Volundrak

Volundrak is a deity of immense power, his stature towering even among most giants, radiating the authority of the storm-tossed heavens. His skin seems carved from clouds, and his eyes crackle with the fierce energy of a never-ending storm. His silver-white hair flows like the mist at the edge of a tempest, and his voice is the rumble of thunder that echoes through the valleys of Gigornia.

The story of Volundrak begins with the creation of the sky itself. It is said that the heavens were once a vast emptiness, devoid of stars, sun, or moon. Volundrak, with his divine hammer, forged these celestial bodies, setting them in the sky's great anvil. With each strike, sparks flew, and these became the stars. The greatest of his creations was the sun, which he crafted to warm the world and give light to Gigornia.

Volundrak's followers are many among the giants, especially those who find kinship with the boundless skies and the art of creation. Blacksmiths, artisans, and warriors revere him, seeking his blessing in their craft and battles. His priests are known as Sky Forgers, and they are as skilled in the smith's art as they are in channeling their deity's thunderous might.

The Battle of the Boundless Skies was not merely a confrontation but a cosmic event that determined the fate of light across all of Gigornia. The darkness that assailed the skies was an ancient entity known as Nocturnarum, a primordial void that predated the stars and sun. Nocturnarum sought to reclaim the empyrean realm, to envelop creation in the silence and stillness of the void from which it had been birthed. As Nocturnarum spread its consuming shadow, stars began to wink out one by one, and the daytime sky dimmed, casting long shadows over the land.

Volundrak, who had vested himself in the very fabric of the skies, felt the invasion of the dark as a wound upon his own divine form. He understood that the battle to come would require more than the might of any one god; it would require the united spirit and strength of all who lived under the sky. Thus, he issued a call that resonated through the heartstones of every giant, a summoning to the creatures of the air, and even to the denizens of the realms below.

The ensuing battle was fought not just in the physical realm but in the ethereal expanse of the skies. Volundrak's followers, empowered by their god's thunderous essence, ascended in a storm of fury, their forms outlined against the dark by the brilliant corona of celestial light that clung to them. The Sky Forger himself, resplendent and wrathful, met Nocturnarum at the zenith of the heavens, his hammer alight with a sun's fire.

The clash between deity and void was a tempest that shook the foundations of the world. Volundrak's hammer struck with the force of a collapsing star, and each blow drove Nocturnarum back, tearing the void asunder. The final blow was so mighty that it fractured the entity, scattering it across the cosmos. These shards, the meteorites, fell to Gigornia, burning through the atmosphere in trails of radiant fire.

These meteorites are not mere stones. They hold a piece of the sky's essence, a remnant of the battle that saved the light. They are said to house a spark of Volundrak's power, and to hold one is to feel the rumble of thunder and the call of the forge. On the Day of Light, the largest of these meteorites are brought to the Stormbound Forge, where Volundrak's priests conduct a ceremony of remembrance and celebration. Weapons and armor forged on this day are said to carry the luminescence of the stars and the roar of thunder, gifts for those who honor the Sky Forger and stand against the encroaching dark.