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Legend
12: The Wishing Well
The Wishing Well
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Hewn from the granite of Dwarven Mountain is a pool shaped as half a hexagon, engraved with pictograms of rival dwarven crafters and traders. The pool is fed by a trickle of a waterfall coming from the mountain's snowmelt, lying in the shadow of the Viaduct of the Merchant Princes. Thru its crystalline waters, a planewalker can make out coins at the bottom of the well. Mysteriously, every week the coins vanish to where no one knows...most likely Vergadain's coffers, though none have proven such. Dwarves treat the well with healthy respect, viewing it as a force of fortune or misfortune, depending on the strength of intention the wishes brings. Moreover, several dwarven drunks hue heard ghostly voices emanating from the well, possibly voices of petitioners who've been absorbed into the well, or perhaps voices of dwarves from some distant plane.
What is known about the well for certain is that anyone, dwarf or not, who holds a gold coin, gives voice to a heartfelt intention, and then casts the coin into the well, will be blessed with good fortune in their endeavor at an opportune moment. Those so blessed will receive a good omen from Vergadain letting them know. However, if their intention is not heartfelt, is not something they truly care about or yearn for, then they will be cursed with ill fortune at an inopportune moment. Those so cursed will receive a bad omen from Vergadain.
It is not uncommon to encounter a dwarven smith from Soot Hall or even a dwarf from other realms like Mount Clangeddin (Arcadia) here, to give offerings to the wishing well. Dwarves tell many stories about the well, how it holds the spirit of Vergadain's long lost love or how it is the source of all luck in the multiverse. By far the most common tale, however, is that the Sons of Ivaldi were burned on pyres in its waters (in days when the well used to be the size of a lake). The Sons of Ivaldi were a group of dwarves in Norse myth who fashioned Freyr's ship Skidbladnir, Odin's spear Gugnir, as well as golden hair for Sif to replace what Loki had cut off. According to the Norse myth, the god Loki bet the dwarf Brokkr that Brokkr's brother Sindri couldn't craft items to match the quality of the Sons of Ivaldi. Though the rivalry was intense, Sindri crafted Odin's ring Draupnir, Thor's hammer Mjolnir, and Freyr's boar Gullinbursti, winning him the contest. As evidence of the claim that the well is tied to the Sons of Ivaldi, dwarves point to the annual pilgrimage of Sif's priestesses to Dwarven Mountain bearing tribute in exchange for several crates of fine golden thread. Is this thread destined to become the hair of a goddess? Only Vergadain's proxies know for sure.
The Wishing Well
[SBLOCK=Art Inspiration]
[/SBLOCK]
Hewn from the granite of Dwarven Mountain is a pool shaped as half a hexagon, engraved with pictograms of rival dwarven crafters and traders. The pool is fed by a trickle of a waterfall coming from the mountain's snowmelt, lying in the shadow of the Viaduct of the Merchant Princes. Thru its crystalline waters, a planewalker can make out coins at the bottom of the well. Mysteriously, every week the coins vanish to where no one knows...most likely Vergadain's coffers, though none have proven such. Dwarves treat the well with healthy respect, viewing it as a force of fortune or misfortune, depending on the strength of intention the wishes brings. Moreover, several dwarven drunks hue heard ghostly voices emanating from the well, possibly voices of petitioners who've been absorbed into the well, or perhaps voices of dwarves from some distant plane.
What is known about the well for certain is that anyone, dwarf or not, who holds a gold coin, gives voice to a heartfelt intention, and then casts the coin into the well, will be blessed with good fortune in their endeavor at an opportune moment. Those so blessed will receive a good omen from Vergadain letting them know. However, if their intention is not heartfelt, is not something they truly care about or yearn for, then they will be cursed with ill fortune at an inopportune moment. Those so cursed will receive a bad omen from Vergadain.
It is not uncommon to encounter a dwarven smith from Soot Hall or even a dwarf from other realms like Mount Clangeddin (Arcadia) here, to give offerings to the wishing well. Dwarves tell many stories about the well, how it holds the spirit of Vergadain's long lost love or how it is the source of all luck in the multiverse. By far the most common tale, however, is that the Sons of Ivaldi were burned on pyres in its waters (in days when the well used to be the size of a lake). The Sons of Ivaldi were a group of dwarves in Norse myth who fashioned Freyr's ship Skidbladnir, Odin's spear Gugnir, as well as golden hair for Sif to replace what Loki had cut off. According to the Norse myth, the god Loki bet the dwarf Brokkr that Brokkr's brother Sindri couldn't craft items to match the quality of the Sons of Ivaldi. Though the rivalry was intense, Sindri crafted Odin's ring Draupnir, Thor's hammer Mjolnir, and Freyr's boar Gullinbursti, winning him the contest. As evidence of the claim that the well is tied to the Sons of Ivaldi, dwarves point to the annual pilgrimage of Sif's priestesses to Dwarven Mountain bearing tribute in exchange for several crates of fine golden thread. Is this thread destined to become the hair of a goddess? Only Vergadain's proxies know for sure.
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