ODIN'S VANGUARDS

[asgardswisdom]

❧ ODIN'S VANGUARDS

Odin's vanguards are thinkers. Innovators. Inventors. Those who wish to take what exists and better it, or to invent something that doesn't yet exist, are welcome within the vanguards. Also welcome are those who wish to take some facet of the world as we know it (the various magics, for example) and experiment the boundaries of our understanding.

Each of Odin's vanguards dedicates themselves to a project of interest - one of their own choosing, or one of a few suggested by Odin himself if they lack inspiration - and through these projects, they further the technological, magical, or otherwise innovative prowess of Asgard as a whole.

Innovation is a slow and gruelling process, however, and some projects may take months to complete! Fear not, though - progress is progress, and vanguards will see the budding fruits of their labor (typically positive, though occasionally negative) at least once per month as Odin peeks in on individual projects to see where their cards have thus far fallen.


❖ how being a vanguard works:

Odin's vanguards are a scattered group, pursuing individual experimentation and research with Odin as their collective patron. Each month, head over to the Participation Sound-Off in which to let us/Odin know what your character is focusing on each month. What are they experimenting on? What are they trying to invent or improve? Do they have any concrete ideas on how to do so? The more specific you can be, the more relevant and specific we'll be able to make your discoveries, your rewards, and occasionally, your consequences. Sometime after you sound off for the month, you'll receive a response about the progress of your character's research, including any of the aforementioned rewards or consequences. Don't be discouraged if a month yields little gain - many larger projects have the potential to shape Asgard as a whole, but the means to that end are often slow and difficult.

The Vanguard Needed top-level also exists for Odin to suggest potential topics of research or intellectual pursuit. (Though these pursuits aren't actually needed, we're using this title for top-level uniformity.) Any vanguard can pick up one of these subjects for research, should they choose! Just reply to the relevant request to make sure it's known that they're doing so.

❖ relevant links:

• Vanguard Needed
  
• Participation Sound-off
  
• Odin's Vanguard Support
  
  
• God Jobs infopage (consult for links to Tip Lines)
  

Comments

SOUND OFF

[asgardswisdom]

Sound off here to let Odin know that you're actively working on a project this month! Be sure to list in your SUBJECT LINE which month you're sounding off for, for ease of organization.

Once you do, you'll receive a progress report on your project. At the time or later on, you may also receive a reply detailing a discovery—or potentially a consequence—for your vanguard as a result of their research/experimentation.

Additionally, please feel free to chat with Odin if you need support and/or insight during your studies.

March 2020

[minormends]

Over-achiever, who? Certainly not Quentin Coldwater...

Also my bad, I initially did not understand what I was supposed to be doing here, BUT. Quentin's very new, and he's definitely missing his own magic. He's interested to know more about the powers the Wanderers acquire from the gods, and the how and why about it. Where he came from everyone had a discipline they excelled at but they could still do base magic. Is there a base magic of Asgard? Or at least a base god-magic? Quentin wants to try to find it, if he can. Is he stuck with a single spell that he may or may not have learned yet, or is it possible to tap into more (or invent a whole new one), and they just haven't figured it out yet?

tl;dr hopefully i did this right second time's the charm

[asgardswisdom]

You did do it right!

If I'm understanding, he wants to know if there's a basic underlying "deity magic" that is then divided (either divided entirely like a pie or just branching off from the root magic) into each god's individual magical domains, correct?

(This is exciting. I'm excited.)

[minormends]

That's exactly it! He's looking to see if there is some sort of core deity magic that all the god magics get divided from, and seeking to understand that/how it works if so!!!

[asgardswisdom]

Just a note that this hasn't been ignored! Since this isn't a project Q would be able to finish overnight anyway, I'm taking a bit to make sure I have all of my lore straight before I toss you some Juicy Deets on the mechanics of magic as a whole.

