Fantasy On Wings of Valhalla (Cmdrawings and Kumii)

[Kumii]

Haldor was midway through cutting the second log, "Uh... maybe about 50 or so feet of rope, enough for raising and lowering the sail." he sat down just opposite of Ylfa and began carving the wood he cut in the shape of a small hull, "So, Ylfa, might I ask how you died?" He sounded almost out of breath but that was to be expected as chopping wood is taxing on even the strongest of men. "Me, I was king-to-be, you see. Was to be King of Svalbard. King Haldor of the High North was the official title, but I was killed before the ceremony took place." He exerted grunts as he talked chopped and carved the oak. "Killed by my close friend in a raid." He stuck his axe in the ground next to him as he then examined the now carved wood then tossing it aside and getting up grab another piece, "Can you imagine? The person you trust dearest betraying you for some glory?" He picked up his and began carving this piece.

 

[Cmdrawings]

Ylfa paused her work in curiosity; Svalbard? She had heard of it, she thinks. One of the sailors, perhaps? Far north, very far. She never traveled that far north, or much travel for the record except for one case where her father took her to a strange island with blue painted people across the sea but from what she gathered he only did that to frighten her so she would learn to stay home and tend the hearth. Ylfa observed Haldor closely, she had heard about kings and jarls but never seen one and she wasn't sure how she should act. Haldor seemed very kind and friendly so perhaps all kings were like that? She frowned as his story continued on about the betrayal he faced, she really didn't have friends in the village as she had to work often around the home when her father was away but she knew how important it was and felt sad for Haldor to not have a great friend. Close friends are as cherished as a beloved relative and she would compare it to if her grandmother would betray her.

She inched over and gave him a pat on the forearm with a soft voice, "You are a very good king, your friend did not see that." It was simple but factual in Ylfa's mind and she scooted over to her spot to resume her rope-making and gave a small thoughtful hum once she noted she failed to answer his question previously, "We had raiders. Women and children were sent to the east side to be escorted by one of our men but no one came. I stayed behind to wait while the others left and those men wanted to get by me. I didn't want them to hurt the others so I stood in their path." She didn't feel like the rest needed explaining, she figured Haldor would know that Ylfa was no warrior or a fighter and what can easily be surmised by her death.

 

[Kumii]

Haldor reacted a bit when she touched his forearm, "I never got to be king, I was betrayed before the ceremony could take place." He finished up the last log and put his axe away. He then began to shape and form the logs into much more of a boat shape. "Raiders? Bah, typical... though what did I expect. We're Vikings, it's kind of in the job description." From this comment, it was clear Haldor found raiding and looting a necessary evil. He briefly looked at Ylfa, "Not a fighter, I take it?" He finished up tying the boat pieces together, "We'll change that, don't you worry. We'll have to if we're to survive out here. The Realm of the Dead isn't exactly forgiving. Life is cruel... why should the afterlife be any different, you know?" He laid the boat down and stick the mast pole in the middle of it.

"For now though, just waiting on that sail." He smiled at Ylfa.

 

[Cmdrawings]

"A king is a king regardless of the ceremony, is it not?" Ylfa inquired with a naive head tilt, not fully grasping why a ceremony is so important. Haldor considered himself a king in some form and thus he was, wasn't he? Adults are funny about that, she noted and chose a question she thought would be harmless, "Why do we raid though? Some of us farm, some fish, some forage and we do alright from it so why is there a need to take instead of to ask?" Ylfa truthfully never understood the concept of raiding. If people needed food why not ask? If the larder was missing something but abundant in another resource, she would walk to her neighbor and offer a trade in her village. It was very simple. Perhaps the rest of the world was too complex for simplicity? Did Haldor raid other places as a king? He didn't seem too opposed to it, maybe she was a bit too young for it. She settled on nodding to his comment on being a fighter, she didn't mind learning if it meant lightening the load for this journey.

She unclasped her cloak and eased it off her shoulders, taking the basic and crudely made clasp off to store in a small pouch on her belt, to hand off to him, "Sail?" It was rudimentary for now but she's certain it will work for the task at hand and she knew she wouldn't need her cloak for a while anyways.

 

[Kumii]

Haldor grabbed the 'sail' from Ylfa, crude as it was, it would work for now. As he tied the sail down, he began to answer her questions, "We raid simply for materials and in some cases..." he pulled the rope tight, "well.. i'm sure you've seen it, no? Some the of the atrocities some clans commit?" He went on to explain further, "Simply put, some clans don't have the natural resources others clans might have and thus have no other way to get it then by raiding. Coming from the far north... I would know.." He began pushing the boat towards the water, "Well anyways, that's why we do it."

 

[Cmdrawings]

Ylfa pondered his answer before nodding; she didn't fully grasp it but Haldor was smart and if he says that's why then she won't contest it. He has mentioned the far north a few times and piped up with a bit of wonder, "What is the rest of the world like? What is it like to travel wherever you wish? What's the far north like?" She spammed her questions as she pushes her full weight against the boat to aid him. He does sound well-versed in travel and Ylfa only traveled once so she felt like her only experience outside her village couldn't quite count due to how young she was back then. He must have a lot of stories and she wouldn't mind hearing some during the trip if he's up for it. Could make the time pass a little bit better.

 

[Kumii]

"The far north?" He paused for a minute, "Cold. Snowy. Ruthless. Someone who grows up in the Far North is about as tough as they get. The very north part of Scandinavia is ruthlessly cold."He lowered the sail and they sailed off. He sat down , "To be honest, it snows 9 months out of the year and hails the other 3. The food that grows there is tough and tasteless. The people that grow there are even more so."

Haldor thought for a moment, "The rest of the world is a bit like an oyster, rough and rowdy outside, but a shiny and valuable inside. As for traveling wherever I wished, well adventurous? It's a nice change of pace seeing new things, why do you ask?"

 

[Cmdrawings]

Ylfa got comfy on her spot in the ship, glancing over the side at the water before looking back at him, "So the Far North is very cold. Why do people live there? Is there places to fish then?"

She pondered over his answers and answered his question, "I only traveled once when I was little so I didn't think it would be an accurate thought on travel. That land was interesting but I hardly saw any trees and the blue people were interesting too! But I wasn't allowed to talk to them." It was evident she was talking about the Pict tribes in Great Britain, and considering the history between the Vikings and the Picts, it was clear that perhaps Ylfa was taken onto a raiding party as a child without being aware of it. Or perhaps for settlement reasons that might have failed hence why she was brought back. It wasn't uncommon for Vikings to claim Pict settlements and rename them as their own.