[X] Plan Our Sisters Like Us
-[X] Friends
--[X] Brunhildr Sigurdrsdottir
--[X] Sigrid Sigurdrsdottir
-[X] Enemy
--[X] Gunnar Sigurdrsson
[X] Lightning Seidr. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Lightning Seidr.
[X] Writing (Runes). Mother says that every noble should know their runes.
[X] Persuasion. You like to make friends with the other kids.
"Brunhildr," you approach your elder sister as the golden-haired girl as she practises her magic, "What's a Flygia?"
"Surely you know what a Fylgia is?" inquires Brunhildr as she pauses to give you a look, "We're all born with one."
"Well yeah," you reply, "But that doesn't tell me that they do. Father or Mother haven't told me so I don't know what they are."
"Hmm," muses Brunhildr thoughtfully, "Given your age, you should really know by now and I do know how Fylgia work. Alright, Torvald, follow me. I'm going to show you my Fylgia, but we need to go outside. Mine is a bit big to fit inside."
And with that, Brunhildr walks off and you hurry after her. Your graceful older sister deftly makes her way out of the longhouse and you trail in her wake. Once you have reached an empty training field in your father's fort, Brunhildr comes to a halt and turns to face you with a grin on her face.
"This is my Fylgia!" declares Brunhildr proudly and before your eyes, a massive bear with snow-white fur materialises before you.
"Is that a bear?" you ask eagerly.
"In a manner of speaking," answers Brunhildr as she begins to stroke the back of the bear, "My Fylgia is an Ice Bear, which is distinct from a Bear Fylgia like what Gunnar has."
"What's the difference?" you demand.
"Each Fylgia grants a different benefit depending on what form it takes," explains Brunhildr, "My Ice Bear makes it easier to improve my Presence while Gunnar's Bear lets him do the same with his Strength. He isn't the strongest of us just because he has the blood of the Jotun in his veins. His Fylgia plays a good part in why he is already as strong as an adult."
"What do other Fylgias do?" you ask.
"Sigrid and your friend Astrid both have a Cat as their Flygia, which deepens their magical reserves, letting them cast more spells each day and craft more potent enchantments," answers Brunhildr, "Father and Torsten both have Wolf Fylgias which provide them with some extra protection against being harmed. Mother has a Raven that strengthens her connection to the Norns over time and Brandr has a Snake that makes it easier for him to find things of value."
"Right," you say.
"I also know that it works differently in other cultures," continues Brunhildr, "While everyone has something like a Fylgia, only us Norse have Fylgias. The Christians have their own animal companion, but they have to claim one as they aren't born with one like us. Don't ask me why as I don't know. Perhaps their God isn't as generous as our Gods? Now, Torvald, I've shown you my Fylgia so why don't you show me yours?"
"Okay!" you agree without hesitation and you call forth the spiritual animal companion that you have had since birth.
What is Torvald's Fylgia?
[ ] Bear. A Bear Flygia makes your Strength easier to improve.
[ ] Wolf. A Wolf Flygia makes you resistant to harm.
[ ] Owl. An Owl Flygia makes your Intellect easier to improve.
[ ] Eagle. An Eagle Flygia makes your Will easier to improve.
[ ] Cat. A Cat Flygia deepens your magical reserves.
[ ] Lynx. A Lynx Flygia makes your spells more powerful
[ ] Raven. A Raven Flygia grants you good fortune over time.
[ ] Rabbit. A Rabbit Flygia grants you twice as much health.
As a bit of background detail, I meant to give you this vote in the precious update, but I forgot to do so.
***
As someone who has their shared ancestry with Thor as their Bloodline, you have an innate access to lightning seidr. Most others will need a suitable trait to build their seidr around unless they are fortunate enough like you to be born with a Bloodline that comes with inherent seidr.
As the years go by, you learn a handful of basic spells, built around the concept of lightning. The first is the ability to survive being hit by lightning and upon casting, for the following hour, the next time harm dealt to you from lightning will be reduced.
The second spell is the ability to replicate the flash that occurs when lightning takes place. It does no damage on its own, but for a crucial moment, it can blind an enemy with its flash. Alternatively, you could use the flash to illuminate the area around you, also for just a moment.
