Voninheim

Far to the north, buried by snow and ice lies the ruins of the once great frost giant capitol, Voninheim - literally Frozen Home in Jotun. An impressive home at the time when giants and dragons freely reigned over the material world, it has fallen to disrepair since the death of its inhabitants. In their prime, the giants of Voninheim were regarded as the fiercest warriors of giant-kind, and their home reflected that. At the center of the compound lies the remains of the long hall, where evidence can still be found of the many hunting trophies of fearsome winter creatures, and in better condition, the trophies taken by force from those they conquered. All of the surrounding buildings have been buried by centuries of snow and ice, leaving only the hilltop long hall accessible for those willing to venture so far north.

What People Believe

Many rumors of giant and dragonkind exist, though few know any truth of these great species that lurk in the untamed wilderness of Teurram. It is common knowledge that giants, dragons, and monsters prowled the world before mankind, and that the gods and early man rid the world of some of these beasts to make room for civilization. As far as Voninheim, it is regarded as an old seat of giant power, and many religious sects claim that their god is the one that smote the giants from their seat; Talos, Torm, and Tyr to name a few.

Purpose / Function

Voninheim served a simple purpose as the home of the northern frost giants. It was constructed to give the greatest of their warriors a place to call home, display their prizes, and socialize, whether that be brawling, drinking, or most often, drunken brawling. It was also built as a stronghold against the white dragons of the Frostlands that the northern giants most often found themselves in conflict with over territory and resources in a region where those were hard to come by.

Design

The only part of the structure that hasn't been completely buried by the elements is the great hall atop the hill and its attached chambers. The ceilings are built to towering heights to accommodate the height of its denizens, and all structural parts made of stone. Unbothered by the cold, the frost giants here did not build doors, except to the private bedchamber, and opted instead for great open archways. They did build roofs though, to keep most of the snow out.

Where most folk would have built a hearth in the great hall, Thrym built himself a throne, seeing as heat was something to be avoided, not cultivated, in frost giant society. The great hall is the largest room and opens into a large courtyard with a well in the middle of it. Inside the hall can be found a great bas-relief of Thrym and his finest warriors, alongside the wall-mounted trophies from horrible beasts: remorhazes, yeti, winter wolves, frost salamanders, giant elk, and a young white dragon skull.

To the southern side of the courtyard lies a small barracks for rest, storage and armory, and a room for crafting the simple, crude tools of frost giants. To the northern side lies Thrym's private bedchamber, where the finest trophies taken from more intelligent creatures. Adjacent to that and looking out to the yard is a larger chamber for sleeping.

Sensory & Appearance

As you approach the towering ruin atop the hill, the shadows of the massive structure built for giants reach far out. Stepping into the now empty great hall, you can see large tables setup, long unused, with shafts of light poking in through the roof, pockmarked with holes, and pervading the entire chamber is a cold hanging in the air. From the back wall staring back at you are the severed heads of many great beasts - remorhazes, yeti, winter wolves, frost salamanders, giant elk, and a young white dragon. Carved in stone behind a throne are impressive reliefs of frost giants at the height of their power - imposing and strong. Curiously, almost overlooked seated upon the throne is a small humanoid figure of a deep blue color, as if they've turned completely to ice. 

Note: it is so cold here that any fire damage does only half damage, the flames seeming to sputter out quickly.

Valuables

There is no coin to be found here, in the ruins of a society where money was irrelevant. Instead, a staff of fire and ring of spell storing can be found among Thrym's treasures from his conquests, and from more recent times the equipment of less fortunate explorers can be found; a mithral breastplate, giant slayer's axe, and an enchanted +1 breastplate are kept in the private bedchamber. For those interested in harvesting old monster parts, trophies can be found in the main hall of remorhazes, yeti, winter wolves, frost salamanders, giant elk, and a young white dragon, along with many corpses of fallen frost giants scattered around - the cold having mostly preserved what's left of these creatures.

Alterations

History

Voninheim was once the most famous frost giant stronghold on Teurram, founded by the hero Thrym, even before his rise to greatness. After the invasion of the material plane, the giants and dragons all gravitated towards their preferred environments, and attempted to establish homes near unfriendly neighbors. Voninheim was built on a hill far enough away from the white dragons to not cause all out war between the groups, but close enough to the giants among the Gennis Mountains to still have plunder available. Thrym grew in renown and power over centuries as he ransacked stone giant keeps in the mountains to the south and defeated a young white dragon with a mind to make Voninheim its new home. The treasure hoard grew in Voninheim, and none dared to challenge Thrym's band in combat, until the gods orchestrated total war between the dragons and giants. For three years Thrym held out at Voninheim against beastial white dragons and noble silvered dragons, but when the red dragons from the south retreated north, Voninheim could not best their power, and was emptied of frost giants after nearly 1,000 years. Signs of the struggle and dragon bones can still be found among its ruins. 

In the scramble to recover the Scripts during their scattering after the Second Beginning, Cyric stored one of the corrupted Scripts in the ruins of Voninheim. To protect the Script, he fooled a frost giant into the service of the lesser troll god Vaprak, deforming it into an Everlasting One, but bolstering its strength that way too. For many years that outcast frost giant, shunned by its remaining brethren, lurked in what remained of the stronghold, bound to the Script by Cyric's magic. This protector did not escape all watchful eyes though. One eladrin by the name Maesus, who watched over Dol'Deren from Cair Silva in the hidden Feywild, took note of this and made an attempt to retrieve the Script before the Dividing Barrier rose. Auril took note when a beacon of wild magic entered his domain, and sentenced the eladrin to a frozen slumber that would only be ended if the Script were ever to be taken from its place in Voninheim. Along with that, Maesus would also be forced into fighting against whoever attempted to take the Script, driven to kill the intruders and keep the Script hidden away in Voninheim. To this day the Everlasting One still hunts the old grounds, having picked up a pet over the years, while Maesus slumbers within the frozen hall.

Play "In the Giant's Shadow" when they encounter the ruins

Frost Salamander - blood can be turned into a cold weapon, but requires heat as a catalyst for the cold burst

RUINED STRUCTURE
3654 ED

Founding Date

2985 ED

Alternative Names

Thrym's Last Stand, Frost Hearth, The Lost Capitol

Type

Fortress

Parent Location

The Frostlands

Environmental Effects

This far north adventurers need to worry about extreme cold temperatures and strong winds that can quickly turn in to blizzards. Without some form of protection against the cold, it is very likely that creatures used to temperate climates will perish, and traveling in a blizzard poses a serious threat and greatly reduces travel speed.

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