The Peoples of Asgard

The Law

There are a large number of races and people in Asgard; these are collectively referred to as the “Fólk” (“People”).  All other beings are simply the “Utanaðkomandi“, or “Outsiders.”  It is at this point, however, that the similarity often ends.  Given these differences in cultures, languages, and ways of viewing reality, it becomes very difficult for this collection of beings, being both corporeal and, in many cases, intangible, to agree upon things.  During the Balancing, the period of time soon after the reforming of Broken Asgard where Magnus attempted to establish a peace between the humans and other races, a simple set of three rules were established as “the Law.”  These rules are considered to be binding upon all inhabitants of the Nine Worlds and enforceable, regardless of the affected race(s).

• Nothing shall be Unmade.  Given the nature of the living creatures in the Nine Worlds, change happens regularly.  Even the most static creatures have, with study and talent, the ability to access the Great Rune, changing their forms.  Changing a thing…killing a thing…taking a thing….  These are all allowed.  Changing, however, the true nature of a thing, however, is viewed as a crime against the Great Rune and is cause for punishment.
• Territory is Sovereign.  Whether it is territory, title, or owned items, all races have the ability to act and defend against those who seek to take what was theirs.  Where questions of original ownership is called into question, a Þing will be called.
• An Offence Against One is an Offence Against All.  Where an individual or group is found to be guilty, they are guilty against all, and the punishment will be executed in the name of all affected parties.

The Races of Asgard

The inhabitants of the Asgardian realm, both human and otherwise, represent the civilized Peoples and societies of the land.  Although their personal interpretations of laws and behavior may vary, the Accords of the Balancing provide a similar framework that governs behavior.  These Peoples include:

Some minor races also exist, although they do not do so in large enough numbers to merit inclusion in the list above.  These include the trollkin, kobolds, goblins, and others.

The Clans

The Nine Great Clans of Asgard ruled in Broken Asgard, each existing in small areas of strength and surrounded by enemies. Since the Recovery, these families have spread, increasing in strength and numbers. In support of this, Magnus sent a call to the youth Asgard, sending them into the Rest of Creation in search of nothing less than children of the High Blood. Asgardian women and men sought out members of the Great Families of Chaos and then returned home with their living treasures. These children have since grown and married, giving birth to new generations of Blooded Asgardians. There are no Channicuts, Helgrams, or Sawalls in Asgard; there are the Anker, Björnberg, Ehrenskiöld, Hedemann, Horn, Kärling, Linde, Neergaard, and Vind.

Famous Asgardians

The Kings

• Odin Allfather – The King That Was and Will Be
• Magnus Odinson – The King That Watches
• Jarngrimr Magnusson – The King That Reigns

The Clan Lords and Ladies

• Bjarke “High-Hand” Anker
• Uffe Björnberg
• Sanne Ehrenskiöld
• Arjun Hedemann
• Steinar Horn
• Valdemar Kärling
• Hrothmal Linde
• Etre Neergaard
• Ostom Vind

The Craftholders

• Seidkonur Helle – The blind Headmistress of the Seiðrhol Academy of Mystic and Mundane Skills in Hrafnborg
• Herforingi Malaba – Half-giant Commander of the Hús Brjóta, Asgard’s Academy of Military and Martial Arts in Hrafnborg
• Simeon Lagidfugl – The Master Skald of the Skaldhome, the center of musical and lore studies
• Hafdan Anker – The Craftlord of The Refactory
• Bodil – High Voice of Gislaved, the Tower of the Goði
• Yrsa Linde – Proctor of th Hús Allra, the great school of Asgard
• Troels Vind – Lord Healer of Vogir Nornanna, the Houses of Healing
•  Einarr – Preceptor of the Hollustu

The Warlords

When asked by Queen Myfanwy to describe the Warlords, Ivar “the Boneless” did so, offering a summary:

“Murderers and saviors.  Villains and heroes.  Blood thirsty marauders and defenders of their people.”  He shrugs.  “Ours was a different world that operated by different rules.  Might was right.  What was ours mattered more than what was yours.  The morality of good versus evil was not … prevalent.   Read us as we are.  Men out of time determined to make this one suffer for the indignity of it all.  We were remade, armed, and given a mission to bring death and mercy to Creation … for a price.  You see, my Queen, that we really are not that difficult of creatures to understand.”

“Rollo the Norman.  Hrollaugr a Viking.  Baptised as Robert in his day.  Tall, vain, and fond of hearing his name screamed, whether in battle, adulation, or sex.  He was a leader and a warrior.  Led our people to take a kingdom from the Franks … to make them surrender their own to us as weregild.  He commands the Horse; they are hot blooded and built to roam far and long.  He is like Jarngrimr.  He smiles often, but it never touches his eyes.  Beware him; his ambition is his strength and his weakness.”