Expect a follow-up once I've solidified that lore + what Q's research might discover and in what order. :)

[asgardswisdom]

Okay! Sorry for taking more than a month on this, it involved some back and forth about the reading of the lore none of us originated, so we had some Discussion.

So the existence of All and Everything is thanks to The Mother. While each god has their own magic that has a certain sort of vibration to it, it all stems from their creation and devotion to her. Her well of magic is essentially infinite, and flows into each god so they can manifest it in the ways that apply to their dominion. This magic then flows into the Wanderers via the gods that they've tethered to, though they have a limit to how much magic their mortal form can handle and hold. It also makes sense that this vibration would also dilute itself but still be present when comparing Wanderers from different godhauses -- for example, Tyr and Odin both contain magic from the Mother, but each has an energy unique to themselves. Thus, a Wanderer bonded to Tyr would also experience that unique vibration as compared to a Wanderer bonded to Odin.

The thing is simply that Wanderers can't sense what this difference is as it goes beyond their mortal perception -- think about it like a dog can hear sounds at frequencies that we humans can't. The same applies to Gods and Wanderers. So a Wanderer doesn't know what this difference is exactly, nor can they even feel its presence, but it does exist -- and perhaps their magic can maybe grow enough that it one day is perceptible.

Speaking more practically, it has already been proven that Wanderers can contain/control more magic than they started with, with multiple pieces of evidence pointing to this conclusion -- namely moving through their spell levels to gain new magic, as well as the recent strengthening of their spells via the Gods loosening their reigns on how much magic each Wanderer could contain. It is possible if he considers these facts, as well as asking gods about how they feel their magic and more info about the source. They'd offer up the above information, as well as say they are still unsure about the Wanderer's capability for growth when it comes to magic, namely just how far they can actually be pushed as time goes on without harm coming to their physical or mental beings.

MARCH 2020

[blackscales]

Wrathion is a crafter! He wants to explore how common enchanted items are in Asgard, and if it is possible to do such a thing here. He doesn't actually have anywhere in his power set (unless it changes) the ability to wield a property that is enchantable, traditionally, so he'd probably be first looking to see if they exist then second, looking for people who DO wield those properties and seeing what it takes to bind them to an item.

ADDENDUM

[blackscales]

Speaking of enchanted items, I feel like once this plot begins to get going his focus would not be a traditional property, but a property like... say, resistance to bad environmental magic!

His most recent canonly crafted item is Ashjra'kamas, which tl;dr is a cloak that helps you resist the Corruption of N'zoth. Which is different corruption wise (it involves a tentacle-wielding old god, for example) but a similar stylistically (it's bad, you will eventually die, you need to Resist It).

So, as briefly discussed, Wrathion will be trying to get that going once he understands what is going on.

[asgardswisdom]

Enchanted items! Love it. It actually is possible, though right now the method's a bit clunky - he literally has to bring an item to Odin in order to have Odin basically 'curse' the item with whatever lingering magic it's meant to have. That's... obviously not ideal, since it requires Odin's direct participation.

The first step might be for Odin to provide an item infused with his magic in more of a 'potential energy' form than an active one, which Wrathion is able to tap into with some sort of Active Intent (so many things in Asgard are based on intent, as it turns out) and - after some definite trial and error - he's able to craft a cloak that resists the current event's illness but also prevents any of the positive effects (blood magic spells) as well.

For more semantic details: The intent would have to be something like "use this fabric infused with concentrated magic to shield from all environmental magics", and it would continue to work against other instances of Yggdrasil fuckery. If the external magic force is ever strong enough to overwhelm the cloak's enchantment, the cloak will cease to function.

How does all that sound?

[blackscales]

Extremely late, because I am dying in this land of Work From Home Nonsense, but yeah that sounds fine to me. A generic environmental shield thing. I'll assume he only got this going on one that can be recycled as a plot device item later if need be and in the way you suggest (working with a semi-safe cursed item example to create something that resists).

He'll probably vaguely keep researching the concept of this though because dangerous magic is exciting to research.