The Game of the Gods, by Limyaael, is a Parody Sue story about The Lord of the Rings, but also using elements of The Hobbit and The Silmarillion. The two gods, Morgoth and Varda, play a game. Morgoth creates Mary Sues and inserts them into Middle-earth. Varda imposes reality, logic, canon.Varda wins if the Sue dies. Yes, she dies, trapped by her own stupidity or impossible existence.
Introduction, Rules, and Notes.
This is based at the end of the first movie, and the elapsed time between then and the second movie. It may contain reference to things that happened in the first TV series. It may contain book references commonly used. It may contain some Norse mythology. It will also have some things I just made up as I go along.
This is my first Dragon Fanfic. I like to explain a few thoughts before we dive into the story. I try not to spoil much, and if you want, you can just skip this. I tend to put down a few things bouncing around in my brain.
I start with ideas and notes months before I write the final version. Sometimes, things don't mesh as well as I like. I remove, add, or change things, and then have to change some more. Even after I publish some chapters, something needs work later. Hence the occasional delays.
Also, I am doing like most. I am picking bits and pieces of Norse mythology here. The stories are beautiful, but complicated. I'm picking a few things here and there, and filling in a few different things. Please don't use it as an excuse to 'educate me' on my technical errors.
(UPDATE PART)
I started expanding my ideas on this before the sequel came out, and found some of it quite outdated. I had to go through a hundred or so pages and change a bit. I apologize for anything that may have gotten lost. It's like when you read the earliest stories, and you see a hundred different names for Astrid's dragon. The real name hadn't been spoken yet.
In my original intro I stated I don't really use OCs. Well, as this started to flesh out, I realized I needed more real people. The Gods, of course, are historical, so Loki, Odin, Freya, and the rest of the Asgard crowd are okay. But with a lot of guys and only two female characters, things didn't work out. So I introduced Berta and Thessa. I'm not saying there may not be more.
I am thankful for the encouraging notes from people. That's why I do it, really. To entertain you.
I look at some of my own writing and think; 'Whoa!'. I must have been reading too many detective novels, or even romantic novels. If I stray too far into 'M rated' territory, please remind me. Wouldn't want to get banned. This has considerably more 'adult situation' talk than my other current work. And some of this is quite toned down from the original notes.
(End Update)
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I try to stay within the canon of the world of HtTYD. I do not do alternate worlds, time travel, or major characters that never existed. That said, in the movie, other than an occasional line, there were only eight main characters. For my tale, there will be more people involved than that. I will not claim them as original characters of my own devise. Just think of them as expanded supporting roles. They were there in the movie, just not speaking. After all, you can't flesh out a plot without other people.
My story begins on the day of the battle of Dragon Island, and the death of the Queen. (That's my term. I believe most refer to her as the Red Death) With a few short time skips, it continues over the first few years.
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I'm going to take this time to throw in a few historical notes. Viking culture has fascinated me since the third grade. It may have something to do why I love this movie so much. The dragon's head ships, colorful shields lined down the sides… the raids, with pillaging, and looting, and all kinds of fun stuff… Well, that fascinated me more than cowboys and race cars.
Now I am not trying to tear down the movie by any means. Most of the facts would be a bit complex for young ones, anyway. I'm just going to explain what I noticed about some things. For the sake of continuity, I won't change the story to match history. But read… maybe you'll pick up a few fun facts!
Naming: The names were wrong, but to follow history would have required a long explanation. The names in some of the Nordic countries were eventually anglicized over the centuries. The Norse people did not have surnames. A person was identified by their family line. As towns grew larger, and peoples mingled more, and the Viking ways died away, eventually surnames were adopted. What do I mean?
Here's an example. A common Norse name was your given name, and your 'last name' identified your family. Therefore 'Bill Anderson', to a Viking, would mean; 'Bill, son of Ander'. That is why so many Anglo-Saxon names end in '-son' today. Not a universal rule, but common.
But the female part has been totally left out over the centuries, for the simple reason of paperwork. Take Astrid, for instance. She is named as Astrid Hofferson. But isn't she a girl? Her name would really be Astrid Hofferdottr (provided her Father's name really was Hoffer). Guess where we got the word daughter from? I believe Iceland is the only land that may do this today. And yes, Tuffnut and Ruffnut would have different last names.
