Harald Kopsson - Keller S
Twin(fraternal) of Arnlaug Kopsdottir. Born after the Aesir-Vanir war, Harald grew up among the Aesir and has fought with many of them. Most famous for disrupting an invading army from Jotunheim by modifying their battle-plans. He is known as an archer with a bad tendency to get lost in the wildest places.
Eternity
At his Princep's urging Harald took command of the Vanir settlement on Danforth and saw the fledgling community grow to becomes a significant power on the new world, fit to rival the best efforts of the humans and dwarves.
After a thankfully uneventful pregnancy, Medjar gave birth to their only child. Their daughter emerged into a world very different to that her parents had grown up in, but never lacked for love and found her thirst for knowledge answered by her father's instruction.
He continued to assist Medjar in the recovery of the jotun people, spending much free time ensuring the growth of the Yrkaberg university to become a place of learning equal to those found in Midgard and Vanaheim. This proved challenging as the university found itself the victim of constant freak flooding incidents, each causing great devastation though no loss of life. Harald found himself becoming quite the expert in flood defenses, though somehow the water always seemed to find a way to get through, for this was the trickster Osk's revenge on Harald for his part in Anthony Raffle's death.
He regularly offered advice where it would be heeded, and through his efforts helped to ensure that his old friend King Jaeger never fell into tyranny when his prodigious anger was roused. A well known figure in politics throughout the Worlds, no statue ever captured Harald's likeness, for it shifted as constantly across the rest of the ages as it had in the days of Ragnarok. Still where-ever he went he was known, for he was always recognisably Harald.
Fic
“Why are none of you talking?” the professor yelled as he arrived to his class seven minutes after it had started, exactly on time. “All of you applied to be Applied Political Science Majors here.”, he added as he used the winds to carry his voice across the crowded lecture theater. “Presumably, that means that you know that this is the most prestigious course this university offers, and the most competitive. You also hopefully know that a half of your class grade is determined by your peers. So, why aren't you talking? You should be making friends, allies, lovers if you want a veneer of additional loyalty. However, if you really do like someone, I suggest waiting until after you both graduate. It's safer that way.”
“If you don't recognize me by now, you should consider putting more time into research. My name is Harald Koprson, and in addition to my duties as leader of approxamitely 1/40th of the settled universe I am vice-chancellor of the university, and most importantly your professor for this course, introduction to Applied Political Science, colloquially known as the universe-domination course. I will applaud any of my students who do actually manage to dominate the entire universe, and wish them luck facing the wrath of my father, my sister, Jaeger and myself. You will note that I did not mention Kurtsleiga, the Hidden King. That is because you will not face his wrath, only the wrath of certain very determined men who will be quite unhappy if he dies or is otherwise indisposed.”
“You have come here because you want to be able to lead. There is no leadership without success! There is no success without thought! There is no thought without education! Who's ready to learn?”
The seven foot tall Vanir enjoyed an impressive round of applause. And if he amplified it by increasing the density of the local air slightly, well, who could blame him?
“On to the syllabus. In your first three years, you will study theoretical political science, applied psychology, and an approved field of your choice. You can choose between Economics, History, Geography and Ethics. In the fourth year, you will choose between a class and an individual project. Your goal is to enact a specific policy change that will be assigned later.”
“Grading will be a combination of project performance, written work, and the ranking. The way the ranking works is very simple. On the last day of the school year, I will take from my inbox whatever class rankings appear therein, pick my favorite, and using a bit of math, translate it into one quarter of your end of year grade. Yes, the person who comes last, along with others possibly flunks.”
“Remember, anyone who flunks out of Applied Political Science is encouraged to transfer to Political Science, Applied Psychology, or any other major you have the credits to justify. Those majors are easier, and sometimes safer. By the time you graduate, about a quarter of you will do so with a degree in APS.”
Students who were paying close attention noticed that the professor was shrinking to a more normal six feet even.
“My office hours are 3-5 tomorrow, and whenever I am in my office and not meeting with someone after that on Mondays or Tuesdays. This does not give you permission to barge in, or to try to enter if I am not there. It does mean that you will have to figure out some way to track me at least some of the time. It's a good introductory exercise, though be warned: I will get more slippery as the year progresses.”
“If you are on scholarship, basic technological espionage equipment can be bought from the school store at very reasonable rates. If you can't disguise yourself, turn invisible, shrink to a very small size, or at the very least scry, you will have trouble in this course. I suggest arranging a meeting with the 'Life Skills Support Service.' Yes, they project themselves as focusing on students with disabilities. They do, but they also teach other, more useful life skills.”
“Permanent physical harm to other students, hostile use of necromancy on other students, and in any way maliciously causing mental health problems in your classmates that last for more than a year are forbidden as part of departmental policy. You will wish you were expelled. I can scry through time itself if I have to: you won't get away with any of these crimes. You will be punished if you are caught violating the honor code.”
“With that said, due Friday, four days from now, is an analysis of my techniques of speech in this lecture. Hopefully some of you recorded it. These books may be useful. I won't bother with minimum or maximum lengths, but remember that I do this because I choose to, and I expect your writing to live up to your futures as leaders.”
“Everybody got that? Good. Now, it's time to meet your professors for the year”
…
“Good job Sam. All of them were completely silent when I walked in. You beat Thiassi, who was trying to get them to talk, and Aesliga, who was trying to get them to leave. That's two points for you.”