Aether Dock

#2019-08-23 11:00:01: 

#2019-08-23 11:02:29: 

#2019-08-23 11:02:30: 

#2019-08-23 11:02:33: 

#2019-08-27 15:14:38: 

#2019-08-27 15:14:45: 

#2019-08-27 15:14:50: 

#2019-09-01 05:13:50: 

Fifty viking longships drifted in unison around Ellaria's watery coastline, each one spaced out in a triangular wedge formation, the Seamaiden taking the lead with Ivar the Boneless as the fleet commander. Aboard each ship was a horn-blower and an animal-skin drummer, but only the drums were sounding as the rowers rowed together, every beat of the 50 thundering drums creating the rhythm and tempo of the oars as the Great Heathen Army made its way towards the mouth of Iskjerne Bay, moving around the rocky mountains and inland towards the place of Aether Dock, where the late chieftain Sigurd Hring had built a new shipyard. The ships arrived swiftly and quietly, appearing through the foggy mist as the vikings rowed their way inland. The beating drums would be the only warning of Prince Ivar's arrival. He turned and looked behind him towards his older brother Bjorn, who stood there ready to make landfall at any moment.

The air was cooler in the bay area, with salty rime and frost forming thin layers against the ship's hulls and prows, breaking through the ice sheets as they drifted into the harbour. Prince Ivar was wearing full body armor with his helmet already fastened, hugging the wooden mermaid-carving at the prow of the ship while sitting on the raised platform above the low deck. Ivar Ragnarsson turned to look at his brother Bjorn Ironside, nodding quietly. Bjorn nodded back before lifting his giant bronze metal shield to the side of his head and yelling into it. "OOOOODINNN!!! his deep low voice carrying over the waves and disappearing into the fog, providing an echolocation for the Seamaiden as Ivar signalled for the drums to cease. As the drummers stopped drumming, the rowers also stopped, lifting their oars above the water and holding them there. "OOOOOOODIIIINNNNN!!! repeated the large brother with the black painted claw marks on his face. As his voice echoed, Ivar turned to look at Bjorn again, smirking quietly. Bjorn smiled and nodded slightly before turning to look back at one of the archers. Prince Bjorn snapped his fingers, and the archer immediately lit one of his flaming arrows and fired it over Bjorn and Ivar's shoulders into the dense cold fog. After a brief second, they could hear the feint sizzling of the flaming arrow as it was extinguished beneath the open water. "OOOOOOODIIIINNNNN!!! Bjorn shouted again, using the large disc-shaped bronze shield to throw his voice and direct the echo. He motioned again to the archer, who quickly fired another flaming arrow into the air.

This time there was no sizzling sound afterwards. The arrow struck a muddy bank, extinguishing itself in the frozen wet moss. Bjorn lowered his shield and looked up to Prince Ivar, who grinned devilishly. "LAAANND!!!" Bjorn shouted, pointing to the beach with his axe. Ivar the Boneless quickly plopped down on to the ship's shallow deck and slithered his way through the rowers on his elbows, dragging his useless legs behind him. Hrafn-Floki would start climbing up the mast of the Seamaiden, lowering his black hood to reveal his crow-like face paint with coal eyeshadow and rune painted forehead, giggling with excitement. Ubbe Ragnarsson would stand up beside him, his bright blue eyes glimmering with hope. Queen Lagertha and King Harald didn't react much, both of them already resolved from the beginning. Lagertha would glance over to him silently, a look of concern in her eyes. King Harald looked at her and smiled, a look of confidence on his face. Ivar opened a treasure chest and grabbed his new invention, a pair of armored leg supports. He glanced up to Ubbe with a sarcastic smirk while sliding one of the leg supports around his ankle and fastening the 3 straps, two below the knee and one above to hold his leg straight. As the Seamaiden neared the empty shipyard, Bjorn turned to face the 150 rowers, standing in the center aisle between them, signalling for the 75 oarsmen on the right side to backpaddle. This caused the Seamaiden to turn sideways while entering the shallows parallel to one of the docks.

With her left side out, the 75 dually colored round shields which formed the Seamaiden's shield-wall flank were already in place. Prince Ivar grabbed his crutch, his long dagger and his throwing axe, propping himself up to sit on top of the treasure chest as a row of specialized archers took up defensive positions around him at the side deck overlooking the empty shipyard. Harald Finehair flicked his fish-bone toothpick overboard into the water before tightening his sword sheath and his glove straps. He nodded to the oarsmen in front of him, who retracted their oars back into the boat, tightening the shield-wall. As the longship drifted slowly closer to the available dock, Harald unsheathed his sword and pointed it at the small metal pulley system. "Drop the ramp!!!" He shouted, and suddenly the whole side of the Seamaiden opened up like a draw-bridge, forming a large ramp which opened on to the dock, allowing the vikings to storm out quickly in large numbers as the ship was anchored down and tied off to keep it from drifting away. A row of 15 vikings rushed out, shoulder to shoulder, shield to shield, roaring with fury and the lust for battle. This was followed by another 15, and another, as they quickly stormed the docks, rushing the whole entire shipyard within a few minutes, only to find it empty and deserted. Prince Ivar sat aboard the vessel and watched as the heathen army swept the frozen beach, finding only a few unfrozen vodka bottles, old tackle, tools and miscellaneous items scattered around the small uninhabited island. As they returned to the longship, Ubbe looked up over the ship's shield-wall to Ivar, smiling.

