Fulgar Thornheim's Story

Hrafn-Floki and his shipmates glanced over as Fulgar Thornheim landed on the dock, his boots thudding heavily with a clop as they pressed into the stone docks underfoot. His travel from the north had been swift, the call of the horn having been heard far and wide. Along his side were his great brothers, each adorned with the trophies of their conquests, fur and bone draped across their massive, muscular frames. "Where to first?" asked one of them of Fulgar, who stared sternly into the icy landscape with glowing azure eyes. He was to see the leader of this land, but much had transpired since he last heard news of the kingdom to the south. "To the great hall", he commanded, before setting out in a steady march for the heart of the settlement. Hrafn-Floki took a mental note of Fulgar's crew, but did not seem to be particularly alarmed or threatened by them. As the new arrivals docked their vessel and started heading south into the mainland, Floki chuckled and went back to work, carving runes into the prow of his own longship. The other viking shipbuilders and sailors were also busy, and worked around Fulgar Thornheim's crew, paying little attention to them. Fulgar's crew seemed to just blend right in as they made their way past the shipyard and headed south towards the boat-shaped mead hall. Angradi the Whaler would approach Hrafn-Floki, setting a wooden crate full of fishing supplies down on the dock. "Who was that?" he asked curiously. "I don't know who they are. I've never seen them before," replied Floki as he brushed the saw dust off of one of his elaborate Jellinge style carvings. "We've brought too many people with us Floki, we can not all settle here" Angradi the Whaler commented. "I do not plan to settle here," Floki responded, never stopping his task to turn around. "Where will you go?" Angradi asked. Floki paused for a second, scratching his partially balding head with his seax. "I haven't decided yet. Wherever the gods lead me to go, that is where I will go." Angradi just shook his head, picked up his fishing crate and went back to work. Floki chuckled again before working on the Seamaiden once more, making sure that all of the ropes and lines were untangled for her next voyage. The docks were very busy with heavy traffic in and out as Floki's crew rushed to meet Prince Ivar's expectations in a timely manner. Something like the sound of thunder could be heard coming from the thick greyish clouds overhead.

Hundreds of vikings paused from their labours and looked up towards the skies just in time to witness a very strange phenomenon. Thick heavy clouds rolled across the snowy winter sky, followed by a low rumbling sound which sounded like thunder. There was a loud thunderclap, followed by a feint flash of light which looked very similar to heat lightning when viewed from Gaia's surface. But the great heathen army was never aware of the Mizuho's presence high above, and were oblivious to its existence. To the vikings, it seemed like a more natural phenomenon or weather occurrence, and one that most of them were actually already quite familiar with. The vikings soon went back to work as if nothing had happened out of the ordinary. In fact, they started working faster and harder now that it seemed there might be a possible storm approaching. Prince Ivar was sitting on King Sigurd's throne inside the mead hall, listening to the musical melody of the tagelharpa over the skaldic poetry and mythical songs recited by his court poets. There was a large central fire in the middle of the mead hall, which kept everyone inside warm and toasty while they filled their horns with mead and danced in celebration of Prince Ivar's successful voyage.

Just outside the great hall, however, thousands of Norsemen were hard at work, constructing new walls and ramifications for the old ring fortress. Ivar's engineers had already narrowed the scarp or hill that the mead hall rested upon, and had started to build around it, adding the foundation of a temple and a keep, with temporary ramps and bridges setup to allow traffic in and out as the new stone wall was being built. A few paths were cleared out with plows and shovels, but otherwise it was extremely cold outside, with mounds of thick and heavy snow which were knee-high and difficult to tread through. Still, it was not enough to stop the hardened vikings as they worked together like thousands of ants in assembly, using their superior strength and numbers to accomplish great things even during the midst of a cold spell. Queen Aslaug stood alone on top of a frozen burial mound, watching Fulgar Thornheim and his crew as they approached the mainland. Aslaug was in plain sight, standing still as a statue whilst still holding the horn bugle in one hand, while clutching her long elmwood walking stick with the other. Her long blue catskin dress and black feathered cloak would wave and flow with the chilly wind, her wavey red hair and almost otherworldly bright blue eyes staring silently at the strangers in the distance, no doubt noticeable to Fulgar's crew. At the base of the mound, a circle of hooded women were gathered around and huddled together in a circle, spinning and weaving threads and making spindles of yarn to be used for future purposes.

