Difference between revisions of "GossamerAndIce/Asgard"

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= the History of Asgard =
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= Asgard: Home of the Vanir =
== the First Age ==
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== General Information ==
During the First Age, the lands of Asgard were rough, and rugged. The land was filled with vicious predators, harsh weather, beautiful landscapes, plentiful game, and a solitary Lunar-aspected Manse.  The few maps that bothered to mention the small mountainous land on the edge of the vast northern sea simply referred to it as a game preserve, for it's main purpose was to provide sport and privacy for one of the Solar Exalted and his Lunar mate.  They would typically come during the late winetrs, living for several months from out of their reclusive manse, unbothered by the things of Creation.  Yet during the rest of the year the land was not barren.
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<b>Name of Region:</b>  Asgard<br>
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<b>Wyld Level:</b>  Middlemarches<br>
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<b>Size:</b> 40-45 Waypoints
  
A small settlement of rangers, hunters, foresters, thaumaturgists, and their families dwelled deep in the wilds of the regionTheir village was small, and their luxuries few, their entire existances revolving around the care of the land and the animals within it: ensuring that their Exalted masters would have this relaxing and vibrant land as their home away from homeNews and messages passed frequently between these peoples and the heartlands of Creation, and though they lived on the frontiers, they still enjoyed many of the fruits of civilized living.
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== Physical Descrpition ==
 +
<b>Topography:</b><br>
 +
Asgard is a large floating hulk of rock and soil, known as a Driftland.  It is about 250 miles in diameter, usually a rough oval in shape, with hard dry soil.  The land is divided by a central mountain range, with numerous rivers stretching out toward the edges of the driftlandMost of these rivers terminate into the massive Western Sea, which constantly falls over the edge of the Driftland, but some of the Eastern Rivers terminate in lakes or empty in their own smaller waterfallsThe Rivers and lakes are frequently frozen over, but most of the sea remains thawed year round.  The hilly land is mostly covered with a thick conifer forest, with some open tundra and a few rocky badlands.
  
After the Usurpation, life grewer harder and more difficult.  The civilization that they had existed on the fringes of was no more, and the Shogunate had little care for the remote backwater.  Yet the people were hardy and used to self-reliance; they adapted to their new lives, and flourished under the harsh conditions.  So impressive was the resolve of these people that it lent strength to Manan, Beloved of Luna, their once-master who had retreated to these lands after the death of his wife.  He had come here in failure, to die alone in the wilds, but instead he found hope and strengthUnder his wise guidance, the people prospered and grew strength, until their tribe was a thousand strong and their name known along the edges of Creation.
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<b>Variations:</b><br>
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Asgard is a chaotic land, close to the Deep Wyld, and it often shifts and morphs when not under direct observation.  The most frequent traits are the paths and patterns of rivers, the exact number of mountain peaks in the central mountain range and the location of paths through the mountains, and the overall layout and nature of the forestThe locations of caves, roads and small settlements often twists as well, particularly during blizzards and other bad snowstorms.
  
The Great Contagion, as it did all over Creation, cut a large swath through these people.  Of their thousands, 97 survived.  When the Fair Folk came, and cut down Manan, they hid as they could in caves and deep under the ground.  The Wise still have stories of the Great Blizzard, it's howling winds and brutal force.  They sing of how the storm rent their land, cutting it from the solid foundation of the worldYet they remained, even when the Empress activated the defenses of the Realm and blasted the Hordes of the Fey into nothing.
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== Places of Interest ==
 +
<b>Ravine of Broken Blades:</b><br>
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This dry riverbed is an area composing of three main Waypoints, and is located somewhere in the Northern stretch of Asgards' mountains.  The first waypoint is the entrance to the Ravine itself, located in the rocky badlands with a sheer dropoff that one can climb down into a twisting maze of icy canyonsThe canyons are littered with broken weapons, with swords of various kinds being the most common.
  
