Magic:

A: Laplandish Shamanism

Shamanism is centred around the use of totems. In the Saami traditions, the Noaide (priest) used drums to communicate with spirits. Animals in their environment is chosen as totems. Bear, Eagle, Wolf, Reindeer are but a few of them. The Noaide is a highly respected member of the society.

Certain areas are more magical than others. Burial sites and battlefields, ancient or modern, are continuously updated, and registered. The most holy place is the highest mountain in Scandinavia, Kebnekaijse. There are also areas of Wild Magic.

A1: Wild Magic

Wild Magic is something unexplainable. Neither the scientific community nor the magical community can find the reasons for the occurring areas of Wild Magic. The areas cover small patches here and there, and they move from season to season. Some say these areas are controlled by the ancient Norse gods, Odin, Thor and so on. And a great following has started. No proof has been found for any such connection yet.

Wild Magic is hazardous to the extreme. Spells or spirits caught inside a wild magic area may continue to blaze until the area decide to move on someplace else, or the spell gets distorted out of proportion. A simple spell might become dangerous, both for the intended target, and the caster himself. Watchers entering such an area simply vanish, banished from this world. These areas are hard to locate, as you mostly notice something wrong as you stepped inside an area. Magically active have reported similarities between these areas and the feeling of leaving the Gaia sphere on a suborbital flight to Japan, or UCAS.

One such area is rather clearly defined. The top of Kebnekaijse is a fairly stable wild magic, and recent discoveries indicate that the other areas rotate in a circle, with Kebnekaijse as the centre.

A2: Toxic Shamans

However well they care for the environment, poisons and pollution do appear in Lapland. The Hurricane that left so much of Denmark and the Netherlands devastated, also dumped a lot of sludge along the Norwegian Atlantic coast, and some has followed the Gulf Stream to the Northern coast of Lapland. Other areas are where fierce battles have occurred between the Laplandish forces and the Scan Fed. Toxic spirits, and shamans conjuring them exists here, trying to spread these areas. They are fiercely hunted by the Saami shamans.

B: Norse Mythology:

In the beginning there was cold and heat

The way to the North - Norway - has always been regarded as a route that is hard to find, difficult to tread and fraught with unspeakable dangers. To the writers of ancient Greece and Rome Norway was a mythical world - Ultima Thule, peopled by wild barbarians and full of strange and fantastic creatures.

Go here for more information on Norse Mythology.

Norse Magical Tradition

Norse magic is divided into two main branches: galdor, the use of runes, and seidr, shamanic techniques for achieving trances and astral projection. Norse magicians follow the Aesir (the Norse gods) and make use of runes in their magic.

TRADITIONS

Norse magicians are shamans who follow the idols of Odin/Wotan as Sky Father or Wild Huntsman, Thor as the Dragonslayer, Freya as the Great Mother, Loki as Trickster and Tyr as the Wise Warrior. Some Norse shamans are pantheistic, serving all the Aesir equally. "Berserker" adepts are also common.

TOOLS AND TRAPPINGS

The Norse Futhark runes are drawn, carved, spoken and chanted to make magic. Trance states and astral quests are common, as is the use of runes for divination. Common ritual elements include trances, shaking or dancing, libations of mead or blood and torches.

Dragonslayer

This most heroic of idols is also the most fun-loving. Though he fights to protect his own against all dangers, he loves a good party even more. He is a big brother who takes a friendly interest in everything his family does. Though sometimes anive, he makes a staunch friend and a deadly enemy. The dragons he slays have changed with the times. In addition to the literal dragons of legend, the Dragonslayer also fights such modern-day monsters as crime, pollution and corruption. Dragonslayer shamans fight hard and play hard. Once the shaman has given his loyalty, he never breaks it. A Dragonslayer shaman must behave with honor and respect and demands the same from those around him.
ENVIRONMENT: Anywhere on land
ADVANTAGES: +3 dice for combat spells, +1 die for hearth spirits
DISADVANTAGES: -1 die for illusion and detection spells

Great Mother

The Great Mother is the embodiment of life-giving nature, giving her bounty freely to all who need it. Those who mistake her generosity for weakness are asking for trouble. Like any mother, she fights to the death to protect her children. Followers of Great Mother are healers, both of the body and the spirit; they cannot refuse aid to anyone who needs it. Shamans of the Great Mother follow the strictest moral code. They must fight against the forces of corruption, whether they be environmental, social, political or magical.
ENVIRONMENT: Anywhere on land
ADVANTAGES: +2 dice for health spells, +2 die for field and forest spirits and all spirits of the waters
DISADVANTAGES: -2 dice when in the presence of corruption

Sky Father

The Sky Father is the masculine counterpart of the Great Mother. He is the patriarch many say eclipsed the worship of the earth godess over time. He is known for his clear sight and rulership over all he surveys as well as the terrible power that his mastery of the sky conveys. Lightning and thunder are his weapons, and nothing in the world escapes his view from his high throne.
ENVIRONMENT: Anywhere under the open sky
ADVANTAGES: +2 dice for detection and manipulation spells, +2 dice for storm spirits
DISADVANTAGES: +2 to all target numbers if the shaman is entrapped or bound in anyway.

Trickster

The Trickster is the clever one, swift of mind and body, master of disguises and deception. He is always thinking up new pranks and ways to outwit his enemies rahter than fighting them. He prefers to work in the service of others, turning and stealing behind their backs when they aren't looking. His tricks can often backfire, resulting in trouble for everyone, but the Trickster's cleverness always wins out in the end.
ENVIRONMENT: Anywhere
ADVANTAGES and DISADVANTAGES: None

Wild Huntsman

An outsider even among the Idols, the Wild Huntsman walks the thin line between sanity and madness, but his frenzy hides an intimate knowledge of the sacred mysteries. As the Idol who gave the intoxicating Cup of Knowledge, the Wild Hntsman is the patron of poets and artists along with numerous secret and esoteric cults. Wild Huntsman shamans are unpredictable. Sometimes half-crazy, often unkempt, they may not sleep or eat for days while in the thrall of a particular idea or emotion.
ENVIRONMENT: Forest, mountains or plains
ADVANTAGES: +2 dice for detection and illusion spells, +2 dice for storm spirits
DISADVANTAGES: Wild Huntsman shamans can go berserk in combat in the same way as Bear shamans

Wise Warrior

The Wise Warrior is skilled in the art of war, for battle is an art to her, and excersise in the powers of the mind as well as the body. She studies the tactics of her foes and overcomes them through the combination of superior strategy and battle prowess. The Wise Warrior does not act out of savagery or battle-lust but from a position of knowledge and wisdom. Shamans of this Idol must follow the warrior's code of honor and conduct themselves properly or risk the loss of favor.
ENVIRONMENT: Urban
ADVANTAGES: +2 dice for combat and detection spells, +2 dice for resisting all damaging spells
DISADVANTAGES: -1 die for illusion spells

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