Elsa’s Ancestors

In the Norse sagas, there is mention of a dynasty known as the Frostborn, descended from a pact made between men and the Jötnar — the ice giants.

A young queen of Arendelle once begged the gods for peace during a famine. Ymir’s daughter, the Ice Giantess, offered a covenant: eternal winter in exchange for eternal life. The queen agreed.

Her bloodline carried the frost thereafter — one child every few generations born with veins of silver and breath that froze the air.

The covenant required balance: for each gift of ice, a life of warmth would be taken. The Frostborn heirs became lonely, cursed to outlive their lovers and watch kingdoms thaw and rot around them.

Elsa’s gift, then, was not a miracle. It was inheritance.

When she built her ice palace, she was fulfilling an ancient oath.

And the reason snow never melts entirely in Arendelle?

Because the gods still remember the promise — and they’re still collecting.