"Make way there!" "Come on!" "Make way!" "Make way!" "Brother!" "Brother!" "Where are you?" "Aethelwulf?" "Thank God you are come." "What on Earth made you think I would not, sire?" "No, I never doubted you, but others..." "Our own youngest brother fled to Mercia." "He was always the runt of the litter." "Our parents should've drowned him at birth." "Where are the heathens now?" "Only one, perhaps two days away." "And your forces are ready and armed?" "Yes, if you are ready to lead them." "I would regard it a great honor, sire, to defend our kingdom and our homeland." "And there's no man better, Lord Aethelwulf." "The poets sing your battle praises in the halls." "That's because I paid them." "If you paid them, they'd sing your praises too." "That's poets for you." "My Lady, pray, have you no time for laughter?" "No, My Lord Aethelwulf, only for fear." " How soon will they come?" " Soon enough." "I hope so." "I can't wait for Valhalla." "Good day to you, folk." "What is the problem here?" "The problem is her." "What has she done?" "She has had a child, the boy in her arms." " What of it?" " He's not my child." "We tried for many years to have children but without success." "And then, just over a year ago, a young man came to the door." "I remember the day." "I was making a loom." "The young man said his name was Ríg." "He gave us some good advice on our work and stayed at our house." "After three days, he left, and then nine months later, she gave birth to a son." "Whose child is it?" "I do not know, My Lady." "We were all in the same bed." " I was too scared..." " You see?" "She is not an honest woman." "She had sex with Ríg and could not bring herself to tell me the truth!" " Do you know who this Ríg was?" " No, he was just a young man." "On the contrary." "We know from our ancient stories that Ríg is another name for Heimdall." "The god Heimdall?" "My Lady!" "Yes, the god Heimdall!" "You are fortunate that he chose your household to appear in." "That's just a story." "Our whole lives are just stories." "You should be ashamed you did not trust your wife, despite the joy and comfort she has brought you, and the fact that a god chose you of all people to visit." "Do not punish her, but rejoice with her, drink wine with her, and sacrifice one of your animals to Heimdall, the god." "But if I hear you have harmed this woman or this child, you will answer for it to me." "It seems they intend to stay here a while." "I had not expected that." " My Lord, why don't we attack?" " They have a strong position." "Perhaps if we can make them leave their position and attack us." "How could we force them to do that?" "They're scavengers, little more than beasts." "We must be able to out-think them." "If we leave it much longer, they'll be even better dug-in." "My Lord, if a wolf comes into your sheep fold, you don't try to out-think it." "You go in and drive it away or kill it!" "How dare you argue with me?" "Lord Aethelwulf, forgive us." "We only meant..." "I know what you meant." "You meant that you're already greater warriors than I am, although only yesterday you were still green, sucking on your mothers' breasts." "Go do your jobs." "Set up camp." " You see them up there?" " Yes, I can see them." " What're we waiting for?" " To see what they'll do." "So you want to hand them the initiative?" "We can't afford to lose half our men by being stupid and attacking." "We wait until the odds are in our favor." "Awake!" "Awake!" "Under attack!" " Arm yourselves!" " Rise!" "Rise!" "Throw!" "Throw!" "Odin!" "They're on us!" "Weapons!" "My Lord!" "We're being attacked!" "Amen." "Who are you?" "I'm Lord Aethelwulf, brother of King Aelle." "You are the brother of the King, yet you lead his army?" "Does he send you to fight all his battles?" "In the bedroom too?" "Ragnar!" "Come and see!" "Their iron is stronger and better than ours." "And we've captured a dozen of their horses." "I'm hungry already." " What ails you, my friend?" " The gods won't lift my curse." "I am fated to live forever on this miserable Earth." " Who is this?" " This?" "This is the King's brother." "What do you say?" "Shall we go visit the King?" "God help us!" "My brother defeated, dead." "God help Northumbria." "Sire, we do not know if your brother is dead." "But we do know, My Lord, that he was defeated!" "Who are these barbarians, these savages?" "Why have they come to torment us?" "Sire, some learned and wise men say that these Northmen have been sent here by God..." "To punish our people for their many sins and transgressions." "That we have departed from the path of righteousness that our lord set out, so now he is holding us to terrible account." "Forgive me, sire, but what if God has not sent these Northmen here to plague us?" "Then who has, pray?" "Could it not, sire, rather be the work of the devil?" "Go on then, My Lord." "What is your advice?" "My advice, sire, is that, as we are facing the forces of Satan, we must resist them at all costs." "Even at the cost of all our lives if necessary." "For evil cannot be accommodated nor yet ever bargained with." "Aye!" "Sire, if I might speak?" "I put it to you that it might be that these pagans have come here by their own account, that they are neither of God nor the devil." "They are just savage men more interested in robbery and plunder than in matters of the spirit." " Then what is your advice?" " Listen to him." "Sire, since they have come for gain, then let us offer them enough money or whatever else they desire to go away and leave us in peace!" " Shame!" "Shame on you!" " Shame on you!" "He is right!" "Why waste more blood?" " Let's pay them off!" " Foolish!" "My Lords, let me think on it just a little while." "In the meantime, let it be known" "I have sent envoys out to raise more men to arms for our use if need be." "Long live the King!" "Contend, O Lord, against those who contend with me." "Fight against those who fight against me." "Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers." "Say