By now, many of the workers and slaves in the open fields had already started to find and collect small artifacts left behind by the warring parties and viking nations from the previous settlement. Arrowheads, broken spear-heads, silver coins, bone beads and other trinkets. Lagertha's shield-maidens patrolled the area and kept a watchful eye on the slaves and thralls to make sure they didn't steal anything, or covet any weapons they might find. Ubbe Ragnarsson and his ulfhednar were still patrolling Iskjerne Forest when they stumbled upon a certain ash tree which seemed to have a bearded man's face carved into it. There were a set of 3 nooses hanging from the branches of this sacred ash tree, and someone had painstakingly taken the time to carve runes into its trunk. Ubbe examined the markings while scratching his neck. "What do you suppose it means?" one of the ulfhedinns asked him. "I'm not sure. Copy them down, my brother will know what it means" Ubbe said, before walking away to go look at some of the other trees in the forest.

Meanwhile, the berserkers had made some new discoveries as well. One of the sons of Ivaldi came running up from the mines to inform his father of a certain small hole in the ground, which upon further inspection appeared to be some kind of hidden cave entrance. Ivaldi reported the find to Bjorn Ironside and his small den of berserkers at the watch tower. Bjorn in turn sent a rider to the mead hall to go inform Prince Ivar, who was still drinking and feasting and having a good time. Bjorn Ironside also summoned more of his own personal guards to the watch tower, deeming it to be a great point from which to conduct a nearly aerial survey of the kingdom below. Prince Bjorn had seen Fulgar Thornheim's vessel arriving from the north, even before they had reached the docks, such was the view from high up in the watch tower. Again, however, the berserkers thought little about it. After all, it was only a small crew, not exactly an entire army. The vikings were no strangers to having visitors back home, and so there was very little need for any of them to feel alarmed now that they had found new land. On the other side of the small inlet of Iskjerne Bay, however, Volund the Smith had made some interesting discoveries as well. At the top of the long stone carved stairway into the mountains, where Iskjerne Forge was located, Volund found the broken remnants of some strange foreign inventions and dazzling purple crystals. All of the round egg-shaped stones were cracked, save for one of the crystals which had a very feint pinkish glow to it. "Well that's interesting," Volund said, sticking the crystal into his pocket.

Fulgar Thornheim looked up to the thick clouds rolling in across the sky and accelerated his progress towards the Great Hall. He feared he was too late, but the happenings in the settlement seemed quite normal... Vikings moved freely throughout, a seemingly lively population. The entire army was settled in the harbor, so what of this summoning? Had something happened in Sigurd's kingdom which warranted the call of the ancients? Why were the warriors all still in the town, with no sign of threat on the horizon? Fulgar had questions for Sigurd, the great immortal King of the South. Furrowing his brow, he pressed onward. "Uh," exclaimed Indisla the Beautiful, as hundreds of Nordic vikings went about working in the hills and open fields. Queen Aslaug stood alone on top of a frozen burial mound, her gaze turning to Indisla the Beautiful. Aslaug was in plain sight, standing still as a statue whilst still holding the horn bugle in one hand, while clutching her long elmwood walking stick with the other. Her long blue catskin dress and black feathered cloak would wave and flow with the chilly wind, her wavey red hair and almost otherworldly bright blue eyes staring silently at the strangers in the distance, no doubt noticeable to Indisla as well. At the base of the mound, a circle of hooded women were gathered around and huddled together in a circle, spinning and weaving threads and making spindles of yarn to be used for future purposes. "I've not seen you before", one of the volvur said calmly to Indisla as she spun a web of tapestry, her long black hooded cloak concealing the volva's face. Her voice sounded older, perhaps belonging to an elderly woman, one of the grandmothers of the vikings. "She seems lost," another one of the thread spinners commented. This one sounded younger than the first hooded woman. "This is no place to get lost," a third volva added. "The earth beneath us is crawling with lost souls, never to find their way again" the older hooded woman commented. Meanwhile, back at the mead hall, Ivar's cavalry was still feasting when all of a sudden, Fulgar Thornheim and his band came storming into the great open hall. Ivar the Boneless was sitting on King Sigurd's throne, drinking wine from a long sheep horn, laughing and having a good time. But as the music stopped, and all of the soldiers in the great hall became quiet, Prince Ivar would set the horn down and grab his crutch, pulling himself to his feet to stand on his own two feet, his brittle ankles secretly strengthened by cast iron metal supports or leg braces which went up just above his knees. Ivar the Boneless was surprisingly tall for a cripple, with strong muscular arms and a broad chin. Ivar's icey blue sparkling eyes gazed soullessly at Fulgar and his crew as they entered the hall, Ivar's eyes reflecting for a brief second the light from the white snowy land outside.