Culture: Don't flame me, but they didn't call themselves Vikings all the time. What we refer to as Vikings covers a general area of geography during a period of time. They included the Danes, Norsemen, and some others. 'Norse' is a general name for the Northern Tribes. Love those word roots! Among themselves, they often held an uneasy peace, with trade and cooperation. But to others…
They truly were a tough people. Settled in some of the coldest parts of Europe, they had to live in a harsh environment. What became a rite of passage for young men was 'going Viking'. Like when you hear an Australian say 'going walkabout', except with more swordplay and looting. When they could get enough men and a ship or so, they would sail off. This was their test of manhood. The young Norsemen 'going Viking' gained status and glory from proving themselves in battle, and bringing home oodles of loot, including possibly young maidens. If there was no war, or argument with another tribe, they had to make up their own. This was especially bad in the very early days of England, when there was no central army, navy, or general defense whatsoever. The Norse practically occupied part of England for some time. So the generic term Viking was what the rest of the world called them.
One thing I want to explain, since it's in the story, is the difference between 'dowry' and 'bride-price'. Both are where the families involved negotiate the terms of marriage for the daughter of a family when they got 'husband-high'.
Dowry would be the gift that the daughter would bring to the family of the man. It could be land, money, livestock… you get it. The higher the dowry, the better suitors you could attract. Sometimes, though, a very large dowry was required to get rid of an otherwise unmarriageable girl. The idea of a dowry is the one that survived more into modern times.
Bride-price was the opposite. This would be more in line with the Norse. A particularly attractive or strong girl, knowledgeable in the art of running an extended family household, or perhaps warcraft, would get the attention of men. With the men going Viking, they had to trust that their holdings would stay intact while they were gone. The shrewd father of such a desirable girl could profit greatly, turning it almost into an auction, basically.
There are notes on the bride-price being in parts, with the family of the proposed groom taking the legal, and physical ownership of the girl from the bride's family (and 'physical' did mean paying for 'you-know-what'). And included would be a dowry of sorts… a 'kick-back' to the groom's family. Sometimes it worked more like an alliance than a marriage.
The sad part of it all is that in either case, the poor girl often has little say in this. Sadder still, the systems still exist in some parts of the world.
Technology: Norse technology was basically stuck in the Iron Age. There was no real 'Viking uniform'. Whether through trading, war, or looting, it is known that they wore a mixture of Roman, Greek, or any other style helmets, armor, or clothing. Technically, Astrid's leather strip skirt is a Roman design. Bronze was especially prized loot, since mining was rough in the North. And as a blow to my childhood, they did not wear horns in their helmets like that. That apparently came from finding Viking graves, and thinking that the drinking horns they were buried with came from the helmets. I hope there was a few that did, though.
Religion: I won't go into the parallels of that, since there is a world of discussion about similarities and differences to Greek, Roman, and Norse religion. Since the Greeks seemed to get everything organized first, it is generally accepted that Roman and Nordic gods evolved along similar lines due to the spread of legends and myth.
In some ways, Norse ideas took root more than others to this day… some days of our week are named for the Norse gods… the Christmas tree, the Yule log… Anglo-Saxon rituals kept a few of the Norse traditions.
These are just a few generic things, and feel free to look up more in-depth tales. By the way, there are a few good movies to see some Vikings in, and two that have a nice mix of fantasy and/or science fiction (which Fanfic writers love). Also, from a tech standpoint, they try to be historically accurate. Just ignore the fact that there wasn't so much tempered steel lying about in those days. Movies never get that part very accurate anyway, because polished steel is soooo shiny.
'The 13th Warrior'. I love this film, and the lead actor. About an Arab who fights with the Norsemen against an ancient evil.
'Outlander'. Science fiction film? Monster film? Both! The sole survivor of a spacecraft lands near a Viking village. He has to help them fight the creature that destroyed his ship.
