- Eivor: Heroic display. He makes a powerful first impression.
- Faravid: Just the way he likes it. Welcome to Eurvicscire, friend.
- Eivor: Well met, Faravid. I was hoping your jarl would be as welcoming. But I suppose I must earn his trust.
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War in the North
War in the North was a virtual representation of one of Eivor Varinsdottir's genetic memories, relived by Layla Hassan through the Portable Animus HR-8.5.
Description
Eivor began her journey to meet with the lord of Northumbria, Halfdan Ragnarsson.
Dialogue
At Ravensthorpe, Eivor talked about pledging to Eurvicscire with Randvi.
- Eivor: What awaits in Eurvicscire?
- Randvi: Halfdan Ragnarsson, Conqueror of the North, sends his greeting. He wishes to meet with Eivor Wolf-Kissed personally.
- Eivor: Halfdan Jarl. I have heard the man's name so often, I feel as though I know him already.
- Randvi: He is currently tangled in a war with the Picts of the northern hills. I suspect he wants your council. Or your axe. If you are keen to meet him, he asks that you join him at his war camp. I have the location here.
Eivor pledged to Eurvicscire.
- Eivor: I will go at once.
- Randvi: With caution, Eivor. Eurvicscire is currently at war with the Picts, a proud clan that lives just beyond the Roman wall.
Eivor left Randvi and once again sailed and rode north of Mercia into the kingdom of Northumbria, entering Eurvicscire proper and proceeded to Anlaf's Lookout. When she arrived, Eivor noted the outpost was abandoned in a hurry and looked around.
- Eivor: Signs of battle.
As Eivor investigated, she noticed bodies and blood around.
- Eivor: Hard fought on both sides.
She followed the trail of carnage leading away from the outpost.
- Eivor: The battle climbed into the hills.
As she climbed the hills, Eivor noticed the remaining army of Halfdan and Faravid leading them.
- Norse Soldier 1: Hey, who's that?
- Norse Soldier 2: Everyone all right?
- Faravid: Help the wounded. And get every man's name. We leave none behind.
Eivor approached Faravid, and he recognized her at once.
- Faravid: Well met, Eivor Raven-Friend.
Eivor spoke to Faravid.
- Faravid: Now there's a face I've seen before.
- Eivor: Faravid. We met in Jorvik, the Yuletide feast.
- Faravid: The Yuletide massacre, I remember. What brings you here?
- Eivor: Halfdan Jarl, he summoned me. Is he near?
- Faravid: He was, but the Picts hit us hard. We were separated.
Within their conversation, Faravid overheard the screams of the enemy Picts as Eivor unsheathed her weapon.
- Eivor: Fresh attack, from the hills!
As the fighting began, Faravid ordered his men.
- Faravid: Circle round! Watch your backs!
- Eivor: Picts. They won't be happy to see the likes of me.
Eivor fought with Faravid and his group against the Picts. Eivor shouted at the Picts while fighting.
- Eivor: Odin take you all!
After disposing of the first wave, Eivor regrouped with Faravid.
- Faravid: The Picts are just ahead. Lead the way and we'll watch your back.
- Eivor: Are you wounded?
- Faravid: I'll live. But my men...
Eivor looked atop of the hill, where the Picts stood, as she and Faravid readied themselves for another fight.
- Faravid: If we die today, tonight we drink with Odin. Either way, we claim victory.
Out of view, a battle horn blew as Halfdan shouted a battle cry.
- Halfdan: For Thor!
Halfdan came behind the Picts and single-handedly took out two men. Halfdan threw his hammer as he yelled.
- Halfdan: For Ragnar!
After taking out the rest of the Picts, Halfdan roared his victory cry.
- Halfdan: For Halfdan!
Faravid and Eivor rejoiced as Halfdan came down to meet.
- Halfdan: You owe me your life, old friend. Once again.
- Eivor: Halfdan Ragnarsson, we meet in the forge of battle. Surely a good sign.
- Halfdan: I don't know you. One of Faravid's new dogs?
- Eivor: I am Eivor of the Raven Clan.
