Honor Bound
Honor Bound was a virtual representation of one of Eivor Varinsdottir's genetic memories, relived by Layla Hassan in 2020 through the Portable Animus HR-8.5.
Description[edit | edit source]
Eivor made a failed revenge attempt on Kjotve the Cruel for the murder of her parents.
Dialogue[edit | edit source]
A battered Eivor was captured by Kjotve and his men. She was brought before Kjotve near a dock.
- Kjotve the Cruel: How long have you been chasing me, Wolf-Kissed? Seventeen winters? Eighteen? Do I now haunt your dreams? Do I warm your loins? (laugh)
Kjotve displayed his axe towards Eivor.
- Kjotve the Cruel: You remember this...? Your father's axe. The weapon of a coward, a scorn-snake. Ah, few things would please me more than to kill with this blade. But I know you would defy me to the death, fighting for a glorious end. That I will not allow.
Kjotve threw the axe to Rikiwulf and continued taunting Eivor.
- Kjotve the Cruel: You will live your final days enthralled as a slave, humiliated. Your death will be a lonely one. Haha... Kill the rest of her crew. Make them suffer. Eivor Wolf-Kissed is no more! That name is dead to this world!
While Kjotve left, his men dragged Eivor up to their ship.
- Norse Warrior 1: You will be worth your weight in silver. To the ship.
One of the men threw Eivor onto the boat. Another proceed to kicked Eivor in the back.
- Norse Warrior 2: You move and I take your eyes. You hear me?
As Eivor got up, she noticed the rope tied to the mast of the boat.
- Norse Warrior 1: Winds blowing from the south.
- Norse Warrior 2: We can tack north, then cut west.
While Kjotve's men were distracted by the winds and Eivor's raven, Eivor got up.
- Norse Warrior 2: Now, what did I just tell you, you...
Eivor pulled the rope of the mast, knocking out the warrior. The torch in his hand dropped near a stack of hay. Eivor leap onto the platform, countering another of Kjotve's men, throwing him into the water. As the man in the boat alighted on the platform, Eivor threw an axe in her possession, hitting his leg. While the guard in the water struggled to attack Eivor with his axe, Eivor knocked the injured guard with the mast, pushing him into a cage that dropped and sank into the water. Meanwhile, the boat moved towards the guard in the water, crushing him against the dock. Eivor walked towards him, taking the key to the chains on her hands.
- Norse Warrior 1: (pained scream) Kjotve will skin you alive! You will never... never leave this—
After freeing herself, Eivor knocked him out and picked up her gear.
- Eivor: No feast for you, Sýnin. My crew is in danger. You must be my eyes.
She started walking with difficulty.
- Eivor: My crew is in danger. I need to reach them.
Eivor moved northwards, encountering a small camp and eating some food left behind in cookwares to replenish her energy.
- Eivor: Mm. Better.
Leaving the camp behind, she ate some cloudberries from the bushes along the way, healing herself completely.
- Eivor: Ah, I feel better. Stronger.
She then collected more berries, packing them in a small cloth bag, creating a ration.
- Eivor: Save that for later.
Eivor climbed up a hill and reached the tip. There, she took in the view of the surrounding area, turning her attention northwards towards a settlement.
- Eivor: Avaldsnes. Where that oath-breaker is holding my crew.
Eivor leaped and dived into a pool of water. After getting out, she moved down the hill and spotted one of Kjotve's men in a camp nearby.
- Eivor: One of Kjotve's men. I need to be careful.
Eivor sneaked pass the guard and continued towards Avaldsnes. Along the way, she found a small abandoned hut on a hillside. She entered and read a note on the table.
- Kjotve's Commands
Rikiwulf –
Prepare the child of Varin for the slavers.
You may use the others for your blood-sacrifice.
–Kjotve
Eivor left the hut and resumed her path to Avaldsnes. She soon found another camp of Kjotve's.
- Eivor: Kjotve's warriors. I should stay out of sight.
Eivor stayed within bushes to avoid being spotted.
- Norse Warrior 3: Once this land is under Kjotve's lash, we will live like jarls.
