Finally after weeks of travel, Jon had discovered a long lost, gilded and meticulously decorated temple. This temple had all the markings of a temple belonging to Woden, as Ravens were his spirit animals. Upon arriving at the temple, it was much larger than he had thought. It stood as tall as the trees near his home, and wider than any ship he had seen. The gold was starting to peel from the walls, but Jon was very reluctant to try to take some. There were stories like this he was told as a child and none of them ended happily at all.
As Jon pushed open the thick oak wood door, there was a sound like a low hissing. Afraid, Jon immediately jumped backwards, after inhaling, he knew that the temple had been sealed for probably a thousand years, as it smelled like strong musk and decay. As he entered, he was shocked and amazed to find that all the braziers were lit and the entire hall was bright with flames dancing on the walls. The inside of the temple was not like the outside. The floors were made of a dark stone, possible carved from the mountain. The interior walls were a light brown colored wood, as were the ceilings.
Walking through the hallowed hall, he found a single hallway. As he entered the passage, the door closed behind him. Jon jumped as he did not expect the door to close behind him. The feeling inside the passageway was ominous, Jon began to walk quickly towards the back of the hall. As he was walking he noticed a bright light coming from up ahead. Relieved to be out of the passage, Jon entered a second, smaller room. Inside this room was a stone statue, the size of a large man, most likely an image of Woden.
Jon searched the room thoroughly and eventually he came to realize there were engravings on the back of the statue. These were runes, carved by hand into the figure. The runes looked as if they were just carved, perfectly preserved, not even dusty. As he read the inscription, it told him to go back out into the passage and pull one of the torch holders out of the wall. As he read this his heart skipped a beat. "This could be a burial ground for followers of Woden, this might get dangerous very fast!" thought Jon who was struggling with the decision to pull the torch holder. He was already injured and in a lot of pain, he did not need more fighting, or he might die.
"F**k it" thought Jon and without thinking further, he reached out and yanked on the metal piece, pulling it almost completely out of the wall, he heard a loud click and another hissing noise, this time he was not frightened by it. Jon quickly walked down the steps and into an ink black darkness.
"By the Gods, I need light" he pouted as he now had to hurry back up the stairs and grab the torch from the holder. He laughed at himself a little and quickly was back down the stairs, light in hand.
What Jon Berskaggr saw next shook him to his core.
As he emerged from the stairway, he saw many men wrapped in linen, lined up next to each other, standing shoulder to shoulder. As Jon walked through the hall, he was very afraid. Any one of these bodies could be an ominous spirit, attaching itself to a corpse and attack him with ancient weapons buried with these Northmen.
Never had Jon ever been so creeped out in his life. Every fiber of his being told him to run in the opposite direction.
Almost as if on cue, he heard the ripping of linens and a creaking noise, like someone was rubbing wood together. He knew all too well that this was probably the worst case scenario. Trapped underground in a crypt with an angry spirit.
In an old, dry voice something cried out "Who goes there?! This is the crypt of the Ulfhednar, famous warriors of Woden! Who dares to disturb our eternal slumber?!" Hearing this, Jon wanted to stay completely still and silent and maybe the spirit would go back to resting and let him pass. The voice beckoned to him again "SPEAK! I feel your warmth and hear your heart beating, do not make me repeat myself again or you will rest with us for eternity!"
Hearing this, Jon snapped back into his body and said, "My name is Jon Berskaggr and I was sent here by Woden, God of Gods, to find his sacred tome. I am to become his Champion. I have no quarrels with you good spirits of men." Upon hearing this the ancient spirit cackled and returned to his slumber. Jon did not expect that to be the answer as his hand was on his sword. Thankful that the spirit was merciful, he continued on. At the end of the crypt there was a large ornate stand. On top of the stand, was a glass case with a book underneath, perfectly preserved. This book had no name, it was just a normal brown leather bound book with gilded corners. As Jon gazed at the book, it started to morph as the middle of the book was now a circular tree with roots that looked like branches. Jon new this as the spirit of the world. Yggdrasil was the name of this spirit, and Jon knew he had finally found the sacred tome after weeks of searching high and low and gaining a new battle scar. He would always remember this day as anytime he would see his reflection, he would see the reminder on his face.