- Halfdan: Eivor, yes. Down in Mercia. Kingmaker with my brothers Ivarr and Ubba. And Finnr in East Anglia. From the tales I hear, I feared you might be taller.
- Eivor: That's not a fear you feel often, I imagine.
- Halfdan: So you answered my summons. But the timing is poor as you can see. Too many here are spent ... battle-sore ... thirsty. Faravid. Have your men build field pyres for the dead.
- Faravid: At once, my jarl.
As Faravid left, Halfdan's demeanor changed as he whispered to Eivor.
- Halfdan: Not here. Not now.
Eivor nodded as Halfdan left.
- Halfdan: Then to Donecaestre for a victory feast!
Faravid came back to talk with Eivor.
- Faravid: The oldest son of Ragnar Lothbrok, so he says. What do you make of him?
- Eivor: Kings and jarls, bishops and earls, I've met them all. Halfdan is but a man like all the rest.
- Faravid: He conquered East Anglia, took Northumbria for his own, and sacked Lunden. What warrior could claim more?
- Eivor: Winning battles is easy. It's winning trust that brings an end of war.
- Halfdan: What I think does not matter. I'm interested in what his men think of him. Is he honest, trustworthy, loyal?
- Faravid: Is that why you've come here? To earn Halfdan's trust? To find a seat at his table?
- Eivor: I have my own table. What I want is a bond of friendship between the new lords of England.
- Faravid: Among whom you count yourself, I suppose.
- Eivor: It is an ally I seek, not a master.
- Faravid: Well, there is one Lord of Northumbria.
Faravid took his leave as Eivor looked at Donecaestre, her next destination. Faravid ordered his men to follow Halfdan's previous command.
- Faravid: You heard the jarl. Take the gear and start digging.
Before leaving, Eivor could speak to Faravid once more.
- Faravid: He's at Donecaestre, the towering castle by the river.
Eivor then left and descended the mountain to meet with Halfdan. As she arrived at Donecaestre, Eivor marvelled at the fortress.
- Eivor: The Roman giants outdid themselves with this fortress.
Within the fortress, Eivor wondered where Halfdan might be.
- Eivor: Where would Halfdan Jarl hold court?
- At the feast within the castle of Donecaestre, Eivor could have participated in many activities. Eivor overheard some comments from his soldiers.
- Norse Soldier 3: Only a fool makes a long war in winter.
- Norse Soldier 4: He should drink good honest mead, not that bitter Frankish wine.
- Eivor had a chance to meet Lady Moira, as Moira was consoling a patron.
- Anglo-Saxon Man 1: Please, Lady Moira. My wife grows ill.
- Moira: I will attend to her soon, I promise. But Halfdan needs me now.
- Eivor may have spoken to Moira.
- Eivor: Are you a nun? I thought nuns dressed like geese.
- Moira: Nothing of the sort. I am Moira of Wyke, Halfdan's herbalist. He is an ill man, and I do what I can to give succor and hope.
- Eivor: I saw him fight. He was in fine health then.
- Moira: Thanks in part to my soothing tonics. Would you pardon me?
- Eivor interacted by dancing with people. Eivor may have done a fist-fight with Anglo-Saxon Soldier as she approached him.
- Anglo-Saxon Soldier 1: You? Care to test the speed of your fists?
- Eivor: Fair warning, ceorl. My fists have hammered nails and strangled sharks. Still care to brawl?
- Anglo-Saxon Soldier 1: Swift and strong you may be. It's the one most righteous who wins the right.
Eivor fist-fought the soldier and won.
- Eivor: You fought well, warrior. But here your legend ends, bound to no name.
- Upstairs, Eivor spoke with a woman near an Orlog table and Eivor accepted and won the Orlog challenge.
- Anglo-Saxon Woman 1: Here, Dane. Try your luck at throwing bones.
- Eivor: My luck overspills like the ocean's tide. Only fate will keep me from winning.
- Anglo-Saxon Woman 1: Then come and see! What fate do these dice hold for you?
- Outside from the Orlog table, there was a drinking contest with a man. Eivor joined and beat the man at this contest.