- Norse Warrior 4: It will not happen while Raven Clan lives. They fight like berserkers. Eivor Wolf-Kissed killed a score or more single-handed.
Eivor continued her way and reached the woods, hearing sounds of fighting along the way.
- Eivor: A clash of iron. There is fighting nearby.
She approached the direction of the sound and saw her crewmate Dag fighting against another of Kjotve's men.
- Dag: Grah!
Dag eliminated the soldier with a shield.
- Eivor: Dag, you old hound! You live!
- Dag: I do! Slipped away in the sword-clash. And what of you?
- Eivor: Kjotve tried to sell me off, a mistake he'll regret.
- Dag: Not today he won't. I saw him board a ship at Avaldsnes not long ago. Sailed east, leaving our crew behind.
- Eivor: There must still be time to save our men. I will find them. You ready the longship.
- Dag: You glory hound! You would take the rescue for yourself, so the victory song is written about you?
- Eivor: I could storm the beach then. Slay two dozen men, seize our dragon-boat, and hoist the sail in triumph. Up to you.
- Dag: No, no. I will take the beach. A far more dangerous path. You search the longhouse for our crew.
Dag then picked up a shield and passed it to Eivor.
- Dag: O, and here... this corpse will not have need of it.
- Eivor: Go. I'll meet you by the ship.
Eivor entered Avaldsnes and made her way to its longhouse.
- Eivor: The longhouse. My crew should be inside.
Eivor entered the longhouse through the roof.
- Rikiwulf: You squirm like that and my axe will miss your neck! Unpleasant for both of us.
- Bragi: If I am to die, I want to make a mess of it, bacraut (asshole)!
Eivor sneaked down the inside wall onto the ground level.
- Bragi: You coward! Unbind me and stick an axe in my hand!
- Rikiwulf: I owe you nothing, raven-shit. Yours is a clan of thralls and peasants.
Eivor spotted her father's axe on the table by Rikiwulf.
- Eivor: You! Lay that axe aside or die by mine.
- Rikiwulf: You should be on a slaves-ship to Ireland, Wolf-Kissed! But if you wish to be my first sacrifice, Odin will be more than happy to receive you.
- Eivor: You just killed yourself, ergi (coward).
Eivor engaged Rikiwulf in combat.
- Rikiwulf: I will sell you to Hel herself!
Kneel, Wolf-Kissed, and I will spare your life! - Eivor: Shut your hole and fight.
- Rikiwulf: Die, you sack of shit!
Halfway through the fight, Rikiwulf switched from his heavy, double-bladed axe to dual-wielding hammers. Eivor defeated Rikiwulf and approached her father's axe.
- Eivor: Father. You should have held onto this until the bitter end.
Picking up the axe, Eivor experienced a vision.
- Varin: If I give my life, will you spare my clan?
- Rosta: Varin! No! Pick up your axe.
- Kjotve the Cruel: Kill them all!
- Young Eivor: No!
Eivor stood in the Memory Corridor and saw a cloaked greybeard and a wolf in front of her. The doors behind them opened, and Eivor followed. Passing through the door, she was met with an red tinted landscape and a titanic tree.
- Bragi: Eivor... Eivor!
Eivor was pulled from the vision.
- Bragi: Eivor! Are you bewitched? Unbind us!
- Eivor: What? O... yes, of course.
Eivor then found and donned her clan's armor. She then freed the rest of her crew.
- Bragi: Well fought, Wolf-Kissed! Even if your wits were somewhat rattled.
- Eivor: Listen here! If you can breathe, you can fight. Now come, we take back our ship.
- Bragi: You do not need to tell us twice!
Eivor and her crew then fought their way to the shore and met up with Dag and boarded the longship.
- Eivor: Dag, Bragi... grab your oars. The whale-road leads us home.
- Dag: Gods, it is about time!
- Bragi: Stop yawping and start rowing!
- Dag: Rather silent, Eivor. Anything to say for the mess you led us to?
- Eivor: We suffered no losses in this fight, and the men who humiliated us are dead. What is there to say?