The third spell you learnt is the ability to toss lightning from your hands. It is a mere shadow of what Thor himself is capable of, but it does let you strike your foes from afar. And it is pretty awesome to see bolts of lightning from the palm of your hand towards your chosen target of the day.
***
"My father is an absolute arse!" exclaims Astrid as she slams her wooden stick against the training target.
The force of the blow is enough to snap it in two, but only for a moment as Astrid casts a spell to reverse her personal time by a few seconds. Her stick is once again intact and you envy how she is able to casually use spells. Especially since this is the fifth time she has used that spell in this venting session.
Astrid has started the process of becoming a woman and it shows. While you don't really see it yourself, Brunhildr and Torsten both assure you that Astrid's beauty is rapidly going from cute to sexy as she shoots up in height while her bosom and hips both grow in size. In fact, none of her old clothes fit her at all any more, much to your friend's consternation.
"Maybe he is just trying to help?" you offer only for Astrid to turn her glare on you.
"He is and that makes it worse!" shouts Astrid as she swings at you and you barely avoid her stick with a yelp, "He really thinks that making me into a good traditional housewife for my future husband is the best thing for me. He refuses to acknowledge I am going to be a shieldmaiden like my mother! I wish she would finish her stupid quest so I could go back to her. Ever since I started growing these dumb boobs, Father has been refusing to let me do anything cool."
"Perhaps you could try going along with it?" you suggest and you find yourself dodging another swipe of her stick, "What I mean is that if he thinks you are doing what he wants, you'll be able to do more in secret. He won't be paying as much attention to you if he thinks you are being well behaved."
"You might have a point," concedes Astrid.
What does Astrid do?
[ ] She plays along with her father and trains in secret.
[ ] She defies her father and continues to train whenever she can.
[ ] (Friendship with Brunhildr) Brunhildr helps her with her lessons.
***
On another note, I found myself wanting to cover more of Torvald's childhood than what can be covered in a couple of updates. But I promised the thread there would be raiding so I'm going to give you the choice of choosing to do some childhood adventures or skip ahead to his coming of age and his raid. And if you do want childhood adventures, you want to choose what adventure hooks you follow or would you rather determine what adventures you go on via dice roll?
Childhood Adventures?
[ ] Yes to childhood adventures and let the thread pick them.
[ ] Yes to childhood adventures and choose them by dice roll.
[ ] No to childhood adventures, do backgrounds rolls and skip ahead to the raiding.
No plan voting.
What skills do you focus on? Pick two.
[ ] Swordsmanship. Father wants to teach you how to use a sword because it is the only weapon fit for a son of his.
[ ] Lightning Seidr. Continue learning to master the art of lightning seidr.
[ ] Thunder Seidr. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Thunder Seidr.
[ ] Storm Seidr. You are descended from Thor and have the potential for Storm Seidr.
[ ] Writing (Runes). You have begun to learn your runes.
[ ] Language (English). You will get Wulfwynn to teach you the words of her people.
[ ] Athletics. You like to play and race with the other kids.
[ ] Stealth. You can get around without being spotted by the older kids.
[ ] Persuasion. Keep at making friends with the other kids.
[ ] Deception. You can get away with more if you could lie better.
[ ] Intimidation. Father says that all real warriors need to be scary.
[ ] Blacksmithing. Learn how to make metal items with a forge and hammer.
[ ] Nature. There is a lot of dangerous stuff out there and knowing what is dangerous and what isn't is important.
[ ] Perception. Every warrior needs to keep an eye out, whether it is for enemies sneaking up on them or valuable loot to take.
***
First of all, no plan voting. Now with that out of the way, I've already covered the Fylgia and Childhood Adventure votes earlier in the post so I won't go over them again. I sort of have the character sheet ready, but it is waiting on the Fylgia vote and incidentally, me trying to find Torvald's Fylgia to finish the character sheet is what made me realise you hadn't chosen it yet.
I have also started using some Norse terminology for flavouring. Mechanically, everything is the same, but Familiars are now Fylgia, Body is Hamr, Mind is Hugr, Magic is Seidr and so on.
Lastly, feel free to suggest skills. I won't promise to include everything and I tried to include everything relevant I could think of, but something useful might have slipped my mind.
Please point out any spelling or grammar mistakes that you spot. Please quote them in the thread and explain what you think is wrong so I know what you are referring to.
