ASGARD GENESIS - TEST DRIVE #1

[asgardmods]

the test drive meme. ❧ let's do this. Anyone can post to the test drive meme, including duplicates! Please put your character name and canon in the title of your comment. All threads are considered open to everyone! Tag around and make some friends (or enemies)! If you decide to apply to the game, you can use your TDM threads for your app samples! You only need to provide seven comments if you use TDM samples. You can't be "late" to a TDM! This will be considered open until the next one goes live next month. You can make up your own scenario, interact with one of the locations in the game, use the welcome process of your character selecting a god house, or use our optional prompt below! You do not need to pick a god house to play on the TDM! You can have your character still in the process of discussing/deciding/despairing instead. If you are accepted to the game, you can keep TDM threads as game canon as long as you fudge some of the details depending on your original thread. If you aren't sure exactly how to do this, you can always ask a mod. Reserves open on May 25 at 12:01AM PST and close on May 31 at 11:59PM PST. Applications open on June 1 at 12:01AM PST and close on June 7 at 11:59PM PST. Please always feel free to contact the mods if you have any questions! Have fun, dear (future?) Wanderers. ♥ ❧ optional scenario. As you enter Asgard proper, many of the natives have gathered into curious crowds to greet these mysterious children of the World Tree. Some of them carry baskets of flowers and nervously offer one to any Wanderers that come near. They are vibrant and colorful, picked from the wilds surrounding Asgard, and they might have an odd effect on your character if they sniff the flowers directly. Purple flowers will make your character very giggly and easily amused by everything they see and hear. Orange flowers will make your character feel very warm all over, like the sun is beating down on them directly. Blue flowers will make your character somewhat short and impatient with anything that seems like even a minor inconvenience to them. Effects of the flowers can wear off anywhere between a few minutes to an hour. And for those new to Asgard, this scenario aligns with some of the general curses we might have in the game! navigation.

Comments

[asgardsflight]

[ Oh, this delights Honir to absolutely no end. He can feel every soul that passes through these woods, because they are his in every imaginable way, and there's something wonderful about knowing someone is simply there, enjoying the space for what it is.

By the time Khaishan comes into his view, Honir is already grinning with vibrant joy. ]

Exactly! "New" is just anything you haven't seen yet, after all!

[ How's that for a nugget of wisdom, Allfather? Honir happily waves Khaishan over, gesturing to his setup as the chair pulls itself out for him and the kettle starts filling another cup of tea mid-air. ]

[desertdancer]

[That joy is honestly a bit infectious, Khaishan's smile widening in turn as he nodded his agreement.]

And there's a whole lot of new to find.

[The magic reminded him somewhat of Matoya's enchanted brooms, so wasn't too shocking even if it got a glance before he was settling into the offered seat with a murmured thanks.]

This almost reminds me of home. Coming across another family and being invited into their ger for tea, to share stories for a bit.

[asgardsflight]

[ Honir immediately sits up in his own seat the moment Khaishan mentions 'home.' As the God of Travel, there is nothing in creation he's more curious about than the worlds he will never be able to visit. ]

That sounds like the start of a story already! And it sounds so fun, I love stories. Will you tell me about it?

[desertdancer]

I don't see why not. [It had been some time since he'd seen his home, but he did miss it. Liked speaking of it.]

Well for starters, my kind doesn't live like yours do, it seems. There's all manner of races across Hydaelyn, in great sprawling cities in all manner of places, but the Xaela don't build cities. We travel in tribes, all through the Azim Steppes and the Nhaama Desert, setting our camps wherever we please. Some don't ever set up ger- they'll only ever set camp should the weather turn too foul to travel. Another tribe swims the river to migrate, instead of on horseback. Or Yol in some cases, great birds who honestly are a bit nippy for my tastes. [He smiled wryly, lifting a hand to show a years-old faded scar along the side of it, wiggling the fingers in teasing emphasis.]

I was chased farther than I'd like to admit by the one my oldest sister adopted. He was apparently very cross that I'd dared to fill the water trough in a way not to his liking.

[asgardsflight]

[ Can you see the complete and utter delight in his eyes, Khaishan? Tribes that keep moving to new places in different ways; it sounds like a dream to the God of Travel, and he laughs just a little at the story of the Yol. ]

A bird that knows what it wants! But could perhaps use some better communication skills.

[ Honir would 100% try to have a conversation with that bird. ]

It sounds like you must have seen so much of your world in your travels.

[desertdancer]

He never did come to like me much. Still side-eyes me any time my sister comes around like he's considering taking a proper chunk out of me.

[Honir is absolutely welcome to try it. Khaishan will watch and learn!





From way the hell over here.]

I have. It's... every time I think I've seen all of it, something new surprises me. Like the Sea of Clouds. The land is so infused with air-aspected aether crystals that it simply floats in the clouds like a vast white ocean. Literally, there's even fish that swim through them like currents that the beast tribes fish for food. You come up through a mountain cave system to the peaks and you certainly don't expect to see land above the cloudline.

[No matter his weariness or fears, Khaishan always did enjoy his travels. The one thing guaranteed to bring him joy, and he loved almost equally sharing stories of what he saw. Usually his rapt wide-eyed audience was the children of whatever town or village he'd come to, but Honir was as enthusiastic an audience as he could have hoped for.]

