It’s Midgard Monday! Each week, we visit a corner of the wide world of Midgard. Look for standalone content you can drop into your campaign—whether it’s in Midgard or your own homebrew. Find new inspiration each Midgard Monday!

Since priests first raised temples, the devout have traveled to pay their reverence. Pilgrims cross rivers and mountains, brave war zones and bandit attacks to see relics, hear the word of seers, and feel the touch of the divine, demonstrating their piety through sacrifice and journey.

Midgard is no different than our own world in this regard. So take up your walking staff and begin down the trail as we look at pilgrims, pilgrimages, and holy sites in Midgard.

Both Young and Ancient

Both dragons and dragonkin serve Azuran with fervor, along with humans, ravenfolk, and kobolds. Azuran has three notable holy shrines: the Sky Stairs of Beldestan, the Four Pillars of Wisdom in Harkesh, and the Ringing Temple of Qiresh.

Those who journey to Azuran’s holy sites take no special honorifics, but many wear a necklace with a small cylindrical chime representing each locale they have visited. Those who retire from traveling hang the chimes at the entrance to their homes, as a point of pride and to greet fellow believers seeking hospitality.

Dragonfolk believe the journeys represent spiritual growth and reflect Azuran’s regular passage over the world. The devout feel all dragonkind should emulate Azuran, and those who complete a tour of all three shrines within the same year, and in successive seasons while returning home in the fourth, state the sky god’s blessings shine upon them longer and with greater benefit. Such an endeavor is known as “a year in the wind,” although most find it sufficient to visit the base of the Sky Stairs, rather than attempt to ascend to its summit. Few find it necessary to climb more than the first four, and the less brave (or foolhardy) replace the journey with a brief visit to the pleasure-filled gambling halls in Azuran’s Cloud Temple of Galna. (Those who tarry too long in Beldestan’s capital city often awaken as penniless captives of unsavory merchants.)

The Pilgrimages

The pilgrimages of Azuran entail visiting three sites, although the trip to the Sky Stairs is extremely long for the majority of pilgrims. The commonly accepted route is Harkesh to Qiresh to Beldestan and the Sky Stairs.

To Grasp the Wind

The Four Pillars of Wisdom in Harkesh sit north of the river Sumarra in the Old Harbor district near the end of the Palace Flyway.

First, pilgrims ascend to the top of nearby Mount Mavressa, and recite a prayer at each of the fifty pillars in the great hall of the Open Temple of Azuran. Then, from its Grand Plaza, the pilgrims spot and chart their path to the Four Pillars, following the omens observed by the plume of ritual smoke created by incense burned at the four-faced altar of the North Wind. This is where most pilgrims’ “year in the wind” begins, with scented cones of rare Shibai dragonwood resin and rich donations, meant to ensure a swift, fortunate journey.

From here, pilgrims purchase their trio of chimes and either book passage through the straits into the Ruby Sea, hoping to slip past pirates and safely arrive in Qiresh, or undertake the longer, arduous trip through the Dragoncoils. While the overland route is generally safer, those who favor Azuran’s aspect as the gambler feel there is greater honor in the risk of the sea journey. The privateers of the Ruby Despotate don’t argue when plundering a rich pilgrim charter.

The Ringing Temple of Qiresh

High on a cliff overlooking the Morza’s shipyards, the Ringing Temple’s spiral pillars hum and whistle as the sea wind buffets the shore. Pilgrims bring sacrifices to its Great Terrace, some hurled to the jagged rocks beneath the temple but many placed in special, tethered kites designed with internal lanterns. These self-destruct as the lamp’s fire melts the fuel reservoir, igniting a fuse.

The paper votives consume themselves and their sacrifice, sending smoke skyward. The charred debris is lost on the wind. Pilgrims time their arrival for holidays and feasts, launching constellations of flickering parchment stars, bursting into flame as priests adjust the valves of the singing pillars to create ritual hymns praising Azuran. Many visitors donate rich gifts, hoping to help operate the great temple’s voice as their sacrifice gives glory to Azuran.

Into the Clouds

A pilgrimage to the Sky Stairs of Beldestan offers three options. A petitioner might remain at the Foot of the Sky Stairs, considered to be the first dozen steps; the Ascent of the Sky Stairs, where a pilgrim travels somewhere beyond the Foot; or the Summit of the Sky Stairs, where tales claim the massive structure stands invisibly above the clouds against the backdrop of the Void.

Azuran’s faithful say there is no difference in the honor a pilgrim may claim from achieving any one of the three stations. The wind from the Foot is the Wind from the Summit is the wind of the Ascent. A climber simply strikes their chime at the point marking the completion of their journey.

The God of the Four Winds does not make this a passage without trial; the Sky Stairs host numerous rocs, manticores, undead creatures, and near the Summit, at least one void dragon. All the creatures lair upon the Stair, drawn by Azuran’s call across the rolling hills. While few seek death there, to die on the Sky Stairs is considered an honor, guaranteeing a place at the Sky God’s side in the afterlife.

The Blessing of the Winds

Acquiring a trio of chimes and completing a “year in the wind” can grant the pilgrim a boon for a year, invest the chimes with magic, or in very rare cases, both. The boon manifests upon departure from the Sky Stairs, granting its benefits for a year and a day. The investiture of the chimes occurs for maybe one in a hundred pilgrims. If it happens, it usually happens after the third site, during the trip home. The mechanical benefits are described below:

BOON OF THE WIND

When calling out glory to Azuran, you can make an attack, saving throw, or skill check with advantage. This benefit can be used once and then renews after finishing a long rest.

AZURAN’S SONG

Wondrous Item, Uncommon (Requires Attunement)

This amulet consists of three small chimes. As a bonus action, you cast bless, targeting you and three other allies within 30 feet. The amulet regains its single charge daily at dawn.

Story Seeds

These options give potential stories involving elements of Azuran’s pilgrimages.

To See the Four Corners

The mythical Wind Temples of Azuran sit at the four corners of Midgard, too far to be seen from nearly any vantage point, but supposedly visible from the steps near the summit of the Sky Stairs to those who utter the proper prayer.

Upon discovering a spell in the graffiti of a saint of Azuran’s tomb, a dragonfolk priest promises the party a great prize and riches if they escort her to the proper point on the Sky Stairs and onward to the Gambler’s Temple at the eastern corner of Midgard. This means facing dangerous threats with each step and then an immense journey to the distant horizon.

A Sea of Stars

In gratitude for a daring heist from a temple dedicated to a party member’s patron god, a prominent dragonfolk burglar-bard brings his stolen icon to the temple in Qiresh. There, he plans to place the loot into a sacrificial kite as he directs a musical composition using the ringing temple’s whistling pillars.

Timed to match the burn rate of the lamp within the kite, the icon would be sacrificed as the original hymn reaches its climax. The party must track the thief’s kite among the crowd of kites, fly up, and recover the icon before the lantern’s flame destroys the text, all while dodging the spells and arrows of the rogue’s entourage at the rail of the Great Terrace.

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