- Norse Man 1: Warrior! You can swing an axe, but can you lift a horn?
- Eivor: As Thor swallowed the ocean, I can lift many horns and drain them too.
- Norse Man 1: A bold claim! I'll drink to that.
- If Eivor looked around a busy table upstairs, she found a note to Halfdan's staff.
Servant's Scribble
- Mildreth dear,
Have a care when you serve Lord Halfdan. He grows wroth at the slightest thing these days and rages at all.
Last fortnight, he had a poor server tossed into a pig-sty for spilling a dash of wine out of his bloody unicorn's horn.
- If Eivor completed these tasks, she realized how much time had passed since her arrival.
- Eivor: I've put off Halfdan for too long. Atop the tower of stone, he said.
When Eivor decided to meet Halfdan, King Ricsige was already arguing with him.
- Halfdan: We crush them in spring. No sooner. That is the plan.
- Ricsige: Yet my people suffer day by day—
- Halfdan: Your people? Do you rule a shadow kingdom under my nose?
- Ricsige: Our people suffer from these brutal winter raids.
Eivor then joined conversation.
- Ricsige: This war must end, that is my first concern. The time to strike is—
- Halfdan: Is when I say we strike. Halfdan's hammer protects this land. Tell my people that, King Ricsige.
Halfdan ordered King Ricsige to take leave.
- Ricsige: As you wish, my lord.
King Ricsige took leave and passed by Eivor. Halfdan looked over to her.
- Halfdan: Who is this? Come closer.
- Eivor: Halfdan Ragnarsson. My sword-arm answers your call.
- Halfdan: Thank you for your tribute, Eivor Wolf-Kissed. Your battles and deeds are well known to me.
Eivor smiled at the renowned jarl's praise.
- Halfdan: And you are the Hero of Jorvik, so sing my skalds.
Faravid walked into the conversation.
- Faravid: Not just any hero. Eivor brought order to the city when King Ricsige could not.
- Halfdan: They say you rooted a gang of thieves and traitors.
- Eivor: Not alone. But I led the charge.
- Halfdan: You gifted my silver to the karls and ceorls of Jorvik.
- Eivor: To men and women who needed it most.
- Halfdan: A foolish choice. The coin never left King Ricsige's treasury.
- Faravid: The silver Eivor recovered there now pays for our war with the Picts.
- Halfdan: It is wasted fighting Picts. It should be put to better use.
- Eivor: I try never to regret the decisions I make in a time of war.
- Halfdan: Agreed. To second guess ourselves would only stall the victory. I don't regret sending Faravid to lead our strike against the Picts... in spite of Eivor winning the day.
- Faravid: Eivor and I felled them, Halfdan Jarl, so you could sweep in, stab a few cold corpses, and claim a glorious victory.
Halfdan stood menacingly in response to Faravid's remark, then broke into laughter.
- Halfdan: Old friend, your jests hit like Odin's spear, always on the mark.
- Faravid: I would not be here without your hammer, great jarl. Please accept this, your share of the loot we won today.
Faravid handed Halfdan an ornate goblet.
- Halfdan: A thing of beauty. Frankish, I believe. What do you think, Eivor?
- Eivor: A fine piece of work, fit for the lips of a king.
- Halfdan: Or a man who makes kings.
- Eivor: A cup is a cup. What matters is the brew that sloshes inside.
- Eivor: Wine goblets are for Roman kneelers. Give me a horn of mead any day.
- Halfdan: There's wisdom in the one, Faravid.
Faravid nodded.
- Faravid: By your leave, lord, I must return to my forward camp. It's a long, cold ride.
Halfdan nodded as Faravid left.
- Halfdan: A two-faced, smirking glory hound...
- Eivor: My lord, in your summons you said—
- Halfdan: Shhh, not here, not now. Dance, sing, and fill yourself with ale, then meet me atop this tower of stone.
Eivor nodded.
- Halfdan: There I will weave a tale of friendship and treachery. A tale as old as the world.
Halfdan took his leave as Eivor mingled with the occupants of Donecaestre.
