Dungeon23 (Bonus): Woaden and the Giant Lords of the North

Those of you that have read my last post on Alkastra's Citadel Quarter may have noticed that I went a little overboard in creating an entire mythology for the Temple of Law.  Well, I hope you enjoyed it because in the words of the late, great Billy Mays...

In the Street of Shrines entry, I mention several other deities, but don't really go into depth about them.  Although the North is not the main milieux of my Dungeon23 project ("north" being a rather relative term itself,) it does loom large (as Northmen are wont to do) in the form of the refugee camp in Alkastra, the overall proximity of the wilderness map to their lands, and as the homeland of the great King Cyneric.  

If I were to ever run this content in my own home campaign, the Northmen will likely play a larger role, especially if it reaches the domain-game stage.  I can't resist the delicious idea of a Viking-like invasion for newly-minted, player character lords to repel.  Plus, it adds flavor to Northern NPCs and any players that might want to base their background there.

But enough rambling!  I give you...

The Giant Lords of the North

 

 According to the stories the norns tell by the hall’s fire on cold winter nights, the Giant Lords once lived in the warm, lush lands of the South.  Here, life was idyllic and food plentiful.  The giants were the masters of everything they surveyed and lived pampered lives served by the smaller humans, which were their thralls.

This life made the giants weak, and they were unprepared when the dragons came.  Their crops were burned and frozen, the air they breathed choked with poison, and their halls dissolved by the acid that the breath these terrifying creatures expelled.  Many giants died during that time, but a few who were stronger than the rest stood against the onslaught: Woaden, who was the image of his father, King Gigas of the Four Winds, and his brother Surrth, who took after their fierce mother, Karyie of the Island of Fire and Brimstone.  They were joined by Woaden’s great friend Thyrn of the Stone Giants, who were wise scholars that kept the Giant’s lore.  When these heroes blew the horn of war, other mighty Giant Lords answered their call: Dorna, the powerful Storm Valkyrie; Corum, the mighty wrestler and son of the Chief of the Hills; and from the colder lands north came the twin Frost Giants, Vanni and Rimmi, along with their sister, Athali, who was their shield maiden.

Dorna the Storm Valkyrie answers the call of war (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

 

The eight fought bravely, but the winged monstrosities slew their giant armies by the score.  Everything came to a head when King Gigas himself fell on the battlefield and was torn apart by the dragons.  It was becoming clear that the giants were on the verge of defeat.

Woaden assembled a war council in an attempt to strategize a way to victory over the dragons, but the meeting quickly devolved into arguments between the boastful Giant Lords.  While they were taking a break to cool their agitated tempers, Thyrn took Woaden aside and gestured to their thralls, the humans below their hall: “Look at them, my friend.  These creatures toil in our land, carry our food, build our halls, and follow our commands without question, while we’ve grown lazy, weak, and soft.  It is time to admit that while they may be smaller, they are stronger than us.”

Woaden was shocked, and more than a little angered at Thyrn’s statement, but he could not deny the wisdom in his words.  He returned to the hall and announced to the others that they would train and arm the humans to assist in the fight against the dragons.  Some balked, but Woaden would brook no insolence, for his was the will of a King.  Surrth stormed out of the hall, as he was wont to do with his fiery temper, but even he eventually relented.

Surrth was tasked with crafting weapons and armor of steel for the humans, although he chafed at working in such a small size.  Dorna, Corum, and the Frost Giant siblings led them in combat drills, teaching them their skills with the sword, axe, spear, shield, hand-to-hand-combat, and others.  Finally, Woaden and Thyrn trained the most apt among the humans in how to lead armies and develop strategy and tactics.

And so the Giants fought with the humans at their side.  The humans were indeed strong, brave, and cunning, helping the giants win many victories.  The smaller humans could sneak deep into the dragon’s lairs and slay them while they slept.  The humans began outshining the giant soldiers in battle, which begrudgingly impressed the Giant Lords.  However, despite these victories, the war was still in a stalemate.

