| “ | I'm a cold, cold woman. | „ |
| ~ Lumi to her most current husband Rangi in Fables #150 — "The Last Snow Queen Story" |
Lumi, better known as the Snow Queen, is a Fable godess who debuts in Fables #37 — "The Saint George Syndrome: Chapter Two of Homelands Fables." She was one of Geppetto's lieutenants and a powerful sorceress. The Snow Queen is one of four sisters, each representing one of the seasons, who jointly ruled four kingdoms with each moving in a yearly cycle to bring the seasons in a predictable manner to their subjects.
Put to sleep by Briar Rose, Lumi eventually awoke when Ali Baba reset Briar Rose's sleeping curse.[9] Her years in a deep sleep allowed her body to purge itself of the magic the Adversary used to keep her supernaturally loyal to him. She has since resigned herself from serving under the Empire and Geppetto himself.
History
Origins
The Snow Queen ruled over the four neighboring Kingdoms of Dunhill, Viss, Haven and Lamien alongside her three sisters. Once each season, four times a year, Lumi and her sisters would all move one kingdom over, in a clockwise rotation. They would bring with them the change of the seasons in a natural and predictable manner, all to the benefit and appreciation of their respective kingdom's inhabitants.
Lumi was a pleasant monarch and reputedly loved by one and all, and all was well in the Snow Queen's realm until one day when a vagabond named Jack came to call. She allowed him into her court, wanting to hear tales of his many adventures. Jack eventually managed to seduce Lumi and the two became passionate lovers. When Lumi fell ill for the first time in her life, she feared it would render her unable to participate in the seasonal shift and bring winter to the next kingdom on schedule, as such she naively gave her powers to Jack so he could make the change in her place. But instead of fulfilling his promise, Jack took the mantle of "Jack Frost" and decided to keep the powers for himself, abusing Lumi's gift and using them recklessly. He also showed no faithfulness to Lumi as a lover, contemplating seducing one of her sisters and sleeping with several women during his travels. When Lumi's illness turned out to be nothing more than pregnancy, and, the denizens of her kingdom prepared to seize her castle out of anger for the off-balance of the seasons, Lumi discreetly moved in with one of her sisters and gave birth to Jack's son.
After four years, Lumi's sisters managed to persuade Jack into relinquishing Lumi's powers back to her. But while her powers returned, Lumi's attitude was forever changed; she had now become as cold and as cruel as the season she represented.
At some point, Lumi came to own a magic mirror. Eventually, this mirror was smashed so thoroughly that tiny pieces of it spread throughout the world,[10] one shard of which ended up in Kay's eye.[11]
During and after the Exodus
Lumi being given Geppeto's loyalty potion
Many years later her world was invaded by the Empire. She was defeated in battle but managed to strike a deal, she would serve the Empire with the condition that her world would be spared. For many years she would dutifully serve the many campaigns of the empire. Unbeknownst to her and many others, she had been kept under a spell in the form of a monthly dose of a the same potion Geppetto used on all the wooden soldiers.
During the direct struggles of the Empire with Fabletown she was the one who captured Boy Blue[2] and devised the never used counter-strike against the mundane world.[12] Her days as a servant of the Adversary came to an end when the Capital City was taken over with the sleeping curse of Briar Rose.[13] While she was in deep slumber her powers were transferred to her son, who was still in her own world. He, unlike his father, returned to the cursed city and returned the powers to his mother.
Awakening from slumber
Lumi was woken after the spell was broken by Ali Baba and the first thing she did was take revenge on the goblins who manhandle her. She later pursued and captured Ali Baba and Briar Rose with the intention of killing them, but then she overheard the bottle imp telling the story of the fateful christening of Briar Rose. Having gone so long without her stories she spared their lives while the imp narrated. During the tale the name of Hadeon the Destroyer was repeated often enough to summon her and she broke into combat with the Snow Queen. Ultimately it was Briar Rose who defeated Hadeon. She let Rose and the Imp go free and was pleased that Ali Baba, who had fallen in love with her, chose to remain.
Goldilocks' killing spree
Lumi is then one of the fables targeted by Goldilocks in her murderous spree against the fairest fables. She is killed alongside Ali Baba, but by the magic properties of the sword she is able to be brought back to life at the expense of Ali Baba staying dead, which was a choice made by Cinderella.
Battle of Fabletown
Lumi was recruited by Winter Wolf, the new North Wind, to aid in her mother Snow White's fight against Rose Red. In the end, Snow and Rose managed to disband the fighting, averting the war altogether.
