Midgard

Midgard was an attempt by Jon Reeves to create a vast, cross-genre mythos around the Creatures 2 games. It interconnected with the events of all three Creatures games, introduced several new Shee-created species (most notable of which was the Jotun) and spanned several thousand years in total.

As mentioned in the Scorpio Norn origin story, the Shee had other worlds that they used for experimentation. They covered a range of environments and climates, as to allow the Shee to "test" their creations better. Some were short-lived experiments to see if different types of disc world life could cope on spherical worlds, others were longer, more ongoing experiments. Only a few worlds managed to survive after the Shee relocation: Albia, Hades, Avalon, Olympia, Terra Nornia, Elyssia and Midgard.

Albia, Hades and Terra Nornia were disc worlds, all of which degraded in some way after the Shee left. Albia suffered a volcanic eruption that destablised the whole planet until it was revived. Hades remained a vast, untamed desert that was very unforgiving to the Norns it harboured. Terra Nornia was left as a complete wilderness, untouched until the Handish converted it for their own purposes.

Avalon, Olympia and Elyssia were spherical worlds, inhabited by small, scattered Nornish groups. Avalon was, quite rightly, called the "garden world" after its beautiful meadows and groves. Olympia was a world of mountains and oceans, covered in vast archipelagoes stretching as far as the eye could see, and also inhabited by small enclaves of Norns. Elyssia was covered from pole to pole in lucious jungle, making it the greenest and most fertile planet for lightyears.

However, these three as well all suffered disasters, far worse than those which affected the disc worlds. Avalon was lost to the Borg Norns, who replaced the natural gardens with endless metal hives, turning the planet into a vast base for their Collective. Olympia was lost forever when an alien ship impacted its sun, causing it to go nova and wipe out the entire system in a catclysm of fire and fury. Last, Elyssia was invaded by the alien Fiends, giant amorphous blobs that live only to feed on whatever organic matter they can find. The planet was left a bare, lifeless rock drifting in space.

Midgard, however, was different, and avoided whatever disaster fate may have had in store for it. It was the creation of Jal'ak Kal'is, known as the Golden Shee. Unlike most Shee, who were blue-skinned, Jal'ak possessed a near-luminous yellow skin, as well as a massive intellect still unrivaled by any of his contemporaries. Despite his brilliance, he was derided by the scientific community for his wild theories on prehistoric Albia and the importance of the old religions now long forgotten in the wake of science and logic.

The Midgard Project
Somehow, for reasons completely unknown, Jal'ak managed to win favour with the Science Council (the ruling body of the Shee) and get a chance to put his life's work into action. He was to lead an expedition to a nearby spherical world in order to conduct various experiments on the effects of sphere worlds on the brewing and consumption of tea. Jal'ak accepted this duty and promptly ignored it, instead using the planet as the basis for his plans. It was to become Midgard.

Using a variety of devices he had designed and built himself, he and his team crafted the planet to exact specifications. As time progressed, it became more and more apparent that the tea experiments were never going to happen, and gradually his team began to leave. Only a few remained, curious to see where it was all leading. Among them was Lais Mor'is, Jal'ak's fifth cousin (on his mother's side), one of the brightest gengineers of the age.

Most notable about the Midgard project was Jal'ak's use of genomes. The Norns and Ettins he brought to the planet were especially hardy and strong, capable of surviving on their own without outside help. Also, in a bold move that shocked many Shee into leaving, he deliberately released the most vicious and intelligent breed of Grendels onto the planet. Further species followed, including the powerful Gargoyles and terrifying dragons. All were specifically designed to mimic the mythological creatures Jal'ak had spent a lifetime studying.

Finally, in an audacious move, he created thirteen super-powerful Norns to guard over the planet. Each was based on one of the old gods of Albia:


 * Fai, the God of Fire, capable of bathing in molten lava and controlling any source of heat with his mind.
 * Imshi, the God of the Oceans, whose hydrokinetic abilities can affect every ocean and sea on the planet.
 * Rela, the God of the Forests, with an organo-empathic link to all plant life on the planet.
 * Maki, the God of Chaos, whose probability-affecting powers can disrupt space/time on an unfathomable scale.
 * Arantol, the God of Ice, whose powers are the exact counter to Fai's.
 * Seraf, the God of Storms, a meteokinetic with absolute control over the weather.
 * Vadaeus, the God of Time, who can move through the fourth dimension as easily as the other three.
 * Laex, the God of Light, who can bring order and serenity to any creature via powerful telepathic abilities.
 * Korag, the God of Rock, a geokinetic mutant half-bonded with the substance he can control.
 * Frinnae, the Desert Goddess, posessing strong telekinetic control over the scorching sands and howling desert winds.
 * Laeynn, the Shadow Goddess, who serves as the balance between good and evil with powerful mind control abilities.
 * Aelin, the Moon Goddess, a radiokinetic who can control and focus the emissions of Midgard's radioactive moon.
 * Jyann, the Sun Goddess, bonded with the living soul of Midgard's sun.

This was the last straw for the remaining Shee who doubted Jal'ak, and they fled back to the Science Council with damning evidence. The Science Council sent a small expedition to recall Jal'ak and the others, so the Golden Shee could stand trial for creating such creatures, but they were nowhere to be found. They had not left, and no device could detect their presence on the planet below. They had simply vanished into thin air. Uneasy by this chilling discovery, and the presence of the "God" Norns on the planet below, the Shee gave Jal'ak up for dead and left the Midgard system for good.

The Abandonment
For a long time, Midgard was in chaos. The enclaves of Norns, Ettins and even Grendels were alone on a planet unlike any of the others. There were no buildings, no gardens, no machines to make their lives easier. They had nothing at their disposal but their own two hands. Under another set of circumstances, they would have surely died. Luckily, however, they had two things on their side.

First was the gods, who were all genetically bound to Midgard. Not one of them could ever bring harm to the planet, though their personal definition of "harm" varied. They helped in whatever way they could, using planted knowledge given to them by Jal'ak. Their primary purpose was to help all the creatures of Midgard live and thrive as best they could, for the moment at least.

Second was the Jotun, the fourth race created by the Shee. Twice the size of a Norn, with almost ten times the strength, they served their masters as bodyguards and heavy lifters. Jal'ak had left several willing groups on the surface of the planet, transferring their loyalty from him and the other Shee to the Norns. They not only defended the other creatures from the wild animals and monsters that roamed the planet, but also taught them to defend themselves.