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.
Volund’s Shrines
Faith in Volund, god of fire, creation, horses, and the people of Kariv, is widespread across central and northern Midgard. The smith god’s followers visit three popular shrines in the Ironcrags, Stannasgard, and on the shores of Lake Morsiyah in the Khazzaki Khanate. The followers of Volund (or Svarog as he is known interchangeably on the plains), consider each location sacred for different reasons and aspects.
Templeforge, the Great Example
While his aspect of Svarog has some martial tendencies, the bulk of Volund’s adherents favor his artistic and domestic elements. This becomes evident in the shrine of Templeforge, nestled in the mountains of the Ironcrags. While more recently known as the birthplace of dwarven airships, it has long served as the beating heart of dwarven innovation and the greatest temple to Volund.
Here, pilgrims arrive bearing a commissioned artwork or one fashioned by their own hand. These often complement existing, famous votive offerings, creating gallery-spanning collages built through generations. Filled with masterworks, the installations serve as inspiration, revenue source, and education, as artisans travel to study amid the grandeur.
Smiths greatly prize the metal smelted here by the forges stoked to give light to the regular ceremonies. Devout swear it holds an edge and turns away blows better than other common alloys. Known as Volund’s songsteel, it is often a gift for those who aid the temple community or donate a particularly fine votive object.
Stannasgard, the Hammersong of the North
By comparison, the Shrine of a Thousand Anvils in Stannasgard turns each liturgy into a workshop session, where circles of priest-smiths sing hymns from Volund’s Wanderings as they hammer. The anvils of this holy place are tuned to ring out different notes and chords, creating a ritual effect which transforms items into Volund’s songsteel.
While its benefits are identical to craftwork fashioned in Templeforge, Stannasgard songsteel presents with a more “watered” effect. The regular celebrations of faith here every 10 days mean the anvils often need replacement. Those seeking Volund’s blessing bring ingots of strong, high quality metals for the creation of new anvils. Completed on each solstice or equinox, songsteel forged during these anvil castings is particularly valued, though not usually more effective.
Lake Morsiyah, Awaited Rest
To the southeast, far from the blistering forges and ringing hammers, lies the cool waters of Lake Morsiyah and the broad inlet of Svarog’s Rest. This is said to be the site where the god first tamed and befriended horsekind.
While the Khazzaks do not keep a permanent settlement here, a rotating cadre of priests tend to the shores and follow a sacred herd of horses as they roam the nearby hills. The clerics of Svarog maintain the census of these horses, their names, and lineages. They ferociously protect these horses from foreign contamination, watching to keep the horses safe from the Black Strangles. This has proven contentious, as many bring their mares to Svarog’s Rest in the spring, hoping to improve the quality of their stock.
Unanimously supported by the Khan and Khazzaki clans, the priests only permit access to those who properly sacrifice to Svarog. Votive offerings are thrown into the waters of the inlet, and swallowed beneath the waves. Tales speak of a glittering hoard, guarded by an underwater herd of kelpies.
Quest of the Four-Fold Hammer
Those hoping to embody their craft with the spirit of Volund attempt the quest of the four-fold hammer. This journey begins in Templeforge, where they craft a proper artwork to donate to an existing installation, and make a formal request for the songsteel necessary to craft a hammer.
Then, the worshipper goes on to Lake Morsiyah, where they declare to the priests their intention to create a four-fold hammer and sacrifice a masterwork item of their own creation. Having completed this task with the priests’ permission, they draw a bucket of water from the inlet, and fill a water skin to carry onward.
From grassy hills, aspirants continue north and west to Stannasgard, where they present the songsteel necessary and ask to participate in the creation of their hammer, ultimately quenching the tool in the water from Svarog’s Rest. Done properly, this creates a set of smith’s tools which the creator may use once a day while invoking Volund; doing so grants the creator advantage on the next skill check they make using the tools.
Ephemera of Volund
Pilgrims to the shrines of the Smith hope to bring back one of the following items as a souvenir of their devotion.
VOLUND’S SONGSTEEL
Shield or Weapon (Any), Uncommon 1,000 gp + base item cost
A metal weapon or shield made of songsteel rings like a bell or chime when it clangs against an object. When wielding a shield or weapon made from it, you can swear glory to Volund as a reaction. Until the end of your next turn, you can add your PB to your armor class if you wield a songsteel shield or to the damage of a successful attack with a songsteel weapon. You can swear glory in this way once until the following dawn.
WATERS OF SVAROG’S REST
Wondrous Item, Uncommon 50 gp
A draught of this specially prepared water from the sacred inlet of Lake Morsiyah has 3 charges. After a horse drinks it, at the rider’s command, the horse doubles its speed until the end of its rider’s next turn. Two charges can be expended to allow the mount to succeed on a saving throw. A standard water skin holds three draughts of the water.
Any unused charges from a draught are lost by the following dawn. This draught has no effect on a creature other than a horse.
Story Seeds
These options give potential stories involving elements of Volund’s pilgrimages.
Hidden in Plain Sight
A relic or text sought by the PCs is concealed within a votive statue beloved by the Templeforge community. The PCs must craft a suitable counterfeit to hold the original’s place while they steal the sculpture and then decide: will they replace the now-empty original after acquiring the object within or keep the secret of their deception to the grave? But do they truly know all the protections in place against would-be robbers? And would Volund smile upon their handiwork or be angered by the theft?
Something I Herd
A noble of Triolo has noticed several of her horses were unaffected after being bitten by a stallion infected by the Black Strangles. After extended research, she determined these particular horses were bred from stallions sired by the herd at Lake Morsiyah.
Striking a deal with both the Order of Khors and the Order of Mavros, they intend to bring a herd of two score mares to begin a new, immune warhorse bloodline. The PCs are hired to escort them to the lakeshore and safeguard them from raiders along the way. Taking a shadow road would make the trip much shorter, but the route passes through Mharoti and centaur lands, a more perilous shortcut.
What Was Sundered and Undone
The PCs have acquired the fragments of a broken magical weapon needed to defeat a demon who has claimed a portion of a shadow road (see Book of Ebon Tides). Destroying the demon allows use of the route, improving trade, speeding communications, and granting the PCs improved status among local leadership.
Unfortunately, restoring the weapon requires the priest-smiths of Stannasgard to repair it during an extended ceremonial crafting ritual. Those weaponsmiths won’t perform the ritual unless the PCs first bring them a shipment of adamantine recently stolen by a band of reaver trolls.
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