Fantasy MIDGARD: Of Gods and Men [ALWAYS OPEN!]

Þorgrímr did not acknowledge the elf's nod, for he had no way of knowing that such a gesture had been made. As Azlyn began her tale, he merely chuckled at her quip and listened with rapt attention. The girl told no false-truths, and he'd never heard the story told quite as accurately before, or as humble. Many before had always strived to exaggerate most stories of the Gods, particularly this one, Rígsþula.

"Your age belies your knowledge, truly. I'm genuinely impressed, not many children are capable of telling the stories of the Gods without avoidable flare.", the warrior smiled, showing unnaturally white teeth. "You've won my companionship, Azlyn. But, I am curious, as Heimdallr's... sensual practices did not cease with Jarl, might you know who the Father of Mankind's fourth bairn is?

Azlyn smiled when he told her he was satisfied with her story. She never miss told a story past age seven. She told every story as it was, no matter how tragic, gruesome, or reputation ruining. She would not make fairytales of the gods. It would be dishonorable to do so. They were much better true anyway.

Þorgrímr smiled and mentioned Heindallr's fourth bairn. She didn't know how she could have forgotten the fourth bairn. She looked up at him, smiled, and giggled softly before speaking. "Heimdallr's fourth bairn came much, much later. He was a warrior like Jarl, but he differed." She paused and stood, only reaching his eye level while he knelt. She gently placed her hands on his cheeks. "It's you, Mister Þorgrímr. You are Heimdallr's fourth bairn."

Kodi Ly Antoniusarson

Þorgrímr held still when Azlyn's hands touched his face with a gentleness few knew. The faintest of grins marked his visage, his mind held no doubt that this child was indeed one of the æsir's vast lineage, and that they were to be well-met vinir, as it were. He understood the gravity of such a thought, friends were something Þorgrímr had very little experience with, as many of the creatures in this world, be they maðr, hálfás (half-god), alfr, jǫtunn, or one of the æsir themselves, simply did not resonate with him.

But this girl, within such a brief exchange, has moved him, and even managed to gain his companionship without so much as the mentioning of coin. Yes, he felt no doubt at all.

"You are indeed correct, I can claim Heimdallr in my lineage, albeit it is a... tangled relationship. But that is a story of my own for another time. Now, since you carry enough wisdom within you for the both of us, how do you propose we begin this new journey?"

Radio_Rat66.6

Azlyn smiled at Þorgrímr when he smiled. It very much suited him. She had succeeded in making his day so much brighter. She could see the golden waves weaving their way with the others around him. "I can see the happiness I have brought you and it makes me smile, Mister Þorgrímr." She stepped back and listened to him address her. She thought about anything pertaining to Mjolnir or Thor.

"Perhaps we could start where Mjolnir was forged or where Thor was born. It might not be there, but it might have some clues as to where it is."

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Thorne, Loki's son
Close to the Alter of Odin

Once finished with prayer Thorne was planing on talking with the priest about any information he had, but then is dear sister of course chimed in. "Yes it has, sister" Thorne said turning to his sister with a fake smile on his face. "And I don't sleep with anyone women, only pretty, nice, and cunning women. So women the opposite of you pretty much" Thorne said smirking. That was when Ellie came in and pulled Astrid's ear. Thorne smirked grew larger. "I don't worry, she was just being herself. Who could really blame her for that." Thorne stated.

"Moving on, I assume your here to get Odin's blessing to go hunt down Mjolnir as well?" Thorne said opening his palm and making a mini illusion of the hammer in it. "If that's true then how about we put our bickering aside and team up to retrieve the hammer? Chance are better of us making it and..." Thorne said before leaning in closer to his sister. He whispered "...Together I'm we could trick some of these... "adventurers" into helping us.". Then Annie started yelling again. "Like her" Thorne added leaning back and gesturing to the loud mouth.
V e r t i g o

Annie

"A JOKE?" Annie holds George close, hesitates, and raises it behind her shoulder. She drops it to the floor, causing an intense thud, while she bursts out laughing. "PERHAPS MEAN LADY IS RIGHT AND ANNIE IS A FOOL! MY APOLOGIES, NON-BOY MEN! I HAVE FALLEN FOR THIS GREAT JOKE! I AM IN YOUR DEBT!" She grins widely at the whole room. "I see you have come here with gifts for my grandpa! Do you all, too, seek his blessing in search for Thor's hammer?" Without waiting for a response, she continues. "Perhaps we should all adventure together then! We have such great chemistry! Elves, not one but three hairy men? A little girl? A mean lady and Annie? That's optimum party composition if I've ever seen it!" She walks to the center of the temple and holds aloft George.

