GossamerAndIce/Asgard

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.