High up on the stone watchtower to the east, a brief tiny glare was spotted over the horizon by one of those who was on guard duty. Bjorn Ironside felt a smack on his shoulder, causing him to turn around. There on the distant horizon, on the ridge of one of the mountains, Bjorn saw the reflective glare of what he could only presume was someone's telescope. Were they being watched? Bjorn ordered his berserkers to keep a sharp lookout while he gathered some of his crew together to form a small fighting force, prepared to defend the settlement if needed. Meanwhile, Fulgar Thornheim marched into the ring fort, which was still currently undergoing construction, and burst into the mead hall. Ivar the Boneless grabbed his crutch and pushed himself to his feet.

"Where's Sigurd? I demand his audience immediately!"

All of the vikings in the mead hall stopped what they were doing as the music died. Sigurd who? Fulgar had not specified which Sigurd, as there were several vikings named Sigurd in Ivar's settlement. The vikings just laughed and bellowed with laughter as the music started playing again. Prince Ivar chuckled and sat back down, picking up his mead horn and taking a drink. As the strange joker and his small crew scoffed and left the great hall, looking eagerly disappointed, the tagelharpa started playing again. Indisla The Beautiful was still outside looking around, unfamiliar with anything she was seeing for the first time. She overheard the women in the black hoods talking about her and scoffed, continuing to look around, unsure if she should continue walking or just stand there. Fulgar Thornheim stormed angrily out of the Ring Fort, eager to see what the commotion in the town was about, when he suddenly noticed Indisla standing there.

"Hey! You over there! What's going on here?

Fulgar demanded of the woman, Indisla, who was clearly minding her own business as if things were all well in the bay. The sound of the cornu horn cutting through the thick fog was enough to alert the vikings. Lagertha and some of her shield-maidens would gather together, approaching the area where Fulgar's crew was standing. Lagertha had a look of growing concern in her eyes, her blonde hair braided and ready for battle. Queen Aslaug was still standing still on the raised hill, never moving as she kept the sheep horn bugle at her side, clutching her walking stick whilst staring off into the distance. Fulgar Thornheim gripped his axe, the uncertainty unappealing as he still hadn't found Sigurd. Battle seemed eminent, and his warriors sensed the same.

"Well then, scurry back into your hut. No telling what these raiders will bring." Fulgar dismissed, hoping this town had more than maidens to deal with invaders. Queen Lagertha and her shield-maidens would glance at them quietly before walking by, heading slowly towards the sound of the cornu horn. Lagertha did not even seem overly nervous, for some reason, and there was no sign of fear in this elite band of women as they casually went to investigate, carrying their large round shields and long spears with them. The shield-maidens would make their way to the outer wall of the settlement, forming a phalanx of shields as the Argosians approached. The bay slowly came into sight, Uhtred at the helm of the frontmost ship as the bay slowly came into view.

"Good, the fort still stands, we are not too late." The horn-caller behind Uhtred let out a soft grunt as he pursed his lips and sounded the horn to announce their arrival. The sound of the second horn caught Ivar's attention, so he sent his scouts to see what all the noise was about. But when the errand returned with news of an impending raid, Ivar the Boneless snarled angrily and threw his mead horn aside, spilling wine everywhere before he slammed his fist down on the table. Uhtred's boat crunched as it beached itself on the sand, his men getting out to pull the boat the rest of the way onto shore.

