Sigmund- Germanic HeroHero"King of the Völsungs"

The Sword in the Branstock

Sigmund was a son of the Völsung line, descended from Wodan. At the wedding feast of his twin sister Signy to King Siggeir, a one-eyed stranger entered the hall and thrust a sword into the Branstock, the great tree that grew at the center of the Völsung hall. Whoever could draw the sword from the trunk would have it as a gift. Every warrior present tried and failed. Only Sigmund, the youngest of Völsung's sons, pulled the blade free.

Siggeir coveted the sword and offered to buy it, but Sigmund refused. This insult festered into enmity. Siggeir later invited the Völsungs to his kingdom and ambushed them, killing Völsung and capturing his sons. Only Sigmund survived, rescued by Signy's cunning. He lived as an outlaw in the forest, waiting for his chance.

Vengeance and the Wolf-Skins

In hiding, Sigmund and his nephew Sinfjotli, secretly his own son born of Signy in disguise, hardened themselves for revenge. They found enchanted wolf-skins in the forest and wore them, becoming werewolves for a time, unable to control their bestial nature. The skins eventually came off, and they burned them.

When the time came, Sigmund and Sinfjotli attacked Siggeir's hall and burned it down, avenging Völsung. Signy walked back into the flames. She had accomplished what she lived for, and she chose to die alongside the husband she had always despised rather than outlive her purpose.

The Shattering of the Sword

Sigmund became a great king, married Hjordis, and fought many battles with Wodan's favor. But in his final battle, Wodan himself appeared on the field: an old man with a broad-brimmed hat and a spear. The god thrust his spear against Sigmund's sword, and the blade that had been drawn from the Branstock shattered. Without his divine weapon, Sigmund fell.

Hjordis saved the broken shards. She was carrying Sigmund's son, Sigurd. The smith Regin later reforged them into Gram, the sword that killed the dragon Fafnir. The gift Wodan planted in the Branstock outlasted the man who first drew it.