The World
Climb the body of a dead god
The primordial giant Brimir died standing, run through the sky. That vast corpse became the world.
Time turned the corpse into terrain — skin became earth, the gaps between ribs became canyons, pooled fluids became seas. And far above, in a chest buried in cloud, the heart still beats.
From the feet to the heart
- 1
The Feet
Forest grown over the giant's skin. Where the living build their towns — the first step of the pilgrimage.
- 2
Irminsul
The world-pillar joining earth and sky, and the giant's own spine. Where the body pierces the heavens — a trial of ascent.
- 3
Rib Canyons
Blood that never cooled, running like lava between the ribs. A valley of heat and ash.
- 4
The Jade Sea
A vast jade sea pooled inside the body. Clots float in it like islands, and only a ship crosses.
- 5
The Frozen Marrow
Bone frozen solid, past the reach of the heart's warmth. The furthest country of the dead.
- 6
The Pericardium
Not dead flesh any more but the inside of something alive. The pulse comes up through your feet, and you cross from node to node ahead of what it drives. The heart is just past it.
- 7
The Heart Wall
First dry land past the valve. Beyond an outer fold crumbling as it dries, flesh set hard in layers blocks the way — and each layer only opens to what you took from it. Deeper in, the wall is not breathing around you: you are inside the breath. Past the last fold there are no more folds.
- 8
The Heart
The unknown summit, still beating in a chest full of cloud. Nobody knows what floor it is — nobody has arrived.
A floor number is just how high you got. Pilgrims fall somewhere in the body, and the dead are forgotten.
What you build is the story
Runes — the fallen soul
Power congealed out of a fallen being's soul. Pilgrims carve runes into themselves to gain their abilities, combining hundreds into a pilgrim that is theirs alone.
Scars and wardens
Scars are wounds torn open in Brimir's body, and a warden lurks inside each. The pressure of the heart keeps ripping the old wounds open again.
The flooding
Even in death the heart beats. Each beat sweeps the giant's blood through the body like a tide, and a pilgrim who lingers is washed out past the dawn. The heart you chase is what pushes you away.
Before the heart
Only those who can die can finish, and only those who can finish earn the right to reach the heart. What is left for the pilgrim standing before it is a single question — stop, or take it. Only the one who arrives knows the answer.