In seeking any advantage over the dragons, both mundane and magical, Woaden quested for and found the Runestone of Wyrd in the tall Mountains at the Edge of the World.  The mighty Giant Lord sacrificed his own eye, plucking it out and replacing it with the Runestone to see the future and its many possibilities.  Dorna, who accompanied Woaden on this dangerous quest, tended to his maimed eye.  At her tender touch, the Runestone revealed to Woaden that Dorna would one day be his Queen and so he loved her.  The rolling thunder of their lovemaking echoed all across the clouded Mountains.  Surrth heard this and grew jealous of his brother.

As the newfound lovers slept, the Runestone revealed more of the future to Woaden in his dreams – all possibilities until the very End of Days, except for the hour of his own doom, for such is held secret from both men and gods.  He awoke with a start, for it was revealed to him that the war with the dragons was not the true battle they needed to prepare for and fight, and he then understood what he needed to do.

Woaden gains a sudden revelation from the Wyrd (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

 

Woaden gathered the Giant Lords, and their giant and human soldiers in his slain father’s great hall.  He told those gathered about his visions of the future, and how they needed to prepare for a Final Battle at the End of Days.  He told them they must go to the far North, where life is harsh, and in so doing breeds strength:  “Leave the Southern lands to the dragons and the weaklings that choose stay behind and become their thralls.  Those who join me will know victory and eternal glory in the Final Battle!”  Everyone cheered and they feasted and drank one last night in their hall.  Woaden and Dorna were wed.  Surrth drank too many barrels of mead and had to be wrestled down by almost everyone in the hall until he passed out.  Athali secretly seethed, for she and Woaden had once been lovers before dragon breath scarred and maimed her coldly beautiful visage.  In those seemingly forgotten, tender moments she had whispered to him about fleeing with her beyond the land of her people in the North.  Her broken heart grew colder than any frost giant's.

Athali betrayed (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

The great host journeyed North, sailing the Rainbow River in giant longships made from the timber of their halls.  Dragons harassed them on the way, but the creatures soon grew bored of their toying and the host eventually reached the cold North without further incident.

Once there, they set to the task of building a new hall and homes to live in.  Both giants and humans labored together, but many of the giants returned to their slothful ways and let the humans do most of the work.  This did not escape Woaden’s notice.  When the task was finally completed, the question on everyone’s mind was voiced: “Who will be our new King?”

Woaden said: “I am the eldest son of Gigas and so the crown is mine by right, but this new Kingdom is only for the strong.  Whoever bests me shall be your true King.”  The giants and humans stood with their heads down in silence.  None had the temerity to challenge Woaden, but the eight Giant Lords gathered around.

“Then I’ll go first!”  Corum, who was mighty, but not very smart, lunged at Woaden.  He was bested handily.  The defeated Corum left with his giant and human soldiers for the hills to cure his hurts, sulk, and brood at his failure.

Dorna stepped forward and said: “I am your wife and I love you.  I will not fight you, but I will be your Queen if you win.”  Dorna put away her hammer and stepped aside.

Thyrn approached Woaden and said: “You are my dearest friend.  I cannot fight you, but I will serve and advise you if you become King.”  Thyrn bent the knee before Woaden and offered him his sword, Tyrfing, which could only be wielded by the wise.  Woaden accepted the gift and nodded in approval, clasping his dear friend on the shoulder.   Thyrn then rose and stepped aside.

Athali cunningly mused aloud, with a side look at her brothers: “There are three of us, but who will fight you, mighty Woaden?”  This prompted the Frost Giant twins to glance at each other.  They roared and began to fight.  In their zeal, they cleaved each other’s skulls with their axes at the same time, suddenly ending the challenge.  Athali coldly walked over her brother’s bodies and addressed Woaden and those gathered: “I will not fight you, for we were also lovers.  I will strengthen your people with the bitter Winter, but you broke my heart in choosing Dorna for your wife, so I will also take many of your warriors when they die.  They will be draugr and serve me alone, but they will be present at the Final Battle.”  Athali left for the Dead Lands of Black Ice in the far north with her giants and the few wicked humans who served her.  Dorna was broken-hearted and embarrassed by Athali’s revelation and left abruptly.  The thunder of her anger and bitter weeping could still be heard.