"Where is the feckless mother who demanded we crawl all the way out here, and when can I get a flagon of something to wet my throat?" Behind Uhtred, the army quickly finished beaching their skips and began pouring into the Fort and surrounding settlement. Uhtred cast an eye towards Fulgar and Indisila. Something about Fulgar's grip on his axe screamed battle was imminent, so Uhtred turned to him.

"I didn't miss the fun?"

Suddenly a scroll appeared in front of Ivar the Boneless without warning. It materialized with a puff of fire and smoke, and it bore a glowing red and gold seal of a lion's head surrounded by strange runes. The scroll floated in the air before him until it would be claimed. A subtle hum of magic surrounded the scroll, and within was a letter written with a flowing well-practiced script in Ivar's native tongue. The vikings in the great hall would stare in awe, most of them frozen with shock at how such a scroll could just seem to magically appear out of nowhere. Ivar the Boneless slowly reached out and took the scroll, breaking the gold seal and unrolling it. He then proceeded to read it.

---

From the desk of Archmage Sheodin Thundermane, Chief Ambassador of the Khroniktan Alliance;

To Whom It May Concern,

Greetings, sovereign leaders of Gaia. May the Everlasting Flame of Ha’Ari, the King of Kings and Father of Creation, light your path and grant you the wisdom of Heaven. The prayers of our people have uplifted you during this trying time, and the upheaval of your world, caused by the wrath of Eras and its titans, has been felt by us despite the few short years we have walked on your soil and looked upon your skies.

It troubles us that the echoes of the All Consuming Darkness have been felt even here on these shores. Eyes born from the blackness between the stars have settled upon your world and have disrupted the delicate balance of power, and ancient malevolence has awoken that seeks to place you in eternal bondage. Take solace, though, that Ha’Ari has stretched out His mighty hand and offers you protection. It is through His power, and the might of the Khroniktan Alliance, that Eras’s wrath was abated and the formidable colossus Ni’Thorne met its demise.

We warmly invite you or a representative of your nation-state to visit our colony New Ketajhi, located in the region known as the Royale Prairies of Siv’en, in order to open diplomatic relations. Food and lodging will be provided.

Sincerely,

Archmage Sheodin Thundermane, Chief Ambassador of the Khroniktan Alliance

---

Prince Ivar would slowly re-roll the fancy magical scroll and place it into a small lock box, before sending one of the riders to go inform Hrafn-Floki, who was still at the shipyard. Ivar then gripped his crutch and dragged his stiff-legged feet from around the tables, walking slowly towards the main hall's arched double doors while holding his helmet. His guards would fetch Ivar's horse-drawn war chariot as the lone rider galloped quickly to the docks to tell Floki about his crew's upcoming voyage to Siv'en, all this taking place as Livia and her army approached the ring fort.

Uhtred would stride forward, placing a comforting hand on Indisla's shoulder and consoling her just as Bjorn Ironside and his band of berserkers walked by. Bjorn looked furious, and ready for battle as well, with black claw-marks painted on his face and thick heavy bearskin cloak covering his broad muscular shoulders. Bjorn's berserkers would soon walk up and join Lagertha's shield-maidens at the outer gate. Bjorn hugged his mother Lagertha, who kissed him on the cheek, before their combined forces stood together on the hill, gazing at the Argosians who stood 100 feet across from them, holding a particular olive branch.

"What are they doing?" the large 6'5" berserker leader would ask his mother. "I'm not entirely sure," Lagertha responded prudently, standing considerably shorter than her giant son. The vikings at the outer wall of the settlement would stand there quietly, motionlesssly, holding their positions and formations. Within moments, Bjorn's younger half-brother Ivar the Boneless arrived, riding up in his chariot while accompanied by a band of riders on horseback. Ivar was smiling with anticipation, a look of hatred in his eyes as he peered over the viking troops in front of him to Livia and the Argosian company on the other side. The cornu horn had not gone unheard in the distance, yet Ubbe and his ulfhednar were nowhere to be found. All the while, the lady with the red hair never moved an inch. Aslaug was still standing on the earth mound holding her bugle and her walking stick, her face completely void of all expression or emotion as she watched all the happenings going on in the distance.

