Gungnir

Gungnir is the legendary spear of Odin, the Allfather of the Aesir pantheon. Forged by the dwarf sons of Ivaldi and presented to Odin by Loki. The spear, while not as famous as Thor's Mjolnir, is still one of the most well known artifacts of the Aesir, and is a representation of Odin's kingly authority.

## History

Gungnir was forged by the sons of Ivaldi, along with Freyr's ship, Skidbladnir, and a new set of hair for the goddess Sif. Loki took possession of the items, and used Gungnir and its brethren in a bet against the dwarf smiths, Brokkr and Sindri, claiming that they could not create items to match those forged by Ivaldi's sons. As a matter of fact they did, and Gungnir and these other items were all given by Loki as gifts for the gods.

Gungnir was gifted to Odin, the King of the Aesir, who thenceforth wielded it as his primary weapon.

Odin wielded Gugnir during the Vanir War, where he used it to slay (as of yet undecided). As the War came to an end and peace was made, vows of eternal alliance and fellowship were sworn upon Gungnir between the leaders of the two pantheons.

Gungnir was also wielded by Odin during the Battle of Ragnarok, where he used it to slaughter numerous Jotnar until he came face to face with the great wolf, Fenrir. Gungnir wounded the wolf gravely, severing the artery in his left front leg, puncturing one of his lungs, and finally killing Fenrir as he swallowed both the spear and the Allfather, with Odin driving Gungnir into the wolf's throat as he went down.

Afterwards, Gungnir was retrieved from Fenrir's corpse by Bael, Seraph of the War Sages. The wards placed about the weapon deterred the Seraph from using it for a while, as it took him over two weeks to break them. Afterwards, Bael would go on to wield the weapon throughout the remainder of the Angelic Conquest.

Gungnir was removed from Bael's possession when he was assassinated by his brother, Azrael, who took the powerful weapon back to Eden. After Odin was revived by Freya, Odin's wife, as part of her bargain to aid the Ynochim against their traitorous brothers, Gungnir was returned to Odin, where it has remained ever since.

## Description

Gungnir's shaft was made from wood taken from the root of the Yggdrasil in Nidavellir, and as such, it is the same bone white color as the rest of the World Tree. The shaft is carved with designs made in a leaf patterm. The blade and guard at the top of Gungnir were forged from dwarven iron, and is a pale grey in coloration. Gungnir's shaft is also possessed of a pair of grips, where the carving is ridged horizontally in the shape of tree bark, so as to allow a firmer grip. Both the grips of the shaft and the blade are carved and engraved with Wyrd Runes, imbuing it with power. When living flesh runs over them, the runes glow with power. The runes upon the blade were put there by Gungnir's creators, but the runes on the grips of the shaft were put in place by Odin himself.

## Powers

Gungnir is imbued with numerous magical abilities, some put in place by its dwarven creators, the others added by Odin himself.

The first of these abilities is that the grips shift place on the spear, depending on where it is grasped. If the spear is held by one hand, only one grip will appear. If the spear is not being held, both grips vanish. The runes on the grips ensure that should anyone but Odin attempt to pick up Gungnir (without his permission) they will instantly be mentally assaulted, and bombarded with Thought Compulsions to remain frozen in place. Additionally, Odin will also be made aware of it, and his mind immediately linked to the would be thief.

The runes Odin carved also ensures that Gungnir is able to change its size and shape, to accommodate Odin's disguises. Gungnir generally retains the form of some sort of stick, with a walking stick being the most common thing it is transformed into. Odin has also been known in modern Ages to masquerade Gungnir as either a cane or an umbrella. In these alternate forms, Gungnir's grips do not manifest, though Odin's warding still takes effect if anyone touches it unbidden.

Gungnir was imbued with the common enchantments applied to godly weapons by its forgers, such as making wounds slower and more difficult to heal, and being well suited to channeling magical energy. It also has the effect of deliberately moving itself towards whatever its wielder was targeting when thrown. Should the target move, Gungnir will follow it. Should Gungnir's progress be physically impeded, it will struggle to force its way through until it hits the original intended target. Gungnir will persist in trying to drive itself into the target until the wielder wills it to stop.

Naturally, Gungnir can be called back to its wielders hand whenever it is thrown. Rather than moving through space normally as Mjolnir does, Gungnir teleports back to its wielder's grasp. Gungnir can also simply be summoned in this manner when lying inert.

Another enchantment placed upon Gungnir by the sons of Ivaldi is the fact that oaths sworn on Gungnir within its presence are reinforced by powerful Thought Compulsions, demanding that the swearer abide by their vow.