== The Foundings of Asgard ==
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Most of the canyons can only scarcely be said to exist at all, but two areas have enough presence to be considered waypoints.  The first of these is marked by a massive arc of ice that surmounts the canyon itself, and in which one can often find relics and cast offs from the battles of one's past.  The second is marked by an icy maw in the side of the rock, a cave entrance which leads down into the dreaded Ice CavernsThis entrance is always guarded by some fell beast, which is usually a fair challenege for the visitor.
200 years after the land was ripped from Creation and cast into the middlemarches of the Wyld, the Fair Folk returned to the lands that would eventually bear the name AsgardThey found a land rich and glorious:  strange beasts and terrible monsters, powerful demesnes and a ruined manse, and best of all a large tribe of brutal barbarians.
 
  
The first Noble to discover this prize was Sunthir Flameblade, a potent Raksha Cataphract who had ridden with Prince Balor during the Crusade.  Once little more than a eddy of power, Sunthir had grown strong in the century since the Crusade, feasting on the souls and dreams of menHe had taken a shape of great size and power, fashioned himself as a fearsome warrior of the Mountain, and forged from the Grace of one of his enemies his mighty blade of fire.  In his image he crafted his children, the Giants, and together they settled the lands of Asgard.  The ruins of the great Manse that had been raised in the First Age were destroyed, and in their place was raised Jotunheim, the lair of the Giants.
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<b>Ice Caverns:</b><br>
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Deep under the Mountains, the Ice Caverns are considered by most to be a region separate from Asgard itself (especially as it is of the Deep Wyld, while Asgard is only in the Middlemarches), and encompass some dozen or so waypoints in and of themselvesWhile there are several entrances to the Ice Caverns, including a few that don't even manifest in Asgard itself, the one in the Ravine of Broken Blades is the only one that stays in more or less the same place regarding the rest of Asgard.
  
Over two centuries, the Household of Sunthir Flameblade grew slowly yet steadily.  He culled the tribes carefully, teaching them to fear him and culling from their dreams his children and pawns.  There was the icy Thurm, dark-hearted Anboda, tempestous Aegilis, and the soft-spoken MimirThey had children of their own and the Freehold of Jotunheim grew strong, and their dominance over Asgard grewYet Asgard was a rich land, and a strong land, and a large landThus it was that in the RY 427, a city of crystal and ice rose on the shores of the distant sea, and the Giants found that they now shared their land with another.
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No real description of the Caverns is possible, due to the shifting nature of the Deep Wyld, except to say that they are an endless labryinth of tunnels and the occasional chamber that seem cut out of the ice itselfThe temperature of the caverns varies from just frightening cold to sufficently chill to instantly freeze unprotected flesh, with no real detectable patternThe caves are also inhabitated by numerous fell beasts, and the occasional UnshapedThe Vanir usually come down into the Ice Caverns when they wish to quest against their unshaped brethren.
  
The Court of Vanaheim was founded by the Eshu Frejja and the Strategos Froi, who fashioned each other "brother and sister", along with their "Father", Jord, an Imperial Raksha with grand ambition and a certain low cunning.  The great Fortress-City of Vanaheim was crafted before Sunthir even realized that he had interlopers in his land taking what he'd thought of as his own, and to add insult to injury several of his children and grandchildren had been lured away by the tempting offers of Jord or the beauty of fair Frejja.  The Vanir started off strong, sealing their Household's founding with the creation of several Akshata Nobles.
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== Raksha and Freeholds ==
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<b>the Vanir:</b><br>
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The Raksha who dwell upon Asgard are dominated almost exclusively by the towering settlement of /Vanaheim, which is located along the Northern edges of the Driftland, a great towering city of crystal and ice.  Known as the Vanir amongst themselves, these Raksha have developed a war-like and raiding culture, and rule over this Hunter's paradise as veritable Gods.  The Nobles of the Vanir are frequently recognized by their vibrant ice-forged weapons, crystalline armor, and the many layers of furs and hides that adorn their somewhat primal yet perfected bodies.
  