As the small contingent of Argosians and Iskjerne Bay's new Great Heathen Army stood in formations overlooking a small white plain covered in frozen grass and snow, Ivar the Boneless watched silently, leaning forward over his war chariot while folding his arms and resting his elbows. As the Argosian soldiers opened up, and Livia stepped forward, removing her silver and gold helmet, Ivar the Boneless gazed into her eyes, which were exactly the same as his.

"What color are my eyes?"

Ivar the Boneless calmly asked his troops. Bjorn Ironside would turn to look over his shoulder, with a confused look on his face. "What?" he raised an eyebrow at the sudden irrelevant question. "What color are my eyes?" insisted Ivar, as he kept his gaze on Livia, staring down at her from the top of the raised earth. Bjorn would glance up at Ivar before looking back at the praetorians. "Your eyes are bright blue," responded Bjorn, as a smile formed upon Ivar's lips. "Good," he replied. "What's it matter?" Bjorn inquired, still looking at the Argosian guards. "Father said that if my eyes were red, that I was in danger of breaking a bone" Ivar the Boneless said before lightly fwipping the reigns and riding his chariot forward. The vikings would move aside as Prince Ivar rode out to the front of the shield wall to get a closer look at the woman with the auburn flowing hair. Livia was holding her helmet under her arm.

Lagertha watched quietly from behind the shield wall, her pastel blue dress also flowing with the cold chilly breeze as she kept a grip on her spear. It was a long wooden spear with a metal spade-shaped spear head, having a spike on one side and a hook on the other. In her other hand, she held a greenish blue linden round shield with a conical pointed round metal boss at its centre. The shield had a black owl painted on the front in some elaborate Jellinge style tribal design, and she gripped the metal boss from the handle on its backside with additional support from the two leather straps which went around her arm when she needed to reposition herself. Bjorn would spit on the ground beside him, gripping his large bearded axe with both hands as Livia approached.

"Salve." Livia said, inclining her head respectfully. The berserkers and shield-maidens would glance at one another briefly, unsure of what Livia had said, for she was using a different lingo, albeit in their own Nordic language.

"I am Livia, first Legata of the Caesarian Legion, of the Argosian Empire. I bid you fair greetings, and good fortune." The Legata said, looking back up towards Ivar's chariot. Her words translated by the spell into fluent words the Vikings could understand in their own native tongues, yet she was also using a lingo that the Vikings were not familiar with. They had no concept of a Legata, or a Legion, but most of what Livia was saying, Ivar and his vikings understood.

"I beg your leave, and safe passage into your settlement so that I may retrieve one of our sisters who has fallen in battle, so that she may be returned to her people for an honorable burial, in accordance with their traditions. I humbly apologize for the intrusion, I did not expect this place to be inhabited." Livia added, keeping her gaze lowered as a sign of respect, and to display that she was not a threat.

Ivar the Boneless had suddenly lost his lust for battle, and was now just staring blankly at the beautiful older woman in front of him. Bjorn Ironside glanced down at his mother, Lagertha, who stood still in thought. "It could be a trap," Bjorn leaned over and whispered quietly into his mother's ear. Lagertha nodded quietly before stepping forward.

"Greetings and blessings First Legata, I am Queen Lagertha," she said as she gestured to her son and to her son-in-law. "These are the sons of King Ragnar, known as Bjorn and Ivar" she included. Ivar brought three fingers to his forehead and respectfully saluted Livia, nodding slightly with a smirk. Bjorn just stood there silently.

"We were not expecting an errand in this trying weather, we thought you might have been raiders. Our village will be quite gladdened to accomodate you and your company. Our fires will keep you warm. But you can not stay too long. We do not have much space in the great hall at the moment. Our settlement is currently undergoing construction," Lagertha informed her, looking back at her son.

Bjorn Ironside nodded, then waved all of his berserkers back to their stations. As the bear-skinned warriors walked away, Lagertha ordered her shield-maidens to part ways so that Livia and her company could pass.

"I am Ivar the Boneless," Ivar commented as he rode up next to Livia, obviously boasting about himself. He smiled down to her, admiring Livia's beauty and her fancy armor. Lagertha and her shield-maidens would wait patiently for them to join the vikings back to the innangard.