“That just leaves us, brother.  You will not be King while I breathe!”  With that, Surrth drew his giant, fiery sword.  Woaden drew Tyrfing and the two circled each other cautiously, for they were equally matched.  It is said that this took three turnings of the moon, and when they finally clashed, they fought for over six more.  In the end, Woaden was victorious, but he could not kill his brother, for his fate was already revealed by the Wyrd: Surrth and a traitorous army of all the Northmen’s enemies, including the hated dragons, would be the ultimate foe in the Final Battle.  Slaying him before this fated time would set in motion a potential series of events that would lead to his people’s doom.  Instead, he banished Surrth to live deep within the mountains near the rivers and lakes of fire.  Surrth’s terrible anger can still be felt when the earth shakes and mountains explode.

Surrth departs for his exile (AI image courtesy of NightCafe.)

 

With the contest complete, and no others forthcoming, Thyrn declared Woaden King and crowned him.  By this time, Dorna had returned, her anger and grief spent: “You have hurt me deeply, but I forgive you, even if I can never forget.  I am still your wife and now your Queen.”  She stood at Woaden’s side and Thyrn crowned her as well.  The remaining giants and humans cheered their new rulers, and a great feast was held in their new hall; the same hall that is now the great Temple at Valssala.

The next day, Woaden revealed to the humans and giants that they would not live amongst them.  He would build another hall high in the clouds where he and the other two Giant Lords would live and watch over all of them.  To the humans, he bade keep their new hall and homes, and choose a leader in the same manner the Giant Lords did.  He told them to multiply, then go forth and build more halls.  The Jarls of these halls would one day face each other in contest to decide on an Altking to rule them all.  “You are our thralls no longer.”

The giants, he rebuked: “We cannot return to our old ways.  You will not live with the humans and become soft from their labor again.  Build your own halls in the far places and grow strong enough for the Final Battle.”

To all he made this commandment: “Those of you who are strong and die bravely in battle shall come to live with us in Molnheim.  There, you will fight and prepare for war all day and feast all night until the day of the Final Battle.”  With that, the three Giant Lords ascended to the clouds and left the humans to breed strong children and prepare them for the trials of the future.

 

The Northmen’s Religion

For the Northmen, religion is a grim, fatalistic affair.  Half of the Giant Lords they worship as gods are feared, hated, or placated and the other half are like hard, distant parents that require much from their children.  But the Northmen like it this way. For them, only the strong survive their harsh land.  Only the strong have the right to rule over others.  And only the strong will fight at Woaden’s side in the Final Battle, for no quarter will be given.  The Northmen scoff at the weaker people of the South begging their gods for things in their prayers.  Northmen’s prayers are more of an acknowledgement of the challenges the gods place before them and an affirmation to meet them head on.  This attitude means that the Northmen don’t waste time with idle talk or hesitant action.  They work hard, fight hard, feast hard, and love hard.

Their clerics, called norns, are the chosen of the Giant Lords to tell their stories, teach their ways, and prepare their people for the Final Battle. From Thyrn, they learn wisdom to guide their people, their Jarls, and their Altking.  From Dorna, they learn the arts of battle, although their roles as guides and protectors for all Northmen prohibit them from using weapons that cut or pierce the flesh and inadvertently maim brave warriors before they can reach Molnheim and Woaden's Cloud Hall.  Instead, they fight with blunt weapons, many choosing the war hammer in honor of Dorna.  This does not mean that norns do not participate in war between fellow Northmen and even fellow norns.  Quite the opposite, as they believe war separates the weak from the strong who will participate in the Final Battle.   From Woaden, they are granted the most miniscule glimpses of the revelations of the Wyrd in their dreams as well as other miraculous powers.

