"Are you going to proceed with the execution of Jarl Borg?" "I am." "I understand your reasons." "At the same time, without Jarl Borg's ships and warriors, we cannot hope to mount a successful raid on Wessex." "We will find another ally." " When?" " Soon." "I have sent out word." "Are you suggesting that my brother should reprieve Jarl Borg as if nothing has happened?" "No." "I am merely asking you stay your hand until another ally is found." "The execution of Jarl Borg made public would surely discourage and deter any possible partners." "Fine." "I shall wait." "But at least we are still allies, King Horik." "I want my revenge on King Ecbert and I shall have it, come what may." "**" "Sire, forgive me." "No, no." "Please, you are about more important things than greeting a dying king." "You are dying?" "We're all dying, Athelstan." "Only these remain." "Fragments." "Undying fragments." "Immortal words." "I have some news." "King Aelle and his family are to pay us a visit from Northumbria." "Is that not where you come from?" "Yes, I was born there, and then sent to the monastery at Lindisfarne." "Then you would call it home?" "No." "I can call nowhere home." "Well, I hope that, someday perhaps, you will be able to call this place home." "Hold!" "Hold your advance!" "Father, do they know who we are?" "**" "King Ecbert, I've traveled many miles to meet you." "So that together, you and I," "Wessex and Northumbria, can save our country." "God save England!" "God save England!" "God save England." "God save England!" "God save England!" "God save England!" "God save England!" "God save England!" "God save England!" "God save England!" "God save England!" "God save England!" "God save England!" "God save England!" "God save England!" "I've had dreams of the Priest Athelstan." "He comes to me, but I do not know where he is..." "In Valhalla or in Hel?" "He is in neither place." "Then he is alive?" "He is physically alive, but his spirit is tormented." "He does not know himself." "I see that." "You must tell me where he is." "He is with a man you know." "A foreigner." "A King." "I have some news for you." "I am carrying our child." "Does it make you sad?" "No, Helga." "It fills me with joy." "Unbelievable joy." "You are the vessel which will carry our child to this shore." "And I am the father." "Floki the Carpenter." "Floki the Fisherman." "Floki the Father!" "Poor child to have such a father." "No, you will be a wonderful father." "No, Helga, I'll be the worst father!" "And my child!" "Oh, you gods, what have I done?" "Now you're frightening me." "Please don't frighten me." "I was so happy." "You're..." "You're right." "No, I'm a fool." "I always was a fool." "We shall be so happy." "You and I, and our beautiful child." "Let's get married, Helga." "There is no one else for me now." "Let's get married, and may the gods bless us, as they surely will, for we are such friends to them." " Yes." " Yes." "And all of our friends." "Torstein and Ragnar and..." "No, not Ragnar." " But..." "But he..." " No." "I said not Ragnar." "Everything here is for Ragnar." "I've known him a long time." "I helped him rise, I built his ships." "And now he is Earl, Earl Ragnar, and our little world waits upon him and eats from his hand." "But he cannot have everything." "He cannot have you and me." "Now, Kvasir was a man of great wisdom." "He could answer all the little children's questions." "The story of Kvasir's wisdom soon reached the ears of two horrible brothers, the dwarves Galar and Fjalar." "And these dwarves hated Kvasir for being so clever." "So, they lured him into a gloomy chamber," "and then they snuck up on him, and then they stabbed him, dead!" "And his blood spurted everywhere." " Bed time." " Aw." "What is troubling you?" "What is troubling me is that you do not trust me." "I don't trust you?" "That night you captured Jarl Borg, you told me nothing of what you meant to do." "I sent someone to find you." "They could not find you." "Where were you?" "I was with Porunn." "So, it was your decision." "You chose to be with her, rather than me." "I only ask to be kept in your confidence as your son." "I will be the judge of how far I take you into my confidence." "But as a father, I will give you some advice." "Think with this..." "Not with your..." "As agreed." "What do you want?" "Have you come here to gloat?" "Are you looking forward to my execution?" "Have you ever seen anyone being blood-eagled before?" "I'm told it is the worst, most painful death of all..." "But astonishing." "Truly astonishing to those who watch." "I will take no pleasure in your death." "Once, you would not have said that." "Certain things have changed." "They've changed because Ragnar Lothbrok has humiliated you." "It's only the start of his real ambitions." "Meaning?" "Meaning