Där Isen Sover

Stumbling in from the wind that scratches against your face and leaves sand in the crevices of your clothing so that it crackles and shifts with every movement, you take a second to compose yourself. It is no cooler inside the red walls of Där Isen Sover, but at least you can relax your tensed muscles and let the scarf covering your mouth drop over your shoulders. The room you have entered into is bare besides a few sand-soaked carpets, and you make your way through until you hear the laughter and clash of plates and mugs that usually accompanies gatherings of the Einherjar Rådet. You were not invited, but you know they are not usually the kind to turn away guests, so you start to walk into the next room when suddenly you feel an icy cold breeze cross the back of your neck. Was it a hallucination or heatstroke from being so warm for so long, you wonder, or could the stories actually be true...?

Purpose / Function

To much of the world outside the walls of Torra Kullar, this palace is simply home to the jarl and council members of the the Einherjar Rådet, as well as their families. It is vast and largely empty, save for the halls dedicated to holding great feasts with which the the Einherjar Rådet honour their greatest heroes. Despite the dry heat that blows in from the sands outside, it is not uncommon to feel a chill breeze upon the back of your neck every so often. A curious enough soul may follow this feeling and find themselves at a door made of solid iron that is cold to the touch. If this curious soul also happens to be incredibly adept at lock picking, they may be able to open the door and step inside. There, they will find the the Einherjar Rådet's greatest treasure: 512 cubic feet of enchanted ice.

Alterations

Over the years, some of the building's outermost walls have begun to crumble. There are a few rooms which are no longer accessible due to the rubble, but have not been cleared as the new inhabitants have little experience with repairing sandstone. As well, many of the religious symbols created when this was a temple many centuries ago have been removed or altered. Those made of wood were burned or carved into tools, the tapestries were dyed and turned into clothing or rugs, the metal had been melted down, and those things which could not be turned useful were broken and discarded.

Architecture

Där Isen Sover was constructed mostly out of a hard red sandstone which was stacked in large slabs and smoothed as to appear like a single solid face. Brick and wooden beams were used for the inner walls and some structural elements, and other surfaces were lined with metals for both decorative and practical reasons. Outside, large sandstone columns hold up a thin roof and provide a modicum of shade in front of the edifice.
Many niches in the building's walls once contained carvings of devotional symbols and travel tips left by priests to warn about or suggest certain routes. The writings and symbols are incredibly detailed despite how dense the stone is, which has left many to wonder if they had a unique way of carving the stone.

History

Där Isen Sover is a weather-worn monument to wealth and power. It is the eye in the storm that is Torra Kullar, capital city of a trading empire created by displaced wanderers of the tundra. The people of this city have taken to calling themselves the the Einherjar Rådet, which is a title loosely meaning "council of those who fight alone." Their people, who were once accustomed to bitter colds and unforgiving seas, had found themselves along a peaceful riverbank in the shadows of towering sand dunes following the Cataclysm. Eventually, they landed in the city formerly known as Kuru Tepeller, and established a small colony after wiping out its inhabitants. Believing they had died and been brought to a kind of intermediate plane between their world and Valhalla as a test, they created a society based around the idea that honour and wealth were the only ways to secure one's place in a fruitful afterlife. Since then, they have used Där Isen Sover as the home of their jarls, their families, and the council members who advised the community and regulated trade.
250 years prior to the arrival of the the Einherjar Rådet, and for centuries before that, this was where the spiritual leaders of a theocratic state called Kuru Tepeller would rest and perform rituals between their many trips around the continent. It was also used as a school to instruct priests and paladins in various schools of magic. It was completely open to the public besides the bedrooms and storerooms, and people from many far off cities came to share knowledge and seek answers to their questions.

Alternative Names

Where the Ice Sleeps

Type

Palace

Owner

Tarben Bearfather

Owning Organization

The Einherjar Rådet