- Eivor may have tried to speak with Halfdan as he walked, though he was not ready to speak yet.
- Halfdan: Not here. Let's get away from envious ears.
Eivor, if she had not done so, participated in some of the activities and overheard King Ricsige's brief talk with a soldier.
- Ricsige: How true! I shall send a strongly worded note in protest.
- Anglo-Saxon Soldier 2: But sir, I'm told Halfdan can't read.
Eivor climbed up the stairs to speak with Halfdan privately. There, Halfdan mumbled to himself.
- Halfdan: Dogs don't beg for silver. Dogs don't yearn to be jarls. But I'm a wolf. No, a wolf king.
Halfdan noticed Eivor approach.
- Halfdan: Ah, Eivor. Come, let me show you a wonder.
Both of them walk to a balcony to talk. Eivor admired the outlook of the wintery landscape.
- Halfdan: All this. We conquered this. He and I. Together.
- Eivor: You've earned great fame, won many battles across England.
- Halfdan: But not alone, no no. Björn Ironside, fearless Ubba, Ivarr the Boneless, Sigurd Snake-in-the-Eye. Great warriors all. My brothers.
- Eivor: Gold is good and battle better, but glory never dies. Forever it lives in the hall of heroes, high on valor's steed.
- Halfdan: Together, we have conquered. Together with my friends, my clan. Faravid above all others. One sword is not an army, Eivor. Even a hero needs loyal friends. I have never lost sight of that. Never!
- Eivor: Have you room for one more among those you call friend?
- Halfdan: What does friendship mean to you, Eivor?
- Eivor: Friendship goes beyond words. It is a solemn bond, a chain unbroken.
- Halfdan: Spoken like the volur. It is indeed a kind of magic.
- Eivor: You wriggle like an eel in a basket, Halfdan. What has caught you?
- Eivor: It's but a name for an alliance. What matters is keeping your oath.
- Halfdan: A hard way to see the world. Hard, but fair.
- Eivor: You wriggle like an eel in a basket, Halfdan. What has caught you?
- Eivor: You wriggle like an eel in a basket, Halfdan. What has caught you?
- Halfdan: Friendship can also spoil, like rotten meat. After all these years, he dares to bite my hand.
- Eivor: Faravid? He seems a good and loyal man.
- Halfdan: Seems, yes. As a bright sky in winter seems warm. But rumors fly of little men plotting treason in the dark.
- Eivor: Have you proof of his treachery?
- Halfdan: Not yet. That is where you enter my saga. Prove this for me. Discover if Faravid has been disloyal. Then we shall talk of oaths.
- Eivor: Start me somewhere. Give me something to go on.
Halfdan nodded and showed Eivor a narwhal horn.
- Halfdan: You see this? From a sea unicorn. I filter my mead and wine with it.
- Eivor: I've heard of such beasts. They swim below the ice, beyond the world's edge.
- Halfdan: And their horns protect against poison.
- Eivor: You believe Faravid wants to poison you?
- Halfdan: I fear he has tried. Countless times. And failed them all. You don't believe me, but I know the man. His gifts of wine. His easy smile. His envy. His plots. Learn the truth. Dig up... unearth this treason.
- Eivor: Why trust me with such a task?
- Halfdan: Jorvik. You stopped the ill deeds of Audun and his swarm of rats. You can do the same here.
- Eivor: Like a good sword, honor has two edges. I'll help you.
- Halfdan: Faravid has left the feast already, heading for his camp upriver. Join his war band. And behind his back, dig.
- Eivor: And if I find nothing? If he's a good and loyal man?
- Halfdan: Even better, even better.
- Eivor: Fair enough. I will find what I find, then return, my friend.
Eivor took her leave as Halfdan reiterated caution.
- Halfdan: Don't let Faravid fool you. He's hiding something.
Outcome
Halfdan tasked Eivor to investigate Faravid and learns of his allegiance.
Gallery
-
Eivor arriving at the outpost -
Eivor discovering the remains of Halfdan's army -
The Picts surrounding Eivor and Faravid -
Halfdan fending off the Picts -
-
Halfdan welcoming Eivor to the feast