to my soul, "I am your salvation."" "Sire, they are here." "Greetings." "King Aelle invites your leader to meet him in his villa to talk." "Who is your leader?" "The King did not know that his brother was still alive." "He would like to talk to you about what he can give you to set his brother free." "Do you accept the King's invitation?" "Where are you going?" "We should attack while they are weak." "How long will it take them to raise another army?" ""Attack, attack, attack!" That's all he ever says." " I want to talk to the King." " What is there to talk about?" "Imagine the treasures the King keeps in his household." "I want them." "I want to see how he lives, what manner of men they are, and I'm hungry." "Listen to me, if we agree to walk into his house, he can kill each and every one of us." "You forget, we hold his brother hostage." "Why should he care about his brother?" "Do I not care about mine?" "They're coming." "My Lord Eadric." "Sire, this man is Ragnar Lothbrok, his brother Rollo, and their companions." "Ah, yes, Ragnar Lothbrok." "We've heard that name before." "We are pleased you have decided to talk to us." "Perhaps, sire, you should invite them to eat first." "Forgive me." "Let us feast together and then talk." "**" "**" "The King!" "Ragnar Lothbrok, may I present my wife, Ealswith, and my son, Egbert." "**" "**" "Hello." "Go on now." "We need more." "In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, amen." "Amen." "**" "**" "**" "**" "Shall we talk, King?" "Very well." "What do you want for the safe return of my brother and for leaving my kingdom?" " Is he a priest?" " He's a bishop of our church, a man of God." "I, too, have a man of God at home." "Two thousand pounds in gold and silver." " What did he say?" " How much?" "Two thousand pounds." "I do not think I heard you properly, Ragnar Lothbrok." "Two thousand pounds in weight." "That is the price." " I agree to the terms." " Good." "But first, you must return my brother." "When we receive payment, you shall have your brother." "You must give me time to collect such a vast amount." "And in the meantime, you and your men must remain in your camp and make no further attacks on my people or their property." "Agreed." "Sire!" "How can we trust the word of a pagan?" "Let me baptize one of them." "There is one further condition." "I desire that either you or one of your companions agrees to be baptized into our faith." "That way, I can make peace with a friend and fellow Christian, and not an enemy." "You want one of us to become Christian?" "Yes." "**" "Tostig!" "**" "I will be Christian." "My Lady Lagertha," "I hope you can find it in your heart to speak to the wife of the late Earl." "Of course." "Hello, Siggy." "Please sit down and join us." "Wait!" "Earl Haraldson tried to kill my father." "I know." "And if he had succeeded," "I would be standing where Siggy's standing now." "So what would you like me to say to her?" "I would ask her to sit down." "Thank you." " What can I do for you?" " It is what I can do for you." "I want to serve you." "That is not necessary." "I remember very well how I served the father of my church, and it did me no harm." "In fact, I found in service a great freedom and honor." "When I accepted that I should forget about myself and serve Father Cuthbert, well, then I became happy." "If it's really what you want, I accept your offer." "Thank you." "You and your daughter are now under my protection, but I will never treat you as a servant." "O Lord, Holy Father, almighty and eternal God, expel the devil and his kin from this person, from the head, from the hair, from the brain, from the brow, from the ears, from the nostrils," "from the mouth, from beneath the tongue, from the throat, from the neck, from the chest, from the heart, from the entire interior of the body, from the thoughts, from the words, and from the deeds," "in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord." "Amen." "I anoint thee in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." "Amen." "**" "I now pronounce you baptized and born again with the new Christian name of Rolf." "May the Lord bless you and keep you from this day hence and forever." "Amen." "We have witnessed a true miracle." "Now I ask you to fulfill your promises." "Return to your ships and await your payment in peace." "Agreed, Ragnar Lothbrok?" " What is it?" " I can't sleep." "Come here beside me, daughter." " What worries you?" " I fear for father so far away." "Our lives are fated, Gyda." "We all have to accept that." "I can feel it moving underneath my hand." "Mmm-hmm." "He has a strong kick." "He?" "Are you so sure it's a boy?" "A long time ago, the Seer prophesized that your father would have many sons." "That's how I know it's a boy." "Now sleep." "I won again." "Well done, Rolf." " What's wrong with you, Floki?" " There's nothing wrong with me." "I did not renounce the gods in front of everyone." "It was a joke." "I didn't believe it." "I didn't even know what the old fool was saying." "It doesn't matter." "Surely, you've made them very angry." "Don't be stupid." "No, you are the stupid one to risk the wrath of the gods." "How will you ever get Odin to forgive you now?" "They're here!" "Come and see!" "They're empty." "Move back!" "Reform!" "My men!" "Regroup!" "Stay together!" "Hold!" "Odin!" "Valhalla." "How many Christians did I kill, Floki?" "How many?" "Do you think Odin is still angry with me now?" "It seems your brother, the King, does not care if you live or die." "If you let me talk to him, I will persuade him to honor his pledge." "Why should I not just kill you now?" "Then you'll have nothing left to bargain with." "I have this." "Open!" "Open the gate!" "I swear before God almighty," "I declare war eternal on the Northman, Ragnar Lothbrok." "I swear to our Lord Jesus Christ and to the Blessed Virgin, one day, I will avenge myself on him" "and bring him to justice and to death, so help me God."