"ALLFATHER! GIVE US YOUR BLESSING TO RETREIVE MEWMEW!" She turns to the rest of the room. "We shall begin posthaste! For hammers!"

Astrid, The Daughter of Mischief
Inside of the Temple

Astrid smirked as well. As much as the two fought, she couldn't deny they were a pretty powerful duo. He was an illusionist, while she was the more cunning thief of the two. But, he did have a way with words, she had to admit. She teasingly pushed her shoulder against his. "You sure do know my weaknesses." Just then, Annie started yelling again and she sighed. "I'll leave you in charge of that one... I'm too prone to headaches."

Astrid then looked over at Ellie and smiled. She was still smiling, which eased her companion a little. She then looked up at Thorne again, her eyes narrowed slightly. "Just remember what I told you before. You stay away from Eleonora," She whispered to him. "You're a heartbreaker." She nodded at him. She wasn't trying to be mean this time, she just knew her brother's ways.

Eleonora, Ellie
Inside of the Temple

Eleonora giggled at Thorne's reply. "Not blaming her, she just needs to learn respect, the dilthen raug."

Ellie only used Elvish language when she was insulting her friend jokingly, so she wouldn't understand, but Astrid wasn't stupid. She laughed as the short girl stuck her tongue out at her.

But, Ellie wasn't stupid, either. She could hear what Astrid was whispering and her pale face turned a slight pink. She scratched behind her long ear, embarrassed. She was the book definition of pure, which wasn't what the young Son of Loki was after, anyways. So, Astrid was surely just being silly.

ChazGhost

Thorne, Loki's son
Inside the temple
"I'm glad we could come to a agreement my dear sister. I'll get the loud mouth on our team. Maybe even our cousin as well" Thorne said with a confident smirk. Then Astrid told him to stay away from Ellie. Thorne glanced back to Ellie after Astrid said this and saw Ellie turn a little pink. Thorne thought Ellie was fairly beautiful and was smart. ...When I think about it... I have not been with an elf yet... Maybe this may be a nice challenge... But for now I have other things to worry about.... "Of course, I wouldn't dare." Thorne said before making his way to Annie.

"Wonderful words, truly inspiring my dear" Thorne said walking up to Annie. "You are right we should all work together to find the hammer. Only of us will have in the end but the rest will have the favor of the new thunder god. And the tale of a life time" Thorne said confidently. "I'm Thorne by the way. They also call me Thorne the swift. Me, my sister, and her elven friend would be happy to be the first to join this grand band" Thorne said in a proud voice before turning the others in the temple. "What about the rest of you? A party as big, grand, and skilled as all of us such will have a better chance of finding Mjolnir. Or at the very least it will make the adventure far less lonely" Thorne said hoping to get the rest to join in the newly forming group.
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Asur
Inside the temple

Asur really was still surprised that Annie could function now she was thinking this was some great team building exercise, this was a trial of heroes and in all stories the hero was alone when they met the trial. There was rarely a tale of how a group of heroes won the day only the one, the greatest and to Asur this would be the same. Still he was likely seeking the hammer out as well as there was no way that man would pass up the chance to escape Hel and hat he deserved. Asur in truth had what could only be called minor interest in actually claiming the hammer herself and in truth could only think of one thing she might need godhood for and that was finding that man. It also seemed that some of her grandfather's children were showing up seeking to claim the hammer likely through treachery and tricks like their father might. Asur found them claiming the hammer almost as bad as Annie claiming it for she in truth might want it a bit more than she wanted to admit at least then it would be in a worthy wielders hands, but even then she didn't want the weapon just the godhood and status she would never abandon her halberd.

" I have no interest in claiming the hammer for myself, I would only go to make sure no one that would dishonor Thor can claim it" Asur said and while that was a surface level truth even she had interest but she would not be so base as to let such desires show. She also knew her prey was walking the same path thus they might come across him and at last her father would get the punishment he deserved.

ChazGhost

Azlyn grabbed her basket, tucking the cloth back over her flowers and treats. She listened to the two address the whole crowd. She saw all the waves of purple and green and one was weaved in thick waves of black. She wanted to help them all, but there was so much greed. So much envy. The colors almost made her head spin, but she was used to it by now. She stood slightly behind Þorgrímr and held onto his pant's leg. She knew they wouldn't listen. People like that never did in her stories.

Asur
inside the temple

Asur hear another of the group speak her thoughts as well this was a contest only one could win, she knew loki's kids would betray them if they thought they could get away with it. She didn't think Annie could be worthy, as she herself likely was not the kind the hammer would go for, she was honorable and powerful but she was not one to be thor. Asur knew this and in truth if she wanted anyone's seat or power it would be the allfather she would hunt for his sight. The man now he would be preferable to most of those in the room, the girl and the elves Asur didn't even consider the elves were elves and the girl as a child.