The deities worshiped by the Northmen, as mentioned in their story above, are:

Woaden One-Eye (N): Woaden is the King of the Giant Lords and personifies everything the Northmen value: strength, bravery, determination, and leadership.  The cloud giants are his loyal servants and seek to please Woaden by imitating him in both word and deed, including building their dwellings in the clouds.  Woaden spends much of his time looking at the future through the Runestone of Wyrd that is his eye.  He studies all possibilities and makes intricate plans for the Final Battle.  This is just as well, since he expects his people to solve their problems on their own and prove themselves worthy of fighting at his side.  Unfortunately, his preoccupation with the Final Battle, and falling out from Athali’s cruel revelation, means that he and Dorna tend to neglect the marriage bed.  As such, they have no divine children.

When Northmen are about to engage in a battle where the odds are fatally against them, they paint their skin with plant dye, smearing a covering over one of their eyes.  They call this “donning the woad” for they will soon die and join Woaden in Molnheim.

Dorna (L): The Storm Valkyrie is Queen of the Giant Lords and a divine she-warrior with the power to control storms and lightning through her mighty war hammer.  The powerful storm giants pay her homage, and she is the patron of all noble warriors, both male and female. 

Since she and Woaden have no children, she loves and watches over all of humanity as her own.  However, she wants her children to be strong and expects all Northmen to fight, even children and the elderly, for it is their last chance at entry into Molnheim.  Every Northman that can walk and hold a weapon is considered “fighting age"  (although practically, only men and shieldmaidens who are not mothers go to war.)  Like Woaden is the example of the ideal Northman, Dorna is the example of the ideal Northwoman – a beautiful wife and mother gentle as a soft rain, but terrible as a thunderstorm when her family and community are threatened.  In fact, the Northmen often say that powerful thunderstorms mean Woaden and Dorna are either arguing, or making love.  It is hard to tell which.

Dorna chooses some female warriors that achieve entry into Molnheim to become valkyries like her and guide the brave dead to Woaden’s Cloud Hall.

Thyrn (N): The quiet and wise Stone Giant Jarl serves and advises Woaden on his plans for the Final Battle.  He also manages the Cloud Hall and keeps a record of the deeds of all brave warriors which will be their credentials for entering Molnheim when they die.  He is the patron of advisors, strategists, and keepers of laws and lore, as well as guards and watchmen, for it is the stone giants’ duty to watch the underground places and guard against Surrth’s return.  Northmen who are too serious, even during feast times, are said to be “as boring as Thyrn.”

Corum (C): The Giant Chieftain of the Hills cares little for his kind or the humans who worship him, as long as they leave him offerings to eat.  He is the patron of raw strength, bullying, and taking by force, but also athletic sports that require strength such as climbing, wrestling, and tossing rocks and timbers.  Non hill-dwelling Northmen do not really venerate Corum, as he reminds them of the uncouth hillmen and giants that come down to pillage them (or each other) yearly.  As far as the Giant Lords are concerned, this conflict is all training for the Final Battle.  Indeed, even the hillmen do not worship Corum so much as honor him on occasion with sacrificial hecatombs, for he does not really care what they do, but the smell of roasting meat may bring some favor.

Athali (C): Athali rules from her Ice Hall in the Dead Lands of Black Ice where few living things dwell.  She sends her frost giants south every winter to “test” the Northmen.  She also takes the souls of brave warriors who are maimed beyond recognition or otherwise not given proper death rites as her undead servants, the draugr, denying them entry into Woaden’s Cloud Hall.  She is the patron of the bitter winter and the inglorious death that comes with it.  She is also blamed for plagues, famine, accidents, stillbirths, and other calamities as many cruel “tests” she devises to prepare humanity for the Final Battle.  Any acts of worship by the Northmen are only to placate her or ward off her terrible gaze.  Her only human followers are wicked outcasts, branded criminals, and the insane.