Epilogue
At some point, Lumi remarried a man Rangi who was unfaithful while traveling. When Rangi returned to Lumi's ice palace, she froze him to death after revealing she knew of his infidelity. Winter scolds Lumi for doing so, and Lumi proposes they start a relationship to solve their continuing relationship problems.[14]
Personality
| “ | She wasn't dreaded yet in those days. In fact, she was quite pleasant of disposition and reputedly loved by all. | „ |
| ~ Jack Horner, Jack of Fables #6 — "Jack Frost, Part One of Two" |
Lumi was once naive and good-natured, with a childlike and somewhat gullible personality.[4] Described as kind and gentle by her son Jack Frost,[15] and pleasant of disposition by Jack Horner,[4] Lumi was beloved by the denizens of her kingdom.[4][7] She was a benevolent monarch — so much so that her court felt it unnecessary to have an armed guard formed to protect her.[7] Despite her innocence, she apparently still enjoyed having young men to warm her bed.[4] After the betrayal her former lover Jack Horner,[7] Lumi became dreaded[4] and earned a reputation for being "evil."[7][15] Although Jonah the bottle imp claimed Lumi was not as bad as many assumed her to be, and most of her serious transgressions were a result of her being under the magical influence of Geppetto.[3] Regardless, Lumi has repeatedly shown a sharp mind and a cunning aptitude. She also adores stories,[4][16] having had dozens regale her with fantastic tales prior to her involvement with the Empire.[16]
Physical appearance
| “ | The glistening brilliance of midwinter's deep snow. | „ |
| ~ Ali Baba describing Lumi's appearance in Fairest #1 — "Prince of Thieves: Chapter One of Wide Awake" |
Lumi had whitish-blue skin when she met Geppetto, which faded to ivory as she served the Empire
Lumi was a lovely woman, as noted by Jack Horner[4] and Ali Baba.[17] Goldilocks perceived her as one of the pretty women who rose to the upper echelons of society primarily because of their looks.[6] Described as ivory-skinned,[7] she has white hair and blue eyes. She ordinarily wears very regal winter attire, with jewelry reminiscent of her shattered magic mirror.[18]
Lumi's skin tone and hair color changes back and forth over the years: When she met Jack Horner,[4] she had a pale, ivory skin tone and chalk white hair,[7] but when Geppetto brought her on board, she had a whitish-blue tint to her skin that faded to a normal ivory color as she served the Empire.[3] Years after she was put under the sleeping curse, her complexion remained a pale white, with Ali Baba comparing her to midwinter's snow.[17] However, after she awoke, her skin was bluish once more, and her hair now matched the same hue.[9] By the time of Goldilocks' killing spree, her hair and complexion had reverted to their white color.[6] At the time she murdered her most recent husband, Rangi, her hair and skin had returned to their pale bluish tint.[14]
Powers and abilities
- Immortality: Like most other Fables, Lumi is unaging and very difficult to kill. This is allegedly based on the popularity of their tales. Due to being a 'goddess', Lumi may have already had some innate caliber of immortality.
- Cryokinesis: Lumi is generally surrounded by an aura of cold, to the extent that it's usually snowing in her vicinity. She is capable of pulling in the winter weather surrounding her if she so chooses, but rarely does so. She can also create constructs of ice and snow; the ice in her constructs is self-renewing.[3][19] She is capable of transferring her wintry powers to anyone she wishes.
- Ice golems: Lumi can create and command frost creatures, including ice giants and frostlings. Her standard spells to create her icy minions includes diverse skills (e.g. cooking).[16]
- Size increasing: Lumi can grow gigantic in size.[20]
- Conjuration: Lumi can conjure armor, a shield, and a sword.[20]
- Teleportation: Lumi is capable of magical transportation, even between worlds.[6]
- Sixth-sense: Lumi seems to have some sort of mystical sixth sense, that allows her to discern certain amounts of knowledge she would normally have no way of knowing, as she could sense Blue's presence.
Weaknesses
- Magic: Lumi is susceptible to the effects of magic, seeing as she was affected by Briar Rose's cursed sleep.[13] This is inclusive of mystical artifacts such as the Maerorgladi.[6]
- Overexertion: The excessive use of magic could lead to Lumi exhausting her store of power and spending every spell in her combat repertoire, temporarily rendering her powerless until her reserves have rejuvenated.
Appearances
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Original source
| “ | The Snow Queen and her ilk are merely the fevered imaginings of a sickly and troubled Dane. | „ |
| ~ Mister Revise addressing the readers in Jack of Fables #6 — "Jack Frost, Part One of Two" |
The Snow Queen is the titular character of the eponymous tale by Hans Christian Andersen. She travels the world, expanding her domain in winter. She is successful in abducting a boy named Kai after he has fallen victim to the splinters of the troll-mirror. The Snow Queen promises to free Kai if he can spell "eternity" with the pieces of ice in her palace.
Etymology
The name Lumi,[1] which was invented for the comics, is of Finnish and Latin origin,[21] with lumi being Finnish for "snow."[22] In the original fairy tale, the Snow Queen is unnamed, but she lives in Finland.
Similarly, Lumi's three sisters, Kesa the Summer Queen, Kevat the Spring Queen, and Syksy the Autumn Queen,[4] are also named after the seasons they represent: kesä is Finnish for "summer,"[23] kevät is Finnish for "spring"[24] and syksy is Finnish for "autumn."[25]
Trivia
- Lumi's remarks to Winter Wolf about starting a romantic relationship hint at her being bisexual; whether Lumi was serious about this proposition is unknown.[19]
- Exacly what Lumi is, is unknown. Many refer to her and her three sisters as being goddesses,[7] but their exact origins are shrouded in mystery.
Gallery