Both Courts immediately fell into the pattern that they've maintained ever since: bold declarations of enmity, duels and fueding interrupted by treachery and cunning trickery on both sides.  A few other Raksha have attempted to edge in on the action, but so far all have proven largely unsuccessful.  Most end up absorbed by the larger courts or simply ignored and forgotten.  The most successful was an Artisian named Minix, who sunk a freehold into the depths of the Mountain in RY 677Though his Household is quite insular, their rivalries and romances scarcely noticed outside of their dour Stone Halls, the Court is none the less known for the workmanship and efficiency of its Makers.
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In addition to the main freehold at Vanaheim, the Vanir maintain a few other freeholds across the Driftland.  Most of these are smaller halls, and all are ultimately beholden to the glorious City-Fortress of Vanaheim, though many were born out of a desire to drift away from the main body of the VanirMost impressive of these freeholds include the Undersea Palace of Jotanheim, and the expansive Mines of Minitirith that reach under the central mountain range.
  
= An Overview of Asgard =
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== Other Inhabitants ==
== A Discussion of Giants and Vanir ==
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<b>Human Habitation:</b><br>
Though both are ultimately Raksha, and have intermingled for the past several centuries, the two primary types of Fae found in Asgard are still worth a bit of examination as they differ from each other in some interesting waysThese differences are ultimately matters of shape, introduced through the creation of Nobles by members of the Court and the subtle taint of human dreams.
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About two thousand Human Barbarians dwell in the harsh lands of Asgard, and they are as cold and deadly as the land they dwell upon and the harsh Vanir Nobles that rule over them as Gods.  Skilled in combat with axe and blade, the Human Barbarians war constantly among themselves, training for the day when one of the Vanir will take them off to war in one of air ships, to prove their might and glory in battleOthers hope to earn the favor of their cold overlords, earning entrance into the fabled glories of Vanaheim, and the best and brightest of these the Vanir do take.
  
<b>the Vanir</b><br>
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Mostly the Raksha use these barbarians as fodder in war, with the occasional exceptional human taken to Vanaheim to serve as a toy until his soul is drained dry and his dreams crafted into pretty things by the Workers among the VanirHowever, the Court as a whole pays little heed to the Barbarians, which has largely kept their numbers steady over the time they've dwelt on the land.
Much of the nature of the Vanir can be guessed at through observations of their home, Vanaheim.  A glorious city of twisting spires, shining crystal and brilliant ice radiant in the sun's llight, Vanaheim is a thing of beauty visible throughout most of Asgard.  Yet for all it's beauty, it is a Fortress-City, and ultimately as cold and warlike as the Nobles that dwell within.  Vanir tend toward the Warrior or the Entertainer caste, with Eshu and Xia both being quite common among the Nobles of the HouseholdThe warrior ethic is particularly strong among the Nobles of the Court, and those without the Sword are often viewed as pitifully weak and pathetic.  The Vanir often have Warrior abilities as Caste or Favored, and tend toward high values in these abilities as well.
 
  
The Vanir are more than thugs, however.  They aspire to beauty and elegance of form in all things, both their bodies and their implements of warIt is rare for one of the Vanir to have an Appearance of lower than 5, and the greatest of them surpass even the limits of most NoblesAbjurations that demand beauty and elegance are not uncommon among the Court, often taking the form of thin gossamer blades or various items of jewelrySo compelling is the Vanir love of beauty that it tends to even infest those who spend too much time around them.
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<b>Native Wildlife:</b><br>
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Asgard is not a safe and settled land; it is a land of hunters and warriorsDire Wolves, great massive predators who hunt in packs and can bring down the largest prey that lives on the driftland, are the true glory of the landThey stalk the primeval forests, their howls often echoing across the wooded highlands for miles.  The Raksha sometimes tame such creatures, either employing them as Hunting Hounds or as mounts for their HobgoblinsSome of the lesser freeholds breed these beasts in captivity, or magically chain them to the will of their land.
  
