[color=darkgray][CENTER][COLOR=SLATEGRAY][B]C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A L[/B][/COLOR][color=7491a4][h1][b]T H O R[/b][/h1][/color][b][sub][i]"I desire my death now. The disir call me home, Whom Óđin hastens onward From his hall, to take me. On the high bench, boldly, Beer I’ll drink with the gods; Hope of life is lost now — Laughing I shall die!"[/i] [color=7491a4]R A G N A R L O Đ B R Ó K[/color][/sub][/b] [img]https://i.imgur.com/B5KMMlL.jpg[/img][h3][sup][sub][color=darkgray]T H E T H U N D E R E R [color=7491a4]♦[/color] L O C A T I O N U N K N O W N [color=7491a4]♦[/color] F O R M E R L Y O F T H E A E S I R[/color][/sub][/sup][/h3][img]IMAGE/BANNER[/img] [/CENTER][COLOR=7491a4][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][center][b][sub][i]"I am tired, Heimdall. All of the half-truths, the lies... I did not wish to come back here."[/i] [color=7491a4]T H O R[/color][/sub][/b][/center] [INDENT][INDENT]A millennium ago, the last of the pagan Northmen renounced their beliefs in the Aesir and the Vanir. The death of the great jӧtunn, Ymir, was replaced by Genesis; Valhǫll and Hel replaced by Heaven and Hell; the world tree, Yggdrasil, all but discarded; and the many gods and goddesses of Ásgarđr replaced by just one, the Christ-God. But there was a time before, when the Northmen still sailed to conquer new lands, that they would worship the cunning Óđin, the mighty Thor, the beautiful Freyja and mischievous Loki. Their stories would be passed on from parent to child, warrior to warrior, farmer to farmer – and although the truths in these stories would get lost amid retellings and revisions, there were those who knew them well. Those such as Ragnar Lođbrók, legendary king of the Danes, and friend to Rymr – who, illuminated by hearthfire and as impassioned as in battle, would tell his sons the true stories of the gods. [indent][i]“Thor is the god of thunder; the son of the All-Father, Óđin, and the jӧtunn woman, Jӧrđ. He is the protector of the Aesir, sworn guardian of Ásgarđr, and wielder of the great hammer, Mjölnir. He was born with hair as red as blood and bright as flames, his eyes as blue as lightning; and as he grew from boy to man his body changed into that of a great warrior, his godly strength proving to be greater than both the Aesir’s and the Vanir’s combined. Long ago, when his youthful energy was more explosive than the thunderous sky, he was gifted with his first weapon by the dwarves of Niđavellir – Járnbjӧrn, the battle axe. With it he honed his skills as a warrior, and battled many a jӧtunn, until he became known as their scourge. “His home is Bilskirnir, the largest hall in Ásgarđr; his realm, Thruđheimr. He shares it with Sif, his wife, the goddess of grain and harvest, and his children: Magni, Mođi, Thruđr, and his stepson, Ullr. He has travelled deep into Jotunheim, and emerged victorious. He has bested Útgarđa-Loki, and killed Hrungnir. He blesses us on our raids in faraway lands, and gives us fertile soil so that we may last the harsh winter. With Mjölnir, most powerful weapon in all the Nine Realms, he is fiercer than storms; with us, on Miđgarđr, he is good, and gentle, and terrible. He is Thor. He is our friend. Destined is he to kill the Midgard Serpent, Jörmungandr... just as the Serpent is destined to kill him, when Ragnarök comes, destroying everything, and everyone.” [/i][/indent] But there is something that not Ragnar, not the Northmen, not even the Gods accounted for. Thor is not in Ásgarđr anymore.[/indent][/indent] [COLOR=7491a4][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT]This isn't Kirby and Lee's Thor. Asgard (rendered as Ásgarđr) isn't a grand, golden metropolis, and its gods aren't extra-dimensional aliens. They are [i][b]gods[/b][/i]. This Thor has a much firmer basis in the original Norse myths, grounding him in what I believe is a far more epic, and at the same time personal interpretation of the Aesir. Thor has divorced himself from Ásgarđr and the rest of the gods at the start of our story. No one knows where he is. All anyone can say is that he left, leaving behind his family and his people for Miđgarđr, to live among the mortals [i]–[/i] and that if it were up to him, he’d never come back. Unfortunately for him, Fate has other plans. Thor’s going to find himself drawn back into the mythical world of the Aesir, confronting the demons of their past while preparing for their future. Fate waits for no one, after all, and although it can be delayed, Ragnarök is set in stone. For the purposes of this concept, the mortal world is unaware of the gods’ existence [i]– [/i]as far as humanity knows, the Norse, the Greco-Romans, the Egyptians, the Abrahamic God, and the world’s other deities are pure myth and scripture. The only footprints these gods have left on the world lie in their stories, traditions and beliefs. As humanity is going to find out, though... the gods are [i]very [/i]real. And they will all have a part to play.