Cradle of the Fire Scion

Scion of Surtur: A scion of Surtur slumbering at the peak of a volcano causes an unending plume of smoke to rise, sometimes lit from below by fiery bursts of lava. As the scion dreams of battle-perhaps a battle to rouse Annam from seclusion by uniting the giants or a war to conquer all in Surtur's name-the volcano rumbles and spews molten rage. If intruders disturb its resting place, the fire scion's cradle rises as a bipedal juggernaut of molten rock. Sometimes miners risk their lives to find rich veins of ore in a scion's volcano, or misguided fire cultists offer sacrifices meant to appease or awaken the volcano, and the awakened cradle defies all their expectations. Like a living volcano, the cradle hurls balls of magma at intruders, exhales fiery gases, and causes molten stone to erupt from the ground around it. If the cradle is destroyed, the scion of Surtur inside it awakens. Standing 60 feet tall, the scion's form is shrouded in a continual cloud of billowing ash and smoke. The awakened scion forms a blade of lava in its mighty hand and schemes to resume its ancient campaigns of conquest, preferably at the head of a fire giant army.

Scions of Giants' Gods: Giants are descended from the All-Father, Annam, and his children. But scions of giants' gods boast a greater claim: they are Annam's grandchildren, and they occupy a privileged place among giants. On some worlds, these scions ruled the first empires of giants until Annam retreated into seclusion. On other worlds, the scions guard their birthplaces (which are rich in elemental magic) or hold the substance of the world together. (See "Giants of Myth" in chapter 3 for additional inspiration.) Scions of giants' gods are enormously powerful beings who infuse the world around them with primeval magic. In many worlds, they slumber and have become part of the landscape. In this case, each scion is enclosed in stasis inside a powerful Elemental called a cradle. The cradle protects the slumbering scion and follows its subconscious wishes, including driving off intruders. But if the cradle dies, the scion within fully awakens.