" Knowing the one that proposed it we would likely find knives in out backs before we got there" Asur said having no expectations of honor from the children of loki they were plotters and while she might descend from him Hel was no trickster " Though if this were a myth of old i would say we will squabble on the way there and find one we all think is actually worhty before get there, but reality is never as nice as myth" Asur said of course she wouldn't mind being that one but really what good would that do for her.

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Solveig
Entering the temple

The news of her divine father's recent passing had reached Solveig through the deafening vailing of a massive storm that tossed and spun her jarl's longboat in the seawaters like a fragile leaf. It caught her completely unprepared, as she had never envisioned a scenario in which gods died, except for Ragnarok. Thor had not been the most caring of fathers to her, and he certainly wasn't always there, but she could hear his voice in each thunder and feel his presence whenever she tipped her head back in order to watch the clouded skies. When that last storm came, the elements carried but a faint echo of the thunder god, leaving her strangely empty. She hadn't foreseen the loss of someone she'd never had in her life in the first place to be that painful.

When Solveig returned to her home land after two years of fighting overseas alongside jarl Guthrum, she was long past the mourning phase. More than anything, the young warrior was burning with anger, because the first thing she learnt upon disembarking in a bustling port town, was that Odin's temple had been turned into some sort of gathering place for freaks of all kind in her absence. Apparently, the Allfather had been running a competition for her father's hammer and every fool in Midgard deemed themselves worthy of a chance at divinity. Mjölnir, of course, would not allow a random commoner to claim it, but she still felt someone had to end this silliness. It felt only logical that this someone should be her, given the fact that none of Thor's other descendants had done so in the two years since his passing. Perhaps they were incapable... lazy... or simply amused by everyone else's misguided efforts.

As she entered the temple, a living goat tossed haphazardly over her shoulder, Solveig immediately realized how right she had been. The display of completely mismatched individuals of various species, genders and social circles that awaited her was truly remarkable. Humans and demi-gods, that she could understand, but... even elves? Why would they need the Mjölnir, weren't they eternally young and magical enough already? Solveig intended to slip between them and make her offering in peace, but she happened to catch the last few sentences a couple of them exchanged and couldn't help to set them straight.

"There is no need to quarrel over the hammer," she said in a clear, strong voice. "The Mjölnir will choose the next thunder god, not the other way around. It can only be lifted by Thor, thus those who are unworthy will not be able to carry it, even if they miraculously succeed in locating it." She gave a little laugh, entertaining a private fantasy. "In fact, it may simply choose to smite you all." With that, she made her way towards the altar, dropping the half-conscious goat on the ground and slitting her thoat in the next second. She used one of the ceremonial bowl to collect blood, holding the animal down with ease as it struggled for the last shreds of life, idly noticing the badger's head and some feathers. Nobody had even thought of bringing a goat, Thor's favorite animal?!

Arvo Turgard
Standing in front of altar
“Well now you’re talking about best case scenarios.”He said to the new comer as she slit the goat’s throat. He raised his eyebrow as a bluebird flapped its wings annoyingly close to his ear before coming to rest on his shoulder. “I’m not even sure what it means to be ‘mighty’. One of many reasons it probably isn’t me.” Arvo hummed, detaching his pouch of bird feed and bringing it to level with the bluebird with a gentle help yourself.

“Although I know it was probably a joking suggestion, I think it’d be wise to go together,” He said to all of them.

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Astrid, The Daughter of Mischief
Next to the Altar

Astrid swung around her brother's waist slyly.

He was more of the vocal type, so she just went along with his rambling.

"My brother is right," she clapped him on the shoulder. "None of us may receive the blessing of the Mjolnir, but the path to divinity is a dangerous one, so why go alone?" She then chuckled lightly at Asur's comment.

"You think I would waste a knife in the back for no reason? Only those who deserve it." She winked.

Eleonora, Ellie
Next to the Altar

Eleonora sighed as she let the two siblings do their own thing. She took a step away, next to the only other Elf she could see.

He was quite feminine, but then again, most male Elves were. So, it wasn’t an unusual sight.

She nodded to him. “It’s nice to see a little familiarity among all of these half-Gods,” she smiled. “What brings you to look for the hammer?” She asked sweetly.

“Oh, my apologies for being so rude, my name is Eleonora, but please, call me Ellie.”

Things seemed to have wound down; at the very least, the wild woman had stopped yelling about boy demons. He removed his hand from the handle of Witherbrand, where it had instinctively gone once the strange woman had begun yelling at him, and sighed. With all these newcomers and conversations going on around, he had completely lost track of what the heck was going on. But from what he could discern, they were all talking about what they were going to do if they found Mjolnir, and why it was that they were looking for it. He didn't answer, mainly because he honest to gods had no good answer to either of those questions.