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Game Board Of The Gods Series
*Legal: I need to remind you that How to Train Your Dragon, and all characters included therein, are fully owned by DreamWorks. This would include any accurate depiction of anything from the film or TV series. Seriously, it was genius. I'm not really that smart.
** More Legal: Anything that describes any characters or places from the book series is owned by Cressida Cowell. Unfortunately, she hangs out in all the foreign countries and not very likely to stop by my local coffee shop.
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Game Of Gods Ran Online
Thank you.
Game Valley Of The Gods
A/N: Yes, another Mary Sue parody. This one is different enough in concept and execution to be funny, though. I hope. Comments and constructive criticism are always welcome.
Do not own Tolkien characters. Also, this could get bloody, which is why the rating..
The Game of the Gods
Varda smiled. 'Your move.'
Morgoth flinched. Then he looked over the board in front of him. It might have been a chess board, save that a chess board didn't have many flashing blue and green oblongs on it, and wasn't covered with ivory pieces showing various girls and young women with their faces frozen in expressions of longing.
He tapped one of the pieces, a human girl with pointed ears and cat-shaped eyes who sat in front of an oblong box. She flushed pink and then began to breathe.
Varda looked disappointed. 'That one? She will be easy to dismiss.'
Morgoth smiled smugly. 'She is a Sue. They are never easy to dismiss.'
'When I am allowed to apply reality to the game,' said Varda, 'they are.'
Some moments passed in silence, which didn't cause Morgoth to flinch, and starlight, which did. Then he said impatiently, 'Aren't you going to do anything?'
Varda smiled mysteriously. 'Reality is enough.'
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Anjara carefully checked her backpack. She had an extra change of clothes, makeup, deodorant, three bottles of bottled water, Mountain Dew, frozen pizza, a microwave, a skateboard, earrings, and the gold necklace that proved she was really Elvish in her extra-light magical backpack. And now she was going back to Middle-earth to claim her heritage. She was really the Princess of Mirkwood and Gondor, but had been sent away to Earth by Arathorn, her evil father, who wanted his son to inherit the throne of Gondor. He was ashamed of his half-Elvish daughter.
Not that he needed to be, Anjara thought, glancing complacently at herself in the television set she would use to enter Middle-earth. She did have Elvish eyes and ears, but she was fairer than any human, with long black silken hair and large gray eyes that still had the mysteries of starlight in them. She would show up in Gondor, and after a short period of argument, Aragorn would yield the throne to her, convinced that his half-sister could rule better than he could. Then Anjara would go to Mirkwood and claim the throne from her half-brother Legolas Greenleaf.
She turned to face the TV, clicking it on. The FOTR DVD began to play, and Anjara smiled again. She had known the first time she saw the movie that someone else had found a portal to Middle-earth, the home she had dreamed of for so long. This was what it really looked like.
Confidently, she held the Elvish medallion in front of her and spoke the words that would take her home. 'Mellon daeron melamin Anjara!'
She sprang forward, towards the green and welcoming hills of the Shire that shone on the TV. The gate would open in a moment, and-
Anjara dashed full-force into the television screen, which broke around her. Bright sparks fizzled and hissed and popped in her ears, and shards of glass dug into her skin. She tried to shift, tried to move out of there, but a massive head wound was already doing its work.
Her parents were shocked to come home and find their daughter dead with her head in the television set. They never did quite figure out what she had been doing, or why she had a fake-looking plastic medallion clutched in one hand and various items scattered on the floor around her.
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Varda smiled. Morgoth flinched.
'Do you see?' Varda murmured. 'No one can use a television set as a portal to another world. It is self-evidently ridiculous.'
Morgoth had a moment of gloomy foresight. 'You are going to be saying that quite often.'
'Yes, I am,' Varda agreed, smiling even more.
Morgoth covered his eyes with his hand. 'Must you? It's as bright as the damned Valacirca in here.'
Varda dimmed her smile, but didn't put it out. 'I need do nothing,' she said, 'but lift the restrictions that allow a Sue to override reality. Reality does the rest.'
Morgoth growled. 'You shall not win every time,' he promised, and touched another Sue.
'Shall I not?' Varda murmured, and prepared to play once again.