AUGUST INTRO LOG: MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE

[asgardmods]

Who: EVERYONE
What: the August intro log and first god house competition, More Than Meets the Eye
When: August 8
Where: Gladsheim Palace for breakfast, around Asgard for the game/curse
Rating: PG-13; please take anything higher than this to a private log!

morning: a warm invitation

Everyone wakes up to a friendly invitation to breakfast at the castle with the gods. For most of you, this comes as a message on your bracelet, reading:

Join us at the castle today to welcome some new Wanderers into our midst. Breakfast will be served and a lively game will be available to all of our guests, both new and old.

New Wanderers are curious on their own, and this is the first there's ever been mention of a game. Perhaps it's enough for you to make the trek to the castle, to see what all the fuss is about, or maybe even to see if there's someone you know. Perhaps you want to learn more about the game, or maybe you just want the food.

For our new guests, this comes as a bit more of a surprise. Wherever you were before in your world, without even realizing it, you wake up in a strange new place. No time or space inbetween, just an awareness of There and then Here. A matronly figure tries to explain your circumstances with a sympathetic smile, but ultimately invites you meet them all for yourselves: the Gods of Asgard, and the Wanderers that arrived before you.



The sight that greets you on the castle grounds is a rather festive one, regardless of where you're coming from. Colorful streamers and flags are draped above large tables with room for several guests. Natives bustle about, cheerfully offering food and drinks to anyone that wants some. Everyone is welcomed to mingle and greet the new Wanderers on this bright summer morning.

the game: a friendly competition

Among the brightly decorated tables are ones highlighted in a specific color for a specific god house, and most of the gods themselves can be found sitting behind it with a few of their district's natives. They are here to welcome the new Wanderers into Asgard - but they're also here to explain the rules of today's game. There are coins hidden throughout the city and disguised as mundane items, and the god house that returns the most of their coins will win an upgrade to their god housing! No hints will be given, but the natives are excited to help facilitate the activity and happily invite you to wander through their districts to find what you can.

But you don't have to know about the rules to be playing the game! The coins are already hidden throughout the city, and no one knows what they are until they've been picked up. Whether you're banding together with friends to find as many coins as you can or blindly stumbling over an unpleasant surprise, the game and the curse are in full swing!

evening: a fair prize

At sundown, all of the coins in the city disappear at once, whether they're in your pocket or still disguised as a bowl. Points will be tallied and a winner will be announced (OOCly, on August 17) - but Asgardians are keen to celebrate regardless of who wins a rather inconsequential game. The same colorful display of tables and chairs is still spread across the castle grounds, although now they twinkle with fairy lights haphazardly blinking throughout the air. Snacks and drinks are made available, as well as more dinner-shaped meals for those that request it. Mostly the natives simply want to bask in the strangeness of these Wanderers from other worlds for a moment longer - but they're also eagerly listening to any stories from the day's mischievous game. Relax, enjoy yourself, or again, just stock up on some freely served food. Whatever suits your needs today. Welcome to Asgard, dear Wanderers.

[ OOC NOTE: This is the intro log for August, as well as our first god house competition/curse: More Than Meets the Eye. You are free to play with the curse prompts and searching the city in any way you want! If you would like to submit a map to earn points for your god house, please check out the rules to learn what to do. We will accept maps until August 17, at which point a winner will be announced and members of that god house will be allowed to vote for an upgrade to their god housing. As always, please let us know if you have any questions or need any help on the mod contact page. Enjoy, friends! ]

Comments

[asgardsflight]

[ He makes a hmm sound, nose scrunched a little. ]

I don't know what a Valyrian is, but I think I can make the bread!

[ In fact, when he lifts his hand to her, there's already a platter of assorted "breads with fruit in the middle." He's not 100% sure what she was referring to in specific, but these should be pretty good. Hopefully. Maybe. ]

[listofnames]

[Oh. That's a lot of bread.

It seems a bit like a waste of a request, unless all he was going to be providing anyone was food. Arya looks over the platter, picking one out in each hand in case he decides to pull the tray away.]

Thanks.

[Will it be too much to try again? She doesn't want to wear out this god's hospitality, but she had said she'd give this a try.]

I'm serious about the weapons, though. Even if it's not immediate. There are those who've been concerned about future threats like that oversized dragon.

[asgardsflight]

[ He does pull his hand away after she grabs a few, but the platter remains in place where it was, midair. Seeming to give it no further attention, Honir hums in consideration for a second, scrunching his nose. ] ]

I'm not really the best at weapons, but I can try to help! She was a rather mean one, that dragon, and you Wanderers were so brave.

[ There's a short moment where he goes a little moon-eyed, distracted by the memory, before turning back to her with an earnest curiosity. ]

So what makes a weapon "stronger"? Is it Valyria? Because I don't have one of those, but maybe we can make one.

[listofnames]

[Arya's opinion of her assigned deity isn't improving much over the course of this conversation. If he's putting on a show of ignorance then it's a very good one.

He doesn't know what Valyrian steel is, which means he doesn't know much or anything about her world's history. That lends more credence to the idea of their arrivals being accidental, but it isn't encouraging. And his overall attitude is, well, not as serious as she'd expected or hoped for.

If this is one of the faces of the Man-Faced-God, then he's an extraordinary actor.]

Valyrian steel is enchanted. There haven't been any new weapons of that sort created for at least four hundred years. If you don't know how to craft it I wouldn't risk botching it up.

[She reaches for the dagger at her belt, pulling it free of its sheath and holding it out toward him handle first.]

This is all I have by way of example.

[Jon has a sword made of it as well, but she's not one to go around giving away how others are armed.]

[asgardsflight]

[ The moment she offers the blade, Honir's eyes go wide and bright with an immediate curiosity. He takes the handle in one hand and pinches the tip of the blade with the other, observing both sides closely. ]

Oh, wow! This has been to so many different places!

[ He runs a finger along the edge of the blade, then grips the handle and flips it around his hand in one motion, catching it by the blade and offering the handle back to her with a cheerful smile. How fun! ]

I can't make it the way they made it, but I can at least make another of this one. It's definitely got magic in it, and our magic may be different, but it's also… hm, bigger?

[ No, that's not the right word. Stronger? Definitely yes, but that's still not quite right. He wrinkles his nose. ]

It's different, I'll say.

[listofnames]

[Arya doesn't like handing over the dagger, but having him look at it is her best chance of getting him to tell her if he knows the material. If he'd wanted it for himself, he could have taken it when she was first brought here. To someone who considered themself a god, a single weapon was likely nothing.

When he hands it back she accepts it graciously but immediately returns it to its sheath.]

You're saying you can copy it? Would it be made of the exact same materials?

[If he can do that, can he not improvise the materials into something like a sword?]

[asgardsflight]

Well, that's part of how it's different.

[ He purses his lips for a moment, trying to think of how to explain this. ]

The magic used to make that blade started here, so what I can make will be more like… if you took the magic it was made with, and the magic those that forged it were made of, and the magic that created the world it was forged in, and… a lot more in between.

[ Honir smiles haplessly and shrugs, knowing that's not terribly specific. She's a difficult one to describe, Yggdrasil. ]

That's what it'd be made of! Not quite the same material, but a bigger version of it!

[ Still not the right word, but it's the only one he has right now so he'll roll with it. :(b ]