Superstitions

[ Khinllatjaern ] [ Runes ]

Most Valgarins have a deep fear of the open ocean as the serpent is always looking to get revenge. A common Sioba practice is therefore to sacrifice an animal when just leaving port by slitting its throat and lettings its blood spill into the water first to get the serpents attention and then throw in the whole animal to distract it so it won't notice their ship and give them a safe journey.

If a bird builds a nest atop the entrance of your house your home and family will be blessed by Yrsa. If a bird builds a nest atop the entrance to your barn/shop then Yrsa will bless your hard work, and you can expect to have a very good summer (good crops, good sales, make that most rare of items)

Borath the lord of giants, a mythical evil figure, haunts the very highest peeks of the mountain and to cross them while he is at his strongest (winter) will bring his wrath down upon you and swallow you up in his snowy maw. Giant snow creatures high in the mountains come down during winter storms and carry away anyone they find traveling alone.

Valgarins are also generally superstitious of magics, which is mainly because the most common forms of magery in Valgard are that which originated from the Thurer and is invoked in their language. So while the Valgarins have nothing against the wonders the Völva can accomplish by the will of Yrsa, or the arts practiced by the druids and Lothakils, they are very likely to throw most wizards out of their town if discovered, at best.

Khinllatjaern

Legends speak of a small spring of water high up in the mountains, far north of where any man ever normally travels, that can make peoples wishes come true as long as they are unselfish in nature. The spring is said to come out of the mountainside and pool down in a small valley between two mountains higher then any other, yet that cannot be seen until you reach them. The water is said to be clearer then anywhere else, and so refreshing that a mouthful can revitalize a traveler after weeks of wandering through the mountains. Few people has ever been able to reach this spring, called Khinllatjaern, but the stories they have brought back with them are so amazing that most people think they are nothing but just that, stories.

One such story that has been brought back from Khinllatjaern is that of a Valgarin farmer whose beloved wife came down with an illness which no healer seemed able to drive from her body. Desperate and fearing for her life the farmer took his wife and wandered off into the mountains to find this spring, hoping that the clear, magical water might be able to cure her. After days upon days they were able to reach the spring, yet both were too exhausted to remember how or where. The man rushed his wife to the side of the spring and slowly lowered her into the water, praying for Khinllatjaern to free her from the sickness. To the man’s great surprise his wife instantly started feeling better. Her fever faded away and the color returned to her cheeks. In awe at the wonder the water had achieved he quickly waded out into the small pond until the water reached his knees and asked the spring to make him rich and wealthy beyond words. As his wife shook her head to clear it of the last feverish dreams she looked over just in time to see her dear husband starting to fade, before she realized that he was in fact just turning transparent, and when he was nearly completely so he just splashed into the pond as more clear water. Terrified from having seen her husband turned to water, yet relieved to be well she directly hurried home...

Another, possibly even more amazing story tells of a time when the kingdom of Valgard was facing a grave danger and an old evil which could only be vanquished with the aid of a very old sacred sword belonging to the high king. The sword however was broken in half, and no smith seemed able to mend it. So the high king sent three of his most able herdsmen out to find the legendary Khinllatjaern to see if its magical water could mend that which no one else was able to. The three men set off on their journey to find the spring, which is said to have been a great adventure in itself, but it is a completely different story. It took them several years to finally find the two mountains between which they were able to reach Khinllatjaern. The three men, hungry and tired from their long journey, rejoiced at the sight of the small pond and hurried down towards it. Once they reached it the leader of the three waded out into the water and lowered the sword into the water while asking it to mend the broken sword so the king could use it to protect the kingdom. To their amazement the sword was mended before their eyes. The first of the herdsman who had been old already when they set out and who’s vision was now growing dim with age continued by splashing some water over his face and asked the water to fix his eyes so that he may find his way back to return the sword. He only needed to blink once before his vision started to grow clearer once more. The second herdsman who’s hip had been damaged years ago, causing him to walk with a limp, also waded out into the pond and asked the water to fix his hip so that he may make it back to his family. When the second herdsman waded out of the water again he no longer limped. The third man, amazed by what Khinllatjaern had done to his two comrades waded out into the water as well. Once he stood there however and started thinking about what to ask for he realized that there was nothing he truly needed, and he felt that it would be rude to ask for anything he did not really need, especially after the kindness shown to his two friends. Instead he just turned around and walked back to them while explaining this to them. As he did his friends just stared at him in amazement and confusion, and it was not until he stopped to think about it that he realized he had been speaking in the ancient troll tongue, a language he had never known before...