- Dag: O, something like, "I was stupid, selfish, reckless, blind, boneheaded, and I smell like blood and shit."
- Eivor: I like my version better.
- Dag: Eivor, look. Someone is setting up an outpost on that island.
- Eivor: Kjotve's men. Gnawing at any piece of open land like dogs worrying a bone.
- Dag: Even with you half in the grave, we could easily take them.
Eivor and her crew raided Ikke en Oy before continuing home to Fornburg.
- Dag: Kjotve will come for us, now. Harder and stronger than before.
- Eivor: No surprise there. This war has spun on for three generations. I hardly expect him to relent.
- Dag: Your hatred for that man burns bright, Wolf-Kissed! I could warm my balls on it.
- Eivor: Would you not prefer a pair of sealskin britches?
- Dag: Just take care, Eivor. Such hatred can make you careless. What he did to your father, he did to all of us. You are not in this fight alone. King Styrbjorn will scold you for setting out against his wishes.
- Eivor: Of course he will.
- Dag: Is that not something you worry over?
- Eivor: I worry only that our king will not see that I'm right until it's too late.
- Dag: What about Sigurd? What would he say?
- Eivor: If Sigurd were here, he would be sitting beside you, wiping the blood from his axe and smiling into the breeze.
- Dag: And what will you tell our king about this misadventure?
- Eivor: Only the truth. That we attacked Kjotve's fortress, killed his men, and weakened his control of this land.
- Dag: Will you mention the part where you lost your crew and were nearly sold as a thrall? Will that be part of your saga?
- Eivor: If there is a skald (poet) who dares sing that verse, it will be his last song.
After docking in Fornburg, Eivor spoke to Randvi.
- Randvi: Well, well! The feeder-of-ravens returns. And not half dead. We though we had lost you, Eivor. For good this time.
- Eivor: A warm welcome as always, Randvi.
- Randvi: You look like reddened shit. What happened?
- Eivor: Nothing to crow about, except to say the men who delayed us are dead. And how are you?
- Randvi: Well enough. Though I have spent many tiresome days calming the rages of our king. He is not happy with you.
- Eivor: I expected as much. And what of Sigurd? Has he returned from his raids?
- Randvi: My husband should be home today. The last we heard, he was approaching Stavanger.
- Eivor: Good to hear. We have need of his courage.
- Dag: Sigurd will not save you from his father's wrath, Eivor. You should know that by now.
- Randvi: Did your raid not go as planned?
- Eivor: They rarely go as planned, but we killed many of Kjotve's warriors. And there was this... my father's axe among the dead.
- Randvi: Ah! After so many years. You should take it to Gunnar. He will give it back its edge.
- Eivor: A good idea. After I see our king.
- Randvi: That I do not advise, not yet. He is meeting with a messenger from the North.
- Eivor: I can wait...
Eivor stared into the distance.
- Randvi: A cloud hangs over you. Is something wrong?
- Eivor: Seeing my father's axe after seventeen winters... it stirred something in me. A feeling I have not had since... the day he was killed. Since I got this.
Eivor gestured to her wolf-inflicted wound.
- Randvi: Memories of past agonies. Of sadness and pain.
- Eivor: I should speak with Valka. She could help me make sense of my... feelings.
- Randvi: Take your time getting settled. I will see you at the longhouse.
- Dag: I think you have lost your edge, Eivor, just like that axe. Maybe Gunnar can help with both.
- Eivor: I will let you know.
Eivor then left to get settled.
Outcome[edit | edit source]
Eivor freed herself and her crew from Kjotve's clan. After reclaiming their longship, Eivor and her clan sailed home.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
-
Kjotve threatens Eivor -
Kjotve walking away -
Eivor being lead to the boat -
Eivor thrown to the deck -
A slave-trader knocked down -
Eivor reunites with Dag -
Eivor confronts Rikiwulf -
Eivor grabs Varin's axe -
Eivor's vision of Yggdrasil -
Eivor back home in Fornburg -
Eivor talking to Randvi