Ragnar Lothbrok wants to be King." "Isn't that obvious to you, King Horik?" "Why would he stop at assassinating me?" "He's Ragnar Lothbrok." "His fame eclipses even yours." "Let us say I believe you." "What would you have me do?" "I would arrange for my escape." "And then I would kill Ragnar Lothbrok and make his brother Earl." "That's what I would do if I were you." "I've brought you something." "What is wrong?" "I have never had such a pregnancy." "So much pain." "I am afraid." "Afraid of what?" "When Ragnar came to the farmhouse, he wanted to have sex." "I told him if he forced himself on me in the first three days of his return, I would bear him a monster." "Do you think you are carrying a monster?" "I do not know what made me say the things I said to Ragnar." "The words came out of my mouth, but I did not choose them." "I spoke them, but the gods chose them." "What are you going to do about Jarl Borg?" "You know exactly what I'm going to do." "Then why haven't you done it?" "What're you waiting for?" "I told the King that I would wait." "I don't understand, brother." "Why do you keep making concessions to Horik?" "Because he is the King." " Why won't you talk to me?" " There is not much to say." "We have everything to say to each other." "You can tell me about your whole life." "And I can tell you about mine." "There is not much to say about my life." "I've always been a servant." "Porunn." "That is your life on the outside, as others would see it." "But your life on the inside is different." "What hopes do you have?" "What dreams?" "I have neither hopes nor dreams." "People like me don't have hopes or dreams." "Wait." "I thought you might be thirsty." "Thank you, Princess Aslaug." "You are kind." "I feel sorry for you." "It is all the same with we women." "We just give birth to the slaughtered." "Poor Bjorn." "You feel the pangs, do you?" "Perhaps too early." "Life is something to be experienced later." "There are other desires that first have to be explored and satisfied." "How will I know the difference, Floki?" "Oh, you just ask yourself," ""What would Floki do?"" "And that will make you laugh and then you're already half cured." "Don't joke with me." "Who's joking?" "Rollo said that she is just a slave and I can have her any time." "Now I'm okay." "Your uncle is heavy-handed when he speaks to others about the heart." "But, the truth is, he feels the pangs as deeply as you." "But warriors don't show their heart, until the ax reveals it!" "You are so wise, Floki." "I'm not wise at all." "I'm just a joker." " Helga." " Siggy." " You are with child." " Yes." "Floki must be happy?" "He's not happy?" "Why is he not happy?" "It's complicated." "Floki is complicated." "Will you marry?" "Yes." "Yes, we will." "With Earl Ragnar's blessing?" "My love does not think that he needs Earl Ragnar's blessing." "Only that of the gods." "I have some interesting news." "Floki is angry with Ragnar." "Floki?" "Floki loves Ragnar." "Ragnar Lothbrok is no longer alone in attacking our shores." "He is still the greatest disturbance to our world." "And very likely to return here." "Mmm." "We must be prepared for him." "If his army lands in Northumbria," "I will come at once to your aid, and trust that you will do the same for me." "I'm not alone in fearing your true ambitions, King Ecbert." "It has been said that gaining the throne of Wessex was never going to be enough for you." "Go on." "That you will never rest until you are made Bretwalda, king of all the Britons." "And that even now you have plans to attack the kingdom of Mercia." "Leave it." "All of you, leave." "Mercia is a neighbor of mine, as it is of yours, so you know very well what is happening there." "Since the death of King Offa, the kingdom has fallen into turmoil, with several members of his family competing for the throne." "Of fa's son and heir has been murdered by his own sister, and it seems there is no end to the violence and the chaos there." "It suits neither of us to have such an unstable and tumultuous neighbor." "But if you and I joined together, not only against the Northmen, but also against Mercia, we should surely overcome it." "We could then divide Mercia up between us, as we saw fit." "What do you say?" "I say after we have conquered Mercia, what is to stop you from turning on your smaller ally?" "At the moment, King Aelle, very little." "That is why I am proposing the formal marriage of my oldest son and heir, Aethelwulf, to your beautiful daughter, Judith." "Now then, what do you say?" "Now I say..." "Let us drink to our alliance." "And may the devil never cast it asunder, hmm?" "Hey, Papa!" "Do you, Aethelwulf, son of Ecbert, before all these witnesses here gathered, take this woman, Judith, daughter of Aelle, as your lawful wife, to have and to