Chieftain's Grove

Chieftains’ Grove is one of the most sacred sites in Grimhold, serving as the burial ground of the north’s greatest leaders, jarls, clan chieftains, forgemasters, oathkeepers, and heroes whose deeds shaped the ages.

Nestled along the lower slopes of the Icethorn Peaks, the Grove is a place of profound stillness. Snow falls softly within its bounds, winds quiet as they pass between the stones, and even predators avoid its sacred ground. The Skarnn believe the land itself recognizes those who rest beneath and falls silent in their honor.

Geography and Setting

Chieftains’ Grove lies within a sheltered valley between two steep ridges of the Icethorn Peaks. Sparse pine and frostwood mark its outer edge, but the inner grounds are dominated by ancient monoliths, burial slabs, cairns, and weathered standing stones that predate much of recorded Grimhold history.

Narrow winding paths cut between the graves, their stones slick with frost and half-buried in snow. Small streams run through the valley and often freeze mid-current near the entrance. During clear winter nights, aurora light reflects faintly across the stone markers.

From the highest ridge of the Grove, Cloudwatch can be seen in the far distance upon the horizon.

Purpose and Significance

To the Skarnn, death is not an ending but a passage into the resting halls of the forefathers. Only the most honored dead are interred within Chieftains’ Grove. Burial here is considered the highest recognition a Skarnn may receive.

The Grove also serves as a site of succession. When a new Jarl is chosen, they walk its paths alone at dusk, seeking clarity and judgment beneath the eyes of their ancestors.

Stonefather’s Pillar

At the center of the Grove stands the Stonefather’s Pillar, a massive monolith carved from a single block of ancient grey stone. Its surface bears the names of every Jarl to rule Nifleheim, each inscription added upon succession and left untouched thereafter.

The pillar predates the freezing of Grimhold and has stood within the Grove since before many of the northern clans took their modern form. Though ancient, it is younger than Ostagar and believed to have been raised during the earliest consolidation of Skarnn leadership.

To the Skarnn, the Stonefather’s Pillar is more than a monument. It is the physical record of rulership itself.

The Veilforge

Deeper within the Grove lies the Veilforge, a sacred burial cave marked by a low stone archway and walls carved with ancient inscriptions.

The cave serves as the resting place of Torr Baradan, one of the most revered figures in Skarnn history, and has since become a site of final offering for the north’s greatest champions.

When a Jarl, champion, or honored war-leader is laid to rest in Chieftains’ Grove, their weapons are not buried beside them. Instead, they are carried into the Veilforge and placed among the arms of those who came before, signifying that their service has ended and their duty is fulfilled.

The cave’s interior is lined with generations of weapons, blades, axes, spears, shields, and broken helms, left undisturbed as offerings to the dead.

To remove a weapon from the Veilforge without unanimous sanction of the ruling jarls would be considered an unforgivable sacrilege.

History

The origins of Chieftains’ Grove stretch back to the ages before Grimhold froze.

In that era, the valley was greener, sheltered by woodland and softened by warmer winds from the western continent. When Bharûm-Drakhal fell and the north was consumed by winter, the Grove endured while the surrounding lands transformed. Though the forests died and the rivers froze, the standing stones remained.

During the Second Age, as the Skarnn rebuilt their culture in the aftermath of divine oppression, the Grove became central to their identity. Heroes of The Godwar were laid to rest here, many marked only by sigils and cairns rather than names, having cast aside their former identities during the rebellion.

In the Fourth Age, the Grove remains unchanged.

Rituals and Traditions

The Walk of Succession

Performed by every incoming Jarl. The chosen ruler walks from the Grove’s outer boundary to the Stonefather’s Pillar alone and in silence, acknowledging the burden of leadership and the judgment of those who ruled before them.

The Last Vigil

Held the night before burial. The deceased’s kin and clan stand watch around the burial stone until dawn without fire or shelter, enduring the cold in silence.

The rite reflects the Skarnn belief:

From the cold they rose, and to the cold they return.

Present Day

Chieftains’ Grove remains untouched by war, plunder, or decay. Neither The Godwar, the fall of Ostagar, nor the rebellions of later ages disturbed its sanctity. Many believe the Grove is protected by powers older than the Skarnn themselves.

Few outsiders are permitted entry, and fewer still willingly tread its paths. Each year new stones are added to the valley, and the dead of Grimhold’s greatest bloodlines join the silence beneath the snow.