 

“Cnut the Great.  Knútr inn ríki.  The title he took for himself says most of what needs be considered – King of all England and Denmark and the Norwegians and of some of the Swedes.  This man was a king of an empire vast and held together by his will.  Taken by the sword and held together by a subtle hand that took him even to Rome for acknowledgement.  He commands the Eagle.  They strike without warning, slay with a want, and leave behind waste in their passing.  Beware him;  He thinks in spirals that broaden to every horizon.  This is his strength and his weakness.”

 

“Erik the Red.  Raudar Vegfarandi.  Hot tempered and bold.  Exiled for revenge and a thief who stole even his own lord’s vassals.  Wave walker and far seer.  Tamer of new lands and a father of one who carried that blood even farther.  He is the opener of doors.  He sees obstacles as things to be shattered, if only to make others observe his talent.  Silent and unrelenting.  His are the Boars.  Capable of many things and long roaming from home.  Beware him.  He will never be satisfied; this is his strength and his weakness.”

 

“Ragnar.”  Ivar smiles and shakes his head.  “The Legend Ragnarr Loðbrók.  If hunger had a face, he would have beaten it in and eaten it.  Ragnar is hard.  Cold iron and stone.  He takes and takes and takes.  His deeds set the legends that many of us pursued.  He commands the Dragon.  The beast hated by all of Asgard is his Band’s namesake, and there are none more fearsome.  Beware him.  He cannot stop.  This is his strength and his weakness.”

 

“The Bloodaxe.  Erik af Blodugum Oxi.”  Ivar pauses and then sets the knife edge.  “On one side, he is a failed king…time and again.  On the other, he is the rage that refused to die.  He cannot be placated.  He cannot be calmed.  His death took what was and made it burn with a fury unabated.  He does not so much command the Auroch as ride it.  His beast to leave a swath of destruction.  Beware him.  He is murder because the hole in his soul cannot be filled, and this is his strength and weakness.”

 

“Gunnar Hamundarson.   Gunnar the Warrior.  Gunnar the Pride-Stopper.  A beautiful man.  Sharp and shining as brightly as the atgeir he favors.  He is a master of arms.  I’ve seen him kill a man with a rock from forty paces.  He died because of his pride.  His Wolves are the same.  They sprint into the gaps that will bring them the most fame.  They die for it, as well, but Valhol resounds with their howls.  Beware him.  He will always strive to be the best and destroy those who compete with him.  This is his strength and his weakness.”

 

“Bjorn Ironside.  Bjorn Járnsíða.  The youngest of us.  Perhaps the best of us.  A dutiful son and a reckless warrior.  Called Ironside because no weapon seemed to know his name.  He who wandered far and fought on countless shores.  His is the Stag and, as before, his feet rarely pause in their roaming.  Beware the Ironside.  He is honest and fearless.  That is his strength and his weakness.

 

He pauses and nods his head.  “Hastein.  The Sea Wolf.  A Norman monk wrote Hastein’s biography thusly – ‘This was a man accursed: fierce, mightily cruel, and savage, pestilent, hostile, sombre, truculent, given to outrage, pestilent and untrustworthy, fickle and lawless. Death-dealing, uncouth, fertile in ruses, warmonger general, traitor, fomenter of evil, and double-dyeded dissimulator.’  Hastein is the most dangerous of us.  Even he is uncertain as to his plans save that they will work.  Hastein needs no titles; if one was placed upon him, he would act contrary to it just to shame the truth.  He commands the Death Bird…the Raven, and he is Magnus’ left hand.  Beware him.  Everything is his strength, and nothing is his weakness.”

 

“And then there is hinn Beinlausi.  The Cripple.  The Cursed.  The commander of the Bear.”  He flashes the mirthless smile again, the gesture still looking foreign and alien.  “Me.  The others murder and wage battles.  I have a fight with Death.  She says that I cannot beat everyone…that no one can beat them all.  I disagree, and so she offers me test after test.  Beware of me, my Queen.  I will always war with gladness and a thankful heart.  This is my strength and my weakness.”

 

 

“There you have us.  Who we were.  What we do.   How to defeat us.  Any of us would kill you given need or chance.  That is why Magnus chose us, and it is why he keeps us so far away.”

Lords and Ladies of the Vaettir

• Signe, the Winter Queen
• Surtr, the Darkest Flame
• Shashel, the Water’s Hand
• Kraghl, the Stone Lord
• Eysteinn the Green

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