Tyr's Temple: the gate between realms

Tyr's Temple was a magnificent temple in Midgard dedicated to Tyr, the Aesir God of War, built for the purpose of traveling to the other realms of the World Tree. Raised by all the races of the Nine Realms in what Freya called the last act of their cooperation before peace was lost, it stood at the center of the Lake of Nine. Submerged for over a century, it was revealed again when Kratos and Atreus stirred the World Serpent during their journey.

Construction and purpose#

The temple was constructed by all the races of the Nine Realms for the Norse God of War, Tyr, and through his leadership everyone in the realms had a hand in raising it. Freya described it as the last known act of cooperation between the Nine Realms before peace disappeared for good. When it was first built, anyone could enter any of the realms freely. It stood in Midgard, a focal point of all the realms, with each realm besides Midgard given its own tower along the rim of the Lake of Nine, through which the temple traveled between them.

Tyr's safeguards#

When Odin's treachery was discovered by the giants and he was expelled from their realm forever, Tyr changed the temple. To ensure Odin could never enter Jotunheim, he removed its realm travel tower and hid it in the Realm Between Realms. He added security to the temple's vault to protect the Black Rune, needed to reach Jötunheim from a portal in Midgard, and further measures to protect the Unity Stone, a gift from the giants, which was needed to restore the Jötunheim tower. Plans for the Unity Stone were hidden in a shrine devoted to him, revealable only with special Bifrost eyes by Tyr and a few others the giants trusted.

Odin's interference and the flooding#

After Odin imprisoned Tyr, he made his own adjustments, cutting off the temple's access to Asgard, Vanaheim, and Svartalfheim, and converting one room into a hidden chamber from which he studied the secrets of Jötunheim. Coming to see the temple itself as a threat to his power, Odin tried to destroy it with the might of Asgard, but Jormungandr, the World Serpent, stopped him. Tyr had earned the serpent's trust, and so it protected the temple from all threats, its hatred of the Aesir adding to its resolve.

The serpent inadvertently accomplished Odin's goal when it fell into a deep slumber, raising the lake's water level and submerging the temple. It remained underwater for over a hundred and fifty years.

Revealed by the serpent#

The flooding was undone years later when Kratos and Atreus journeyed to spread Faye's ashes atop the highest peak in all the realms. Their first journey to the lake woke the serpent, massively lowering the water and revealing the temple, and as their journey continued the serpent moved more, uncovering still more of the ancient structure. They discovered Odin's hidden chamber within, used the plans Tyr had hidden to restore the Jötunheim tower to its place in the lake, and ultimately flipped the temple itself to recover the Unity Stone before restoring it to its original state.

During the events of Ragnarök, Kratos, Atreus, and their allies used the temple's travel room to reach Asgard. When Kratos blew into Gjallarhorn, all the realm travel doors lit up and opened the way into the realm of the Aesir.

Layout#

The temple held four parts that Kratos and Atreus accessed during their journey. The Realm Travel Room, discovered first, allowed travel to the other realms, though Odin had cut off access to Asgard, Vanaheim, and Svartalfheim. Tyr's Vault held the Black Rune of Jötunheim behind his security measures, along with tapestries of his travels and the gifts he had received. Odin's hidden chamber, reached after escaping Helheim, held his best clues to accessing Jötunheim and, unknown to him, Tyr's hidden plans for the Jötunheim tower. Tyr's hidden chamber, the last to be found, lay beneath the Realm Travel Room and held the Unity Stone, reachable only by flipping the temple itself.