[asgardsflight]

[ The dreamy expression Honir wears as he listens seems to be a mixture of pure awe and nostalgia at the same time, somehow. He sighs and a little puff of steam poofs out of his tea cup, surprising him into taking a sip behind a sheepish laugh. ]

What I wouldn't give to see such a thing with my own eyes! Oh, and the things we have made that I wish I could show you now. The Mother has quite the imagination.

[ He could listen to these stories all day. ]

[desertdancer]

Well now!

[Khaishan couldn't help but chuckle, pointing a finger in teasing accusation over his own tea.]

You can't tell me something like that and not elaborate even a little bit!

[asgardsflight]

[ Honir claps his hands together and sits forward in his seat a little, every bit as excited as before. If there's one thing he loves as much as listening to a story, it's telling one! ]

Well! What you see here - [ a vague gesture to the forest and, presumably, the city beyond ] - is all quite new, in fact! Even this body, I used to be much... hmm, bigger.

[ For lack of a better word; there seems to be the smallest amount of humor in his eyes when he smiles about it. ]

And when we were bigger, we could shape the skies and the seas ourselves. My siblings had much more power in the ages before I was born too, I'll bet that's when they made what inspired your Sea of Clouds there!

[desertdancer]

Well, I admit I've never seen a god who didn't tower over all and sundry, so this is a change. [A good one, he hoped. He didn't get the same sense of things as he did with Primals, the bleed of life from everything around them. And they seemed welcoming enough.]

I think the Sea is attributed to Bismarck. At least the Vanu's stories say it was him. He lifted the islands into the sky to protect them and give them a peaceful place to call their own, and swims the white seas as their guardian.

[asgardsflight]

[ Oh, Khaishan, you say such wonderful things that are a boon to Honir's boundless curiosity. Has he seen other gods? What wonders exist in his colorful world? The god gives a warm little sigh. ]

Bismarck. Oh, I love it. You see, that's it exactly. All we really are are stories, in your world or in mine, and sometimes there are very obvious parallels that shine through the Mother's wild imagination. We built Asgard for the same reason, and I imagine a million gods will be doing the same thing in a million different universes in a million different ways.

[ It is, quite literally, the purpose of the World Tree. It fills Honir's heart to overflowing to hear how successful Yggdrasil has been in imagining new life for Her children across all the branches and leaves. ]

[desertdancer]

Stories are all anyone is in the end. But even then it's not really the end is it? Especially not back home... enough people know a story, enough people believe, and that story lives again.

[Unfortunately said stories tend to cause all sorts of trouble when they end up with Primals, but that's definitely not the part to talk about here.]

Xaela don't have a written language. All our histories and legends, everything is passed in song and spoken stories. You can tell what tribe someone learned a story from based on how they tell it. The details focused on, if it's a happy tale or a sad one.

[asgardsflight]

[ Oh, be still his immense and purely conceptual heart! ]

I could spend an eon listening to your songs and tales! But - oh!

[ A small, delighted clap of his hands as an idea hits him. ]

Mimir is collecting such beautiful things, so we might share a glimpse into what a life might look like across the broad scope of creation. I feel like we could learn so much from your Xaela, if you were willing to share with us a bit!

[ "Learning" is a secondary motivation; mostly he wants to keep a piece of this beautiful culture to admire for himself for the rest of time! ]

[desertdancer]

[Whatever troubles the Au Ra might bear? To share stories made them seem lesser, especially with such an absolutely enraptured audience. The suggestion had Khaishan's interest piqued, head tilting in consideration.]

I'd be happy to help. What sort of things is Mimir collecting? [It would be better to contribute something different, so they don't end up with endless variations on one thing after all, especially if looking to share the spectrum of different cultures.]

[asgardsflight]

Anything you want to share! Or even anything you might like to see again yourself. We can make - oh, what's the word for it - a copy? Or at least a miniature version of something from your memories.

[ He seems terribly excited about this, then remembers to add: ]

With your permission, of course!

[desertdancer]

Truly?

[Khaishan can't help but chuckle, brows lifting.]

There's so many good options, if you're able to copy a memory like that!

[asgardsflight]

We could try it right now, if you'd like. If you think of something small, I can take a peek and do my best!

[desertdancer]

Alright, let's give it a shot! I just picture it in my mind then?

[It wasn't a hard thing to do, Khaishan had always been better at thinking visually. If it did work, Honir would be getting a bracelet for his troubles, a pair of dragons, silver and a gold twisting around each other, grasping a moon and sun in their claws respectively.]

[asgardsflight]

[ Honir bounces in his seat a little, his excitement barely contained, and reaches up almost like he's plucking something from thin air. The bracelet appears in his hand and he marvels at it with joy for a second before delicately handing it to Khaishan with a grin. ]

Something like that?

[ It might not be the exact size it's meant to be. It's almost certainly a lot cleaner than the real thing, if it's even possible. But it is otherwise a near perfect replica of what he held in that memory. ]

[desertdancer]

Yes!

[Khaishan's smile is pure delight at the display, accepting the bracelet to turn over in his hands, looking at the detail, and laughing when he spots the small mark stamped on the inner band.]

It's even got his maker's mark, right here!

[asgardsflight]

[ Honir's own delight is spurred on by Khaishan's, making a little 'ooh!' at his observation and leaning a little closer for a peek. ]

Who is he? And who is his maker?