Horror of Haafingar: Volskygge and Volsung
Imperial Scholar Lucius Flavius
As we continued our exploration of Skyrim for her ancient Nordic ruins we came to the hold of Haafingar and the capital city of the province, Solitude. As we asked our the city for any rumors of barrows or ruins in the hold we were quickly alerted to a rumor amongst the cities guards and citizens. They said that the ruin of Volskygge to the west was haunted and that the dead still roam its halls. One citizen in particular, Jawanan, told us that in Volskygge there resided a wall black as night that apparently spoke in the ancient dragon tongue. This was all the confirmation we needed and we soon made for Volskygge. During my time pouring over the Ysmir Collective I also took note that several tomes mentioned a dragon priest whose deeds were so malevolent they refused to put them to print and was buried somewhere in Haafingar. We hoped that this ruin contained the remains of this priest.
We continued west through the hold asking for rumor and word of this mysterious ruin. We were finally pointed to an area just on the cusp of the Reach. What we were struck by immediately when we came into view of the barrow was its apparent size. Outside there was a maze of passageways and tunnels that led to the entrance. After we had snooped around the ruins for the better part of the morning. It appears that there had once been two canals or aqueducts emerging from the flanks of the ruin and continuing on down further. It was only after the morning fog had been parted by the wind that one of my fellow scholars cried out and pointed to the top of the mountain. As the fog parted we could see what appeared to be the top of Volskygge. We could see a great arch and stairs leading up to the unknown. It was immediately apparent that the ruin didn’t delve into the roots of the mountain, but went straight up and what we were seeing must be the summit. We then decided we should proceed into Volskygge itself.
Now it must be stated here that some of my colleagues believe Volskygge, like High Gate Ruins, serves no other purpose that of a tomb. That is where the similarities stop however. Where High Gate Ruins is rather large, it does contain pragmatic features such as traps and puzzles, Volskygge contains all this and more. This ruin is simply bombastic and truly speaks to the grandeur and arrogance of the patron. Through a small entry way, we entered into what was unmistakably a throne room. It was quite large, with two small sets of stairs reaching the dais on which a throne sat, empty now. Now the first few chambers perplexed us, as this seemed to indicate that perhaps this might be something else other than a tomb. This was compounded as we ventured further into the ruin through a long stretch of corridors, to a dining area. A single row of tables was stretched out in front of us with many ornate chandeliers above it all. The connected areas appeared to be storage areas for food and perhaps even a kitchen at some point. We wondered if perhaps this was the site from which the dragon priest resided and ruled from. It would stand to reason due to the throne room being located so close to the entrance and then this dining area would serve the priest and an assumed court later in the day. The next area suggested something different though. We came to a large chamber, with four pedestals in the corners of the room, and a four coffins connected back to back to each other in the middle of the room. On the far edge of the room, a sealed gate and in front of that, a black pedestal with a dusty old tome. It was titled “The Four Totems of Volskygge.” I shall copy the entirety of the text here.
All four are bound to the same land as we. Some lay low, consumed in shadow, Others stand tall, stretching their necks to see. While none live in this sacred barrow, They all demand your attention if you are to proceed. The first fears all, The second fears none. The third eats what it can, Preferably number one. The fourth fears the second, But only when alone. All must be activated in order, If you wish to go home.
Obviously it was a puzzle that required solving if we wanted to proceed. We studied the four pedestals in the corners of the room. Each had a different carving on it, they were a wolf, fox, bear and snake. It was a simple riddle and test of logic then. We were worried about the coffins arrayed in the middle of the room and deduced it would be wise to get this right the first time, lest we find out what was inside. Through our collective reasoning we came to this conclusion. The snake would fear all, the bear would fear none, the fox would eat the snake, and the wolf would only fear the bear if it was away from its pack. We then pulled the levers in order and miraculously the gate opened and we proceed.
We then continued down a set of stairs into a next part of the barrow which can only be described as a long, winding set of passages. The first part of these passages were made up entirely of catacombs, rows and rows of skeletons and draugr were laid out. Several areas opened up to vast chambers with yet more open graves. There were a staggering amount of dead here. If this was the burial place of a dragon priest (by now we were nearly certain) he could sustain himself for ages. Then we came to a part that perplexed us. An unadorned tunnel. It simply looked like a tunnel from any old cave, one that was invested by spiders that is. We were worried that this would just go on and on and that this actually wasn’t passages to the ruins we had seen at the summit of this mountain. At last we came to a doorway of ancient Nordic make. After a few twists we came into another large chamber. This one laid out before us sported a canal running through the middle, the water still flowing with two bridges across, leading to stairs going further up. This took a sharp left and up some further stairs we came at last to a doorway where a draft was unmistakable. (Note: We attribute the unadore tunnel section to a hasty build. It seems that they might have started construction on the summit and at the foot of the mountain simultaneously and failed to meet in the middle, necessitating a quick tunneling. One of my peers also put forward the idea that they used this natural tunnel through the rock and planned to renovate it, but it seems the end came swifter than expected for this location.)
Finally we exited the ruin and into the open sky. Up a set of stairs we came to an open sarcophagus and the word wall we were seeking. Inside the coffin like all the other ruins we found battered armor, ash, and a mask. We determined that this was the mask of Volsung. It seemed to be made of corundum and had a reddish hue to it. Our mages determined it would allow the wearer to breathe even while underwater, as well as fortify ones constitution so they might carry more before becoming fatigued. They also sensed that it could improve one’s natural ability to persuade. Now my fellow scholars and I have debated the translated name of the mask. Most literally you can derive “Horror” from “Vol.” Now my peers have pointed out that you can also find “Air” in the name from “Su.” One could take it to mean “Air Horror” or “Horrific Air.” We do all agree though that horror is the defining feature of the name. We then turned our attention to the world wall which had this written out upon it.
Noble Nord, remember these words of the Hoar Father -Oblivion hath no fury like [a] shield maiden scorned.
It seems that these word walls also contained the wisdom of the ages, to be passed down to the next generation. Now we are left with a question as to what exactly is Volskygge and what it can tell us about Volsung who is interred here. While the ruin contains elements that might suggest a place of rule and residence, the complete lack of any other living facilities implies that this is one of the most elaborate tombs we have come across as of late. We argue that the throne room and dining area models those Volsung used in a separate site we have yet to uncover. It seems that Volsung was a priest of much wealth and held an extremely large following to construct such a place of burial. This seems to stem from his nature, or so we can guess. Horror seems to do this priest justice. To construct Volskygge simply to be a tomb tells us much about Volsung. He must have ruled through fear exclusively and the tales and legends of him say that he was not afraid to carry out atrocities on his subjects in order to secure their allegiance. One could also argue that the dragons provided him with this place of burial as a gift for serving them well. Whatever the case is, Volsung suffered no competitor here in Haafingar and lived to his end much deserving of his name.
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