The Temple of Balder was an abandoned shrine to the Norse god Balder in the city of Medinat Muskawoon.[1] Martek enchanted it to serve as a means of reaching the Star of Melos-Pelar.[2]
Location[]
The temple of Balder was almost due east[note 1] from the old banks of the Me'at lake.[3][1]
Structure[]
The Temple of Balder consisted in two concentric rings of dirt, twenty feet tall, with thirty feet of span in the middle. The outer ring was broken by three gaps; the inner ring was broken by only one, aligned with the middle gap in the outer ring. Crossing the inner ring led towards a courtyard where two tall great stones flanked the path, themselves part of a ring of 24 stones. Inside that ring, lay a smaller ring of 50 stones, which surrounded a circular slab of multi-hued stone, backed by a wall of similar stone, 15 feet tall. The wall was carved in a twisted lattice work. In the platform there was a 10-foot-tall marble column with a carved surface. Behind the shrine stood a ring of 13 stones, 15 feet (4.6 meters) tall, 5 feet (1.5 meters) wide, and 3 feet (0.91 meters) thick, forming an irregular circle around a stone tablet of polished black rock rising 5 feet from the ground.[1][3]
The inner ring of stones was enchanted, and anyone who was affected would cast out any wooden objects before entering it.[1]
Rumors & Legends[]
The Norns would appear before those who stood before the semicircular wall, with their backs to the column. For those who answered their three questions, they would explain how to break the wards on the Star of Melos-Pelar.[1]
Inside the innermost ring, an apparition of the god Balder would offer people the opportunity to weep for him. Those who did would receive a jewel that would ward against the Eyes of Hathor in the Temple of Ra.[1]
Appendix[]
Notes[]
- ↑ The map represents the temple as being due west. While recognizing the conflict between the map and the text, this page will proceed under the assumption that the text is correct.
Appearances[]
Adventures
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Tracy Hickman, Laura Hickman, Philip Meyers, Peter Rice, William John Wheeler (May 1987). Desert of Desolation. (TSR, Inc.), p. 104. ISBN 978-0880383974.
- ↑ Tracy Hickman, Laura Hickman, Philip Meyers, Peter Rice, William John Wheeler (May 1987). Desert of Desolation. (TSR, Inc.), p. 95. ISBN 978-0880383974.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Map included in Tracy Hickman, Laura Hickman, Philip Meyers, Peter Rice, William John Wheeler (May 1987). Desert of Desolation. (TSR, Inc.). ISBN 978-0880383974.