Temple of Heimdall

The Temple of Heimdall was a temple dedicated to the Norse god Heimdall atop the Feiknstafir mountains in Norway.

History[edit | edit source]

At some point before 870, a secret hoard of treasure came to be housed within the temple, including an Apple of Eden.^[1] Any other riches at the temple had been looted decades before.^[2]

In 870, Kjotve the Cruel sent a group of warriors to find and retrieve the remaining riches at the temple, based on knowledge from his slave Gull. By then, Gull had willingly surrendered to Eivor Varinsdottir, whom she also led to the temple. Eivor and the warriors from the Wolf Clan fought, but the former was stabbed in the back by Gull.^[2]

Bjarke Broadside tossed Eivor off the temple, seemingly to her death. The weakened foundations shook, scaring Erland. Eivor took advantage of this to sneak up behind Bjarke and kill him before turning to fight Erland. He pushed her to the ground, allowing her to notice a painting of Himinbjörg on the wall, which she kicked in.^[1]

Behind the wall was a mountain of gold coins and other riches, as well as a pedestal with the Apple of Eden. As Eivor reached for it, she was thrown to the ground again by Erland, claiming the treasure belonged to Kjotve. Eivor remarked that Kjotve was nowhere to be seen and kicked Erland off the treasure pile, sending him and the other Wolf Clan thugs through the weakened floorboards and to their deaths.^[1]

As the temple continued to fall apart, Gull took hold of the Apple, which unlocked her past life's memories. She then used its powers to stop Eivor and prevent her from taking the artifact, which the Viking intended to gift to her adoptive father, King Styrbjorn. However, Gull soon dropped the Apple, cancelling the stasis.^[1]

With the temple's floor nearly collapsed, Eivor attempted to save Gull and retrieve the Apple, but the latter refused to allow the artifact to fall into Styrbjorn's or anyone else's hands. She then offered Eivor a choice of risking her life for glory, or returning to Stavanger, which was currently under attack by the Wolf Clan. In the end, Eivor chose the latter and left Gull to her fate.^[1]