"The place is empty. There's no one here," Ubbe said with disbelief. Ivar just smirked, pointing his crutch out over the horizon past the shipyard, to the foggy white landmass past the icebridge on the other side of the docks. "We have to go to the other side," Ivar said. "The ice is either too thick, or not thick enough. Do we risk sinking the ships? Or risk ourselves?" Prince Ubbe asked rhetorically. Ivar sighed deeply as two archers guided a horse drawn war chariot over to the ramp. "I have a plan," he said as he propped himself to his feet and leaned into his crutch, dragging himself over to the chariot with stiff legs before climbing up to sit in it. "Go," he said, appearing to be perfectly relaxed with his legs sprawled out. The charioteer fwipped the reigns and soon the 2 horses pulling the chariot would descend down the ramp and over the dock on to the muddy shore. Ubbe rolled his eyes and turned to look down at Ivar this time, shouting to him. "Well, what is your plan?!" he threw his arms up. Prince Ivar smiled, but said nothing as the war chariot slowly rode away.

#2020-02-19 03:47:49: 

#2020-02-19 05:16:47: 

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.

#2020-02-22 01:19:22: 

No sooner did Thorvald arrive to gather Fulgar's crew, than another rider arrived from the mainland, informing Hrafn-Floki and his shipmates of the circumstances back at the ring fort. Floki had been a good friend of Ivar's father Ragnar Lothbrok, and after King Ragnar Sigurdsson died at the hands of Christian leaders, Floki became like a second father to the young ambitious prince. Ivar Ragnarsson trusted Floki, perhaps even moreso than he trusted his own brothers. Ivar's message was fairly simple and straight forward. He was sending Floki's gang on an ambassador mission to the distant land of Siv'en, which would require one of Floki's longships. A small crew of trained warriors would accompany them as bodyguards, while the rest of Floki's crew stayed at the docks and continued to work around the shipyard. It seemed now that Floki's prayer to the gods had not gone unheard. They were going to send him on an adventure afterall. Floki chuckled and screeched with excitement, unable to control his happiness. Others around the docks looked over at the strange shipbuilder ackwardly. Most of them seemed nervous, or more serious, everyone now preparing for a possible battle on the horizon. But not Floki, not this oddball among the vikings. Floki was excited and happy, for the Seamaiden was now ready, and Floki himself would be going on another voyage to distant lands unknown. Floki sheathed his seax and hung lazily off the side of the longship, eager not only for war, but also for the great adventures ahead.

#2020-02-24 08:33:02: 

#2020-02-24 08:33:11: 

Hrafn-Floki was sitting on board the Seamaiden, hugging the wooden carved mermaid-prow at the front of the viking longship when his leidang started to arrive. Floki the Shipbuilder had wasted no time in hand picking the 500 hrafnfylking who would be traveling with him on his adventures. He divided them up evenly on to 5 different longships, placing 100 sailors on to each ship. Besides the large Seamaiden, he also hand-picked four other longships called the Sjorulfur, the Sjohestur, the Waveraider and the Hafskongur to go as his fleet. These five viking longships looked very similar, apart from their prows. The Seamaiden had a mermaid or valkyrie-type prow. The Sjorulfur had a wolf-headed prow. The Sjohestur had a horse-headed prow. The Waveraider had a simple spiralling or swirling prow design typical of the Jellinge style, while the Hafskongur had a Dall horned sheep or ram-headed prow. All of them had square-shaped crimson red sails which bore a picture of the black raven in tribal knot-work design, a symbol that was by now firmly associated with Nordic vikings from the northern fjords.

Soon other vikings would arrive from the mainland, hoping for a chance to sail with Hrafn-Floki and join in on his adventures. 50 ulfhednar, 50 berserkar, 50 svinfylking, 50 hestahar, 50 kattrfylking, 50 hornuglar, 50 ljosalfar, 50 svartalfar and 100 thralls would all be chosen to join Floki the Vitki on his quest to Siv'en, and he divided them all accordingly, placing all 1000 of his vikings into one of the 5 distinguished ships. The remaining 500 hrafnfylking would stay at the docks and continue to do as they had always done, building and repairing boats at the shipyard, fishing the harbour and working close to the water. Angradi the Whaler was chosen by Hrafn-Floki to be the new commander of the hrafnfylking at the docks, and was appointed to oversee the shipyard's navy.

Without further delay, the rowers divided themselves on each of the longships, with 75 oarsmen on each side. Hrafn-Floki took his place on the raised platform at the front of the Seamaiden, and picked up the ivory curved horn, blowing into it. The sound of the horn was carried for miles. Floki then leaned over the side of the ship to kiss his wife Helga one last time as she placed a garland of holly on his head like a crown. Helga and the other housewives waved their husbands goodbye and watched quietly as the 5 longships slowly rowed away from the docks and headed out towards deeper waters. They knew it might be weeks, months or even possibly years before Hrafn-Floki's leidang returned to Iskjerne Bay, if they ever returned at all.

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