<b>the Giants</b><br>
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Mammoth, Snow Lions, and other such beasts also lurk in the land, but the greatest beasts dwell in the mountainsRelentless packs of Demitaurs, mighty Cave Bears that can stand up to 12 feet high, and worse dwell in some of the highlandsMost impressive of all Asgard's natives are the Giants, howeverPotent and intelligent, yet reclusive, the secrets of these creatures is largely lost to time.  Regardless of their origins, the Vanir treat these creatures with some measure of respect and restraint, as their might is nearly as potent as that of the Raksha.
The Children of Sunthir are a breed apart from the elegant warrior-ethic of the Vanir, and the Raksha of Jotunheim tend to be more flexible than their rivals in the glorious city of crystal and iceWhen their father crafted them from the dreams of the Barbarians and his own wishes, he sought to create a balanced family that could entertain him and rule over the land he saw as belonging fully and wholely to himThus, unlike the Vanir, the Giants do not overly favor any one caste over the othersThey do, however, have quite a propensity for the Style background -- their hearts are strong, and their self-assurance iron.
 
  
The one common theme among the Giants is, perhaps unsurprisingly, sizeSunthir built his children along a greater mold than common man, and the greatest of them tower over the vast lands that he promised as their birthrightThus, mutations of Size are almost universal among the children of SunthirThe Affliction of Huge and the Blight of Giant are about equally common, but even the smallest of Giants tends to have the Large PoxMost, but not all, of Sunthir's children take these as permanent mutations.
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<b>Wyld Beasts:</b><br>
 
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The Wyld grows strongest in Asgard during the Blizzards, and those humans and beasts trapped in these horrible snow storms sometimes find themselves horribly changed in gross and horrible waysThe most horrid of these beasts flee into the woods, but lesser monsters find themselves the leaders of their Tribes or PacksMost legendary of such beasts is the mighty Grigor, once a man, now a mindless raging half-Cave-Bear, but still filled with some of the cunning of his human natureHe seldom ventures out of the most remote parts of the Mountains, except during the most horrible Blizzards.  Some of the Vanir have lately set to hunting this beast, but so far none have managed to bring his head back to VanaheimThe one who does would have a great trophy.
== Forest, Mountain and Sea - the Landscape of Asgard ==
 
== Fell Monsters, Foul Creatures, and Twisted Spawn of the Deep ==
 
== The Barbarians - the Lost Peoples of Asgard ==
 

Revision as of 20:23, 2 February 2005

Asgard: Home of the Vanir

General Information

Name of Region: Asgard
Wyld Level: Middlemarches
Size: 40-45 Waypoints

Physical Descrpition

Topography:

Asgard is a large floating hulk of rock and soil, known as a Driftland. It is about 250 miles in diameter, usually a rough oval in shape, with hard dry soil. The land is divided by a central mountain range, with numerous rivers stretching out toward the edges of the driftland. Most of these rivers terminate into the massive Western Sea, which constantly falls over the edge of the Driftland, but some of the Eastern Rivers terminate in lakes or empty in their own smaller waterfalls. The Rivers and lakes are frequently frozen over, but most of the sea remains thawed year round. The hilly land is mostly covered with a thick conifer forest, with some open tundra and a few rocky badlands.

Variations:

Asgard is a chaotic land, close to the Deep Wyld, and it often shifts and morphs when not under direct observation. The most frequent traits are the paths and patterns of rivers, the exact number of mountain peaks in the central mountain range and the location of paths through the mountains, and the overall layout and nature of the forest. The locations of caves, roads and small settlements often twists as well, particularly during blizzards and other bad snowstorms.

Places of Interest

Ravine of Broken Blades:
This dry riverbed is an area composing of three main Waypoints, and is located somewhere in the Northern stretch of Asgards' mountains. The first waypoint is the entrance to the Ravine itself, located in the rocky badlands with a sheer dropoff that one can climb down into a twisting maze of icy canyons. The canyons are littered with broken weapons, with swords of various kinds being the most common.

Most of the canyons can only scarcely be said to exist at all, but two areas have enough presence to be considered waypoints. The first of these is marked by a massive arc of ice that surmounts the canyon itself, and in which one can often find relics and cast offs from the battles of one's past. The second is marked by an icy maw in the side of the rock, a cave entrance which leads down into the dreaded Ice Caverns. This entrance is always guarded by some fell beast, which is usually a fair challenege for the visitor.

Ice Caverns:
Deep under the Mountains, the Ice Caverns are considered by most to be a region separate from Asgard itself (especially as it is of the Deep Wyld, while Asgard is only in the Middlemarches), and encompass some dozen or so waypoints in and of themselves. While there are several entrances to the Ice Caverns, including a few that don't even manifest in Asgard itself, the one in the Ravine of Broken Blades is the only one that stays in more or less the same place regarding the rest of Asgard.