[/indent][/indent] [COLOR=7491a4][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT][hider=The Aesir][b]Baldr[/b], god of purity and brother of Thor. [b]Bragi[/b], poet of Valhǫll, husband of Iđunn. [b]Forseti[/b], the law god, son of Baldr and Nanna and nephew of Thor. [b]Freyja[/b], the beautiful Vanir goddess of love, wealth and fertility, leader of the Valkyrjur, and a powerful practitioner of [i]seiđr[/i] magic. [b]Freyr[/b], brother of Freya, Vanir god of fertility and ruler of Álfheimr, realm of the light elves. [b]Frigg[/b], wife of Óđin, practitioner of magic – vӧlva. [b]Heimdall[/b], brother of Thor, watchman of the gods, and guardian of Bifröst, the bridge that connects Ásgarđr and Miđgarđr. [b]Hermođr[/b], messenger of the gods, brother of Thor. [b]Hođr[/b], the blind god, son of Óđin. [b]Iđunn[/b], the keeper of the Fruits of Immortality, the keys to the Aesir’s longevity. [b]Loki[/b], the trickster jӧtunn, and blood brother of Óđin. [b]Magni[/b], [b]Mođi[/b] and [b]Thruđr[/b], children of thunder. [b]Mimir[/b], beheaded counselor of the gods. [b]Njorđr[/b], Vanir god of the sea, and father of Freyja and Freyr. [b]Óđin[/b], All-Father of the Aesir; wily, manipulative and obsessed with Fate. God of poetry, war and the gallows, patron of rulers and outlaws. [b]Sif[/b], goddess of grain and harvest, and the estranged wife of Thor. Her beauty is second only to Freya's. [b]Týr[/b], god of war and justice, brother of Thor. The One-Handed. Among the fiercest of the Aesir. [b]Ullr[/b], son of Sif, god of the hunt. [b]Vali[/b], son of Óđin and the jӧtunn, Rindr. [b]Viđar[/b], the silent god. [b]Vili and Vé[/b], brothers of Óđin.[/hider] [hider=The Mortals][b]Agnar[/b], [b]Björn[/b], [b]Eirik[/b], [b]Hvítserk[/b], [b]Ívar[/b], [b]Rognvald[/b], [b]Sigurđ[/b], and [b]Ubba[/b], the sons of Ragnar. [b]Barbára Nórisdóttir[/b], a nineteen year-old girl from Reykjavik, Iceland. [b]Jane Foster[/b], a doctor who's made friends with the man she calls Donald Blake, often visiting him on his property. [b]Ragnar Lođbrók[/b], a king of the Danes. [b]Thjálfi[/b] and [b]Röskva[/b], Thor's former servants from a time long past. [/hider][/indent][/indent] [COLOR=7491a4][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]S A M P L E P O S T:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT][hider=] [color=darkgray][center][color=7491a4][h1][b]S A G A[/b][/h1][/color][sup]C H A P T E R O N E : [b][color=a48574]T H E M A N C A L L E D D O N A L D B L A K E[/color][/b][/sup][/center][hr] [center][b][sub][i]"He knows alone who has wandered wide, and far has fared on the way, what manner of mind a man doth own who is wise of head and heart."[/i] [color=7491a4]H Á V A M Á L S A Y I N G S O F T H E H I G H O N E[/color][/sub][/b][/center] [indent][/indent] [indent] [/indent][/color] [/hider][/indent][/indent] [COLOR=7491a4][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]P O S T C A T A L O G:[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT][color=7491a4][sub][b]▼ B O O K O N E : S A G A[/b][/sub][/color] [color=7491a4][sub][sup]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/sup][/sub][/color] [/indent][indent][indent]01. The Man Called Donald Blake[/indent][/indent][/indent] [hider=Note][COLOR=7491a4][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]N O T E :[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT]I’ve been somewhat selective with the renderings of Old Norse names here. Many are anglicised, but most are written in ways that better represent how they may have been pronounced during the Iron Age. With the latter, you’ll likely see this letter, [i]đ[/i], representing the sound of a soft [i]th[/i]. This means that [i]Óđin[/i], for example, is pronounced [i]Othin[/i] instead of [i]Odin[/i], which is pretty wild – but it’s the more accurate pronunciation of the two, so you’ll either have to get used to it or keep reading it as [i]Odin[/i], I dunno, I’m not the boss of you. Now, in the Eddic texts and Old Norse in general, some instances of [i]th[/i] are rendered as [i]ð[/i], but given that it looks whack in Arial and is prone to getting confused with [i]o[/i], I’ve gone with its less common straight-backed version [i]đ[/i] as a compromise. I’m not just pulling all this out of my arse, I promise – I have Old Norse specialist [url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCXCxNFxw6iq-Mh4uIjYvufg][color=a48574]Dr. Jackson Crawford[/color][/url] to thank, who also uses [i]đ[/i] in his translations and is a gift to humanity who should be cherished always. Thanks, Daddy Crawford. [/indent][/indent] [/hider] [hider=Glossary][COLOR=7491a4][INDENT][B][SUP][SUB][H3]G L O S S A R Y :[/H3][/SUB][/SUP][/B][/INDENT][hr][/COLOR][INDENT][INDENT]A list of the Old Norse words and phrases used by Thor and the rest of the Aesir, updated regularly as they appear in-story. [color=7491a4][sub][b]W O R D S[/b][/sub][/color] [color=7491a4][sub][sup]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/sup][/sub][/color] [indent] --- [/indent] [color=7491a4][sub][b]P H R A S E S[/b][/sub][/color] [color=7491a4][sub][sup]▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔[/sup][/sub][/color] [indent] --- [/indent] [/indent][/indent] [/hider] [right][sub][i]Artwork by [b]Maximilian Jasionowski[/b][/i][/sub][/right][/color]