Surrth (C): Practically no one worships the False King save for his own fire giants, who gather to be near to their Jarl and do his bidding.  Northmen believe natural disasters such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions are the work of Surrth trying to escape his banishment and wreak havoc on his hated brother Woaden’s people.  To the Northmen, Surrth represents their worst qualities of envy, covetousness, betrayal, and other dishonorable behavior.  All weak and failed usurpers are called “thralls of Surrth,” as in: “Gunnar challenged the Jarl today, but it turns out he was just in thrall to Surrth.  No one will miss him.”  (In this example, if Gunnar had won, the Jarl would not be considered a thrall of Surrth, since he had proved his worth previously and is now considered to be in Molnheim.) 

Still, many Northern blacksmiths placate Surrth before working, and it is said that their ringing hammers are a final call to redemption for the False King; not that his pride will allow it.

Lorkan (C): The early stories of the Giant Lords do not mention Lorkan.  The Northmen gained knowledge of this deity as they sought an explanation for the bad luck and freak accidents that don’t seem like the work of the Giant Lords, even cruel Athali.  The norns theorize that Athali may have been with child from Woaden, and had his bastard alone in her Hall of Black Ice.  They say Athali spoils Lorkan and lets him run around the Northmen’s lands causing mischief.  In addition to bad luck, the Northmen blame Lorkan for children that become unruly as well as otherwise honorable Northmen turning to petty crime like theft.  They refer to them as “playing with Lorkan.”

There is a second story for the origin of Lorkan, which the norns claim is heresy.  While Dorna was away grieving Athali’s revelation that she and Woaden had been lovers, she met a Lord of the Fey Folk in the forest.  In her anger, she allowed herself to be seduced and copulated with the being.  She carried and had the bastard child while Woaden and Surrth fought.  She later felt ashamed and reluctantly left the child in the woods for the Fey to find and raise.  It may be that this version of Lorkan’s origin merely explains the Northmen’s xenophobia and overall dislike of the Fey Folk.

 

The Deeds of Heroes

In addition to the six Giant Lords, the Northmen also venerate many legendary heroes that now sit in Woaden’s Cloud Hall.  It is the duty of skalds, warrior singers and poets, to tell the stories of these heroes, like the norns tell the stories of the Giant Lords.

Many Northmen name their children after such heroes, while others wear charms or get tattooed with their names and deeds, to give them strength against adversity.  A well-known hero of the Northmen is Beornulf, whom the Giant Lords granted the power to take the form of a mighty bear in battle.  Those who follow in Beornulf’s footsteps, called berserkers, are said to “wear the bear tunic,” and are fanatically fearless in battle.  The greatest of these may even become beornulfen (werebears) themselves.

 

The Picts

Criminals, outcasts, and the remnants of losing armies that have fled to the wild and remote places of the North sometimes form their own tribes, which the Northmen collectively call Picts - derived from an old word for a type of bottom-feeding fish.  The Picts’ living conditions (even harsher than normal for the North) turn them to savagery and they in turn raid other Northmen not just out of hatred, but also out of a twisted sense of duty to become worthy of the Final Battle.  Many Pictish tribes worship Athali or Surrth, depending on where they live, and some even turn to other spirits of the wilderness, both benign and foul.  The Northmen also use the word Pict as an insult and slur to their most hated enemies.  Many victims of the Hillmen call them Picts, even if such is not technically true.

 

Change on the Horizon

Some among the more cosmopolitan Northmen, such as traders and the nobility, have quietly come to question the harsh ways of the Giant Lords.  A rare few have even begun worshiping the Lords of Law in secret.  The Church of Law claims that the Northmen have been swayed by creatures not of the Dragon Father's making (the giants.)  The revelations of Woaden are nothing but the lies of Chaos, and that their warring ways are the malign influence of Martuk the Many-Armed (the hypocrisy of Southern people warring against each other is not lost on the Northmen.)  Still, the Church of Law claims that the Northmen can all live together in prosperity as Mythras the Faithful Son taught the human tribes long ago if they only turn back to the Dragon Father's Law.  Some are attracted by this hopeful message, and the subtle rise in apostasy may have been the impetus for the current civil conflict.  Did the Altking, in his dotage, convert to the worship of the Lords of Law?