No real description of the Caverns is possible, due to the shifting nature of the Deep Wyld, except to say that they are an endless labryinth of tunnels and the occasional chamber that seem cut out of the ice itself. The temperature of the caverns varies from just frightening cold to sufficently chill to instantly freeze unprotected flesh, with no real detectable pattern. The caves are also inhabitated by numerous fell beasts, and the occasional Unshaped. The Vanir usually come down into the Ice Caverns when they wish to quest against their unshaped brethren.

Raksha and Freeholds

the Vanir:
The Raksha who dwell upon Asgard are dominated almost exclusively by the towering settlement of /Vanaheim, which is located along the Northern edges of the Driftland, a great towering city of crystal and ice. Known as the Vanir amongst themselves, these Raksha have developed a war-like and raiding culture, and rule over this Hunter's paradise as veritable Gods. The Nobles of the Vanir are frequently recognized by their vibrant ice-forged weapons, crystalline armor, and the many layers of furs and hides that adorn their somewhat primal yet perfected bodies.

In addition to the main freehold at Vanaheim, the Vanir maintain a few other freeholds across the Driftland. Most of these are smaller halls, and all are ultimately beholden to the glorious City-Fortress of Vanaheim, though many were born out of a desire to drift away from the main body of the Vanir. Most impressive of these freeholds include the Undersea Palace of Jotanheim, and the expansive Mines of Minitirith that reach under the central mountain range.

Other Inhabitants

Human Habitation:
About two thousand Human Barbarians dwell in the harsh lands of Asgard, and they are as cold and deadly as the land they dwell upon and the harsh Vanir Nobles that rule over them as Gods. Skilled in combat with axe and blade, the Human Barbarians war constantly among themselves, training for the day when one of the Vanir will take them off to war in one of air ships, to prove their might and glory in battle. Others hope to earn the favor of their cold overlords, earning entrance into the fabled glories of Vanaheim, and the best and brightest of these the Vanir do take.

Mostly the Raksha use these barbarians as fodder in war, with the occasional exceptional human taken to Vanaheim to serve as a toy until his soul is drained dry and his dreams crafted into pretty things by the Workers among the Vanir. However, the Court as a whole pays little heed to the Barbarians, which has largely kept their numbers steady over the time they've dwelt on the land.

Native Wildlife:
Asgard is not a safe and settled land; it is a land of hunters and warriors. Dire Wolves, great massive predators who hunt in packs and can bring down the largest prey that lives on the driftland, are the true glory of the land. They stalk the primeval forests, their howls often echoing across the wooded highlands for miles. The Raksha sometimes tame such creatures, either employing them as Hunting Hounds or as mounts for their Hobgoblins. Some of the lesser freeholds breed these beasts in captivity, or magically chain them to the will of their land.

Mammoth, Snow Lions, and other such beasts also lurk in the land, but the greatest beasts dwell in the mountains. Relentless packs of Demitaurs, mighty Cave Bears that can stand up to 12 feet high, and worse dwell in some of the highlands. Most impressive of all Asgard's natives are the Giants, however. Potent and intelligent, yet reclusive, the secrets of these creatures is largely lost to time. Regardless of their origins, the Vanir treat these creatures with some measure of respect and restraint, as their might is nearly as potent as that of the Raksha.

Wyld Beasts:
The Wyld grows strongest in Asgard during the Blizzards, and those humans and beasts trapped in these horrible snow storms sometimes find themselves horribly changed in gross and horrible ways. The most horrid of these beasts flee into the woods, but lesser monsters find themselves the leaders of their Tribes or Packs. Most legendary of such beasts is the mighty Grigor, once a man, now a mindless raging half-Cave-Bear, but still filled with some of the cunning of his human nature. He seldom ventures out of the most remote parts of the Mountains, except during the most horrible Blizzards. Some of the Vanir have lately set to hunting this beast, but so far none have managed to bring his head back to Vanaheim. The one who does would have a great trophy.