nature of Woolhaven’s story of perpetual suffering

I made a reference for how I want to draw Yngya! I wanted to figure out how tf I wanted to draw her consistently, so after days of mulling it over, here she is!

Yngya is actually really formal and regal and grand in the way she speaks. Unlike the bishops, she's more like Narinder in the way that she refers to HERSELF as winter at times. She's entirely intertwined with her crown (and it like. has black veins spread across her skull so like. DEEP power). She is warm and welcoming to the lamb, but in that way that a god who has already claimed them would be. She has ALREADY ACCEPTED LAMB AS HERS. Plus like, she's not motherly in the super affectionate way. She's more regal and commanding than that

Lamb is, after all, one of her own. And as her own, they are expected to heed her requests

When talking to the Mystic Seller, they say that Yngya went to them for help because she was afraid of the other gods destroying her flock. They specifically say she was scared. She is interested in protecting her flock first and foremost, both as her chosen people AND because her flock gives her power like all gods

When she is first revived by Lamb, she mistakenly says that the Bishops slayed her. This is incorrect, it was in fact the last of her flock, her DISCIPLES, who carved out her heart and initiated the rotting ritual. The further the rot spreads, the more corrupted and distorted her and her voice becomes. She also eventually slips into plural pronouns we/us/our. While I do recognize this as her slowly losing herself into the decay and assimilation of beings around her, it is still her in the core. It is still her heart, it's just decaying

She is still a god. She can be vengeful, angry, vindictive. Marchosias taking over her temples and mountain draws a violent reaction out of her, one that I do not think came solely from the corruptive effects of rot. That event comes too soon. She is still a god who demands respect, sacrifice, obedience, worship from those around her. To disrespect her is to disrespect the very order of the world

Yngya is portrayed as a more benevolent force. Emphasis on more, because at the end of the day, the gods still act on different rules than the mortals. They still require the exploitation and control of their followers. No god is a perfect, loving, purely kind god. She is kinder, but I HIGHLY doubt she was kind to all. She is Winter. Frigid, deadly, unrelenting winter.

There's this tiktok I saw once that I cant find now, where this woman did a skit about a character called "Winter" who was this severe, strict, and VERY cold woman who told you exactly what you were going to do during the season and why

Sth sth "Even the very air you breathe is mine, for it will be seen in clouds before your face."

THAT is how I want Yngya to be portrayed. I want her to be the fucking White Witch from Narnia. LET HER BE MULTIFACETED

She is kinder to us cuz WE ARE PLAYING AS THE FUCKING LAMB. HER LAMB. HER LAST GODDAMN LAMB. AND SHE USES US. IN ALL HER KINDNESS AND LOVE AND WARM WELCOMING, SHE STILL USES US AND THEN ROTS. (Yes I know this was caused by her disciples but in terms of like, god shit, it was Yngya pushing us onward)