hold, from this moment until death parts you?" "I do." "Helga..." "You must hold this sword in trust for your son, and now you must present this new sword to the groom." "The sword transfers the father's power of protection over the woman, to her new husband." "Do you, Judith, before all these witnesses, take this man, Aethelwulf, to have and to hold, and forsaking all others, to serve and obey, from this time henceforth, until you die?" "I do." "Now the rings." "Floki, do you swear to the gods that you want to marry this woman?" "I swear, with the gods as my witnesses." "Helga, do you swear to the gods that you want to marry this man?" "I do swear." "Let these rings be a permanent sign that you are united in holy matrimony, in the eyes of these people, and in the eyes of God." "Amen." "Then you are married." " Rollo Lothbrok?" " Yes." "I have come to talk to your brother upon important business." "And what business would that be?" "Believe me, your brother would want to hear me." "You son of a whore." " One more." " Wait." "My turn." "All right." " Torstein?" " Here!" "I'm here." "Is your shield up?" "It is so dark in here!" "This is my brother." "And you are?" "You sent word that you needed a new ally to attack Wessex." "The word reached us and we are happy to say that we can provide such an ally." "An Earl with enough ships and men to make your raid a great success." "His name is Earl Ingstad." "Earl Ingstad?" "Earl Ingstad." "Never heard of him." "Why is he not with you?" "He did not want to waste the journey." "He wanted to be certain that you were still in need of an ally." " When can I meet him?" " You can meet him at any time." " Yes!" " He is ready to attend." "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" "Floki, my friend." "Yes." " I have made you something." " What is it?" "It is a vane." "The power of your ship." "Erlendur, come look!" "It's a beautiful thing." "It is more than beautiful." "It is powerful and magical, and carries the meaning of everything." "How can I thank you?" "May I get you something in return?" "No." "Such thing so freely given." "Did you mean it when you said you would help me free Jarl Borg from prison?" "Yes." "But why?" "For a joke." "We have found a new ally." "Earl Ingstad..." "Whoever he is." " When will he arrive?" " A few days." "And then Jarl Borg will be executed." "That cannot come too quickly for my liking." "You're hurting me!" "You're hurting me!" "Why do you do it?" "Why do you sleep with King Horik?" "I do it for you." "Please!" "What can King Horik do for me that my brother cannot do?" "Right now they are allies." "Long may they remain so, but in the event that they should fall out, you should be able to choose between them." "Horik is a King." "Never forget that." "Never doubt how much power he has." "What have you decided?" "I have decided to take your advice." "I will set you free." "There are those here who will help me." "People who only pretend to be loyal to Ragnar." "And then?" "And then we will kill Ragnar Lothbrok." "I want to ask you something." "What is a blood eagle?" "A blood eagle is a very special punishment." "Reserved for those who especially angered the gods." "The offender gets down on his knees, and his back is opened with knives." "And then with axes, his ribs are chopped away from his spine." "And then his lungs are pulled out of these huge, bleeding wounds and laid upon his shoulders, so they look like the folded wings of a great eagle." "And he must stay like that, suffering, until he dies." "If he suffers in silence, he may enter Valhalla." "But if he screams, he can never enter its portals." "Earl Ingstad is here." "Where is he?" "He would not enter the great hall." "He chose instead to remain in the woods." "Earl Ingstad?" "Earl Ingstad." "You bear a strong resemblance to my ex-wife." "If I had given you my true name, you might have turned me away." "How is Bjorn?" "He is happy" "He is looking forward to going to England." "As am I." "So, you are truly an Earl?" "Yes." "We are equal." "I'm sure this is difficult for you." "It is not difficult at all." "How many ships?" "Four ships." "Over 100 warriors." "So, will you accept me as an ally?" " That depends." " On what?" "I have been betrayed by earls before." "So, if you are really Earl Ingstad, then it's a no." "But if you are still the Lagertha I remember, then it is a yes." "Earl Ingstad." "More power!" "Faster!" "You say you try." "That was not expected." "No." "It wasn't." "What do you think of it?" "I think the gods are playing a joke on me." "It is not a joke." "I know." "What do you think?" "I like her." "My former wife?" "I would rather be her." "She is formidable." "Be stronger!" "The gods are having a good time with me today." "Attack!" "It will be dark soon." "Horik!" "Is that you?"