Headscratchers / Thorgal

• Aaricia's title of Viking princess is based on Gandalf's title of king, but Gandalf became the ruler of the Vikings illegally, by usurping the throne after the death of the former ruler, Leif Haraldson. If everything was done in accordance with the law, Thorgal would be king instead of Aaricia's father, and Aaricia would not be a princess (although she would most probably wed Thorgal and become his queen). It seems that asserting that Aaricia is a princess implies opposing Thorgal's right to the throne. So, why does she so often say in his presence that she's a princess? (It doesn't seem to be very important to her, but she mentions it when asked or when it can be of help.) However, according to Jolan, Thorgal has never wanted to be a king of any realm - so, maybe this means that Thorgal acknowledged Gandalf's title from the beginning, treating his decision to leave the Vikings after Leif's death as the formal resignation of rulership?
  • In one of the stories in "Aaricia", it's shown that the high council actually acknowledges Gandalf's request for the throne, so his title IS legal. (although they do send one of their members there to keep an eye on him)
    • Not only that, but the member in question - a famous sage called Hierulf the Thinker - specifically stated that the high council only granted Gandalf his crown on the condition that as king he look after every member of his tribe - including Thorgal. It was this - and Aaricia's love for Thorgal - that saved Thorgal from being banished from the village as a child.
  • Thorgal's position was also always a little shaky because he was merely adopted by Leif and not originally part of the clan either, so the Vikings accepted him with reluctance, but didn't seem eager to take the passive Thorgal's side over Gandalf, who actually acted like they believed a Viking should act and who was more than willing to intimidate his opponents. Nonetheless, despite Thorgal not even wanting power, him being Leif Haraldson's adopted son and heir was another reason why Gandalf always treated him with suspicion and hostility - culminating much later in his attempt to outright murder Thorgal, when the series begins.
• How exactly is it possible that the Thorgalverse is ruled by Fate and Norse gods, and at the same time has advanced technology and psychic powers as in SF? Does it mean that the gods controlled the development of the Star People, or rather that they only rule one planet - the one with the Vikings, their worshippers? The former option seems to be rather exotic in terms of worldbuilding.
  • It's stated in the later series that the Norse Gods Need Prayer Badly, so they rule only the world where they are worshipped. Besides, it is revealed in The Invisible Fortress that Thorgal can escape his fate if any recording of him is erased, so it can be surmised that the Norse God only rule the fate of the men they keep tabs on. the Star People were probably outside of their scope, but Thorgal fell under their jurisdiction when he was adopter by vikings and named after two of the Norse Gods (Thor anf Aegir).
• At one time, Zarkaj said something about 'the gods of all galaxies'. If these are The Low Middle Ages, how comes that Zarkaj knows about the existence of galaxies if he is not a descendant of the Star People? Or, assuming for a while that he is one of them, does it mean that every galaxy in Thorgalverse has its own deities? That would explain much, but AFAIK is never told explicitly.
  • I always thought that he came from a Fantasy Counterpart Culture with an interest in astronomy, which would explain knowing about galaxies. As for the gods, well, presumably he extrapolated from all the pantheons on Earth alone.
• The album "Kah-Aniel" throws a pretty big timeline screw-up into the mix. It mentions that Kahaniel of Valnor used to be the leader of the red mages less than a few decades ago, however "The Sacrifice" mentions that Manthor, Kahaniel's son, was born several centuries ago.