patron-saint-of-smart-asses:

doctorbluesmanreturns:

supreme-leader-stoat:

supreme-leader-stoat:

Okay so imagine your Standard Medieval European Fantasy Setting™. Now imagine there’s no magic. Like there’s still a concept of it sure, with superstitions and all that. But you will never encounter an actual wizard or anything.

But you know what is in this otherwise-fantasy setting? Superpower mutations.

Sir Lawrence, the otherwise unremarkable knight who once outran his own horse and traveled four hours without rest to alert his lord of another lord’s treason and impending invasion.

The Sage of the North is shrouded in rumor and mystery; some say he is a holy man, blessed by God and able to work miracles. Others think he is closer to a witch than a priest, and still others believe he is simply a sage and healer whose skill has grown unrivaled in his old age. In comparison to these stories, the known fact that he lives beneath a freezing waterfall unbothered by the cold or lack of air barely raises any interest.

Scandinavian folklore is often Like That, there’s a whole subgenre of “hero collects men with really specific skills to win the hand of the princess” (like a guy who can run so fast you can’t see him move, a guy who can hear stuff on the other side of the world, and a guy who can shoot an arrow through an acorn from 10 miles away) and it’s not counted as sorcery but as just those guys can Do That.

Round Table of Guys Who Can Do That