With everyone else's attention seemingly occupied by each other, he took this opportunity to finish offering his spoils to Odin. He bowed his head and mumbled an old prayer that he had learned from a forest-dwelling dwarf many years ago that had seemed to serve him well, adjusting it so that instead of asking for blessing and luck in hunting animals, he asked for blessing and luck in finding the Hammer that Felled Mountains. When he had finished, he returned to the group proper just as the... Arvo fellow, was it?... suggested that perhaps it'd be prudent for them all to travel together. He nodded in agreement.

Thorne, Loki's son
Inside the temple
"My dear niece you think to lowly of me and my sister. We may have the blood of a trickster but we are not dishonorable enough to back stab people for a hammer that may just denies as us for doing just that." Thorne said looking to Asur a bit annoyed. With that said he turned back to the blind man. "Now when we find the hammer we'll just simple let the person who done the most for the group to try lift the hammer first. And if it denies them, the next person may try next. That goes on until some lifts the hammer and becomes a god or we fail. Sounds nice enough?" Thorne said suggesting his plan.

Thorne looked around at the group once again taking note of who was agreeing with them forming a group and who still needed to be convinced. Then he noticed a women skeptical they would even survive touching the hammer. "If your worried about us die from simplying touching the hammer why not come with us and try first. Save of us from blowing up, unless of course you don't think your worthy" Thorne said looking at Solveig while gesturing to the rest of the group.
MechanicalSnake V e r t i g o Kodi Ly Antoniusarson Karcen

When Solvieg arrived, Annie perked up, watching her every movements. She cringed in fear and empathy for the goat when it was sacrificed, but her warm smile didn't fade. She wound up standing directly behind her, watching her closely, her head almost on Solvieg's shoulder. She whispered into her ear, "Aunt Sally? Auntie, remember me? It's me! Annie! I punched you really hard!" Annie had changed remarkably since the pair had last met. The sweet, intelligent young girl always found embracing Modi's waist or trying to catch newts in the ponds in her rare visits to Midgard now stood before Solvieg, seven feet of muscle, blood, and mud, more animal than the normal human girl she always dreamed of becoming.

MechanicalSnake

Arvo Turgard
chilling
"Oh you were not rude at all, miss," Arvo said. "I'm Arvo. It's nice to see somebody of familiar stature." The bird pecked at his hair once it got tired of gorging itself on Arvo's supply of birdfeed, to which he simply pushed the bluebird clean off his shoulder. The bird let out the avian-equivalent to a hiss and scurried away to find a new elf to antagonize for food.

V e r t i g o

Alveria
Within the temple

Alveria felt even more out of place. Now the gathering seemed to consist of demi-gods, leaving her the only true dweller of Midgard. It gave her shivers, but because she is as weak as she. Even she knew that and yet...

NO.

A second voice whispered in her ear, telling her that she needs to get to the Aesir's weapon. It reminded her of her wish, and to that, she gave in. She raised her hand, quivering, but still raised her hand as if to say that she agrees to working together. She wished she had a voice, but she was neither a demi-god, nor did she believe she was worthy.

But it didn't matter what she thought. For only Mjolnir was to decide who was worthy and who was not. With that, she had as much a chance as any. She hoped.

ChazGhost

Worried. Solveig would have laughed, but the occasion was less than appropriate. If she was worried it all, it was not for them, but of them actually finding the hammer. And to think they were not the first similar group to set off on a quest to find the divine artefact, likely not even the most unpleasant one... She withheld her reaction in order to finish the offering in peace, concentrating on the words of an ancient prayer to Odin. Only when the goat had gone completely limp, the remainders of the crimson liquid leaking slowly out of its mortal wound rather than gushing in the rhytm of its heartbeat like before, did the young woman's attention return to her unwanted companions.

"You know, I just might try," she responded to the provocative tone of the one who prided himself in being Loki's offspring, as if she had only then decided to pursue the same goal. "But I wonder, what are the benefits of traveling in a poorly organized group of this size, except for scaring away the odd bear..." Then she turned over her shoulder, eying the woman who'd approached her with a touch of suspicion. The voice she recognized, yes, but... the body seemed to belong to a different species entirely and the general lack of hygiene didn't help either.

"Annie...?" Solveig tilted her head, trying to find similarities in the features bond to change the least, such as the woman's eyes. There were some, she decided and, feeling a bit guilty about taking so long to accept her niece's vastly different appearance, she gave her a quick hug. "I punch really hard now, too," she announced with no lack of pride. "We should have a friendly match later!"