Vikings

Kings...

Who are these men?

These men collaborated willingly with Ivar's regime.

And they burned alive a young woman, who I loved.

I will banish all of them, for life!

Ivar the Boneless.

I lost my kingdom. I am simply fleeing the retribution of my brothers.

I plan to build a farmstead

in the countryside.

You want to retire and disappear.

The most famous shield maiden in all of Scandinavia.

Skol.

Skol.

While King Harald was sick, King Olaf claimed his kingdom.

He asks you, as a friend and ally, to help him.

Whether or not you go to the aid of King Harald

will not define what you are as a king.

It's time for us to look west.

Kattegat.

And you can be revenged upon your brothers.

Floki.

This way.

Floki.

Ketill Flatnose!

By all the gods, I never thought I would see you again.

And yet, here I am, Ubbe!

Very far from invisible!

I thought you were Floki.

Do I look like Floki?

You are in Floki's boat.

You went with Floki to found a new settlement.

Tell me, was it a success?

In the early days, Ubbe,

it was a great struggle for all of us.

We lost many good people to disease and starvation.

Sometimes I wondered if the gods were against us,

and if our tiny colony in Iceland could ever succeed.

Iceland?

That's what we call it, because, in winter,

the fjords fill with ice floes.

But, otherwise, the weather is fine.

And, since then, we have made progress.

We have harvested our first crops.

Other settlers have come to join us,

and I feel optimistic that we shall succeed,

like Floki wanted.

I am here to see Bjorn.

My brother is now the King.

Ah, so I have heard.

I will go and pay my respects.

I would like to talk about this further.

Would you meet me later in the Great Hall?

I need your advice, Ubbe.

You know what has happened to King Harald.

Should I rescue him or not?

It's your decision.

But you spoke about making Kattegat great

through trade, not conquest.

Why would your first decision be

to go on a foreign adventure?

But King Harald saved my life.

He fought with us to regain Kattegat.

What kind of king would turn a blind eye to such obligation?

It just makes me glad I'm not King.

What do you say, Hvitserk?

I don't say anything.

Well, you have to have an opinion.

Why?

Because it would help me.

It would help all of us

if we knew where Ivar was.

Who cares about Harald, or Olaf, or any of them?

Only Ivar matters.

Just to you, brother.

I don't know, Bjorn.

I don't know.

I see I must make up my own mind.

There he is!

What brings you back to Kattegat, Ketill Flatnose?

I am trying to recruit new settlers.

I don't care who they are,

as long as they are prepared to work hard.

And what of Floki? How is he?

Why has he not returned? I would have liked to have seen him again.

The truth is, Ubbe,

Floki seemed to grow tired

being the leader of a settlement that was not working.

He was disappointed, grew despondent.

Then one day, without explanation,

he just left us and walked away.

And you haven't seen him since?

No.

We searched the island for him.

We spent a long time looking for him.

We found no sign of him.

There is one more thing.

I once heard a story about a wanderer who sailed west,

probably to the west of your Iceland.

It is said that he sighted a beautiful, uninhabited land,

but was driven past it by a storm and could not find it.

Have you heard this story before?

I have heard this story many times,

and I know the wanderer that you speak of.

He lives in Iceland. His name is Othere.

I need to find that land!

I am fitting out two boats to search for it.

Then you must come to Iceland with me and meet Othere.

And to look for Floki!

What do you think of these Eastern puppets?

Hmm. I like them.

I wish someone could hold me up like that.

I thought the gods did that.

I have to go to Novgorod.

Novgorod?

The old capital of Rus.

My brother lives there.

I need to talk to him.

I told you, I have family business.

Then I can concentrate on building a fleet and raising an army.

You will meet my ward, Prince Igor.

The son of my dead brother-in-law, King Rorik.

Igor is the true heir to the kingdom.

Ingrid.

Yes, Gunnhild?

I have seen you looking at Bjorn.

You know, the way that women sometimes look at men.

I don't know what you mean.

You are not a child, Ingrid.

If you feel what I think you feel,

then I am sorry for you.

But I cannot stop you feeling it.

Go on.

Novgorod!

So, I have been curious to know.

Why are you called the Prophet?

It came about like this.

I attacked Constantinople, defeated its defenders, and subdued it.

Afterwards, I was invited to dine with its rulers to make peace,

since I was not strong enough to occupy the city indefinitely.

But just before the feast, I had a dream.

I dreamed that my wine was poisoned.

So, I refused to drink it.

But two of my commanders, ignoring my warning, did drink,

and died in the greatest agony soon afterwards.

From that moment, I was called...

The Prophet.

Askold!

Brother.

This is Prince Igor.

Ah. Prince.

I hear you are the famous Ivar the Boneless.

Scourge of all Christians!

Leader of the great army that ravaged England and killed two Christian Kings.

That is true.

But what is fame, Prince Askold?

A chimera? An illusion perhaps?

Is it true, as I have been told,

that you plan to invade Scandinavia?

Of course.

I have been considering it for some time.

I took King Ivar's arrival

as a sign that I was meant to proceed with my plans.

After all, we will only take back what is rightly ours.

Don't you agree, brother?

I will contribute whatever I can to your army.

I hope you recognize that, as your brother,

I stand ready and waiting for your commands.

And that, in all things,

you can trust me.

Of course, my dear brother.

More wine!

To conquest!

Conquest!

Oleg!

Whoo!

It's been a long day!

We must rest.

Your Highness.

Should I rescue King Harald or not?

That is your affair, Bjorn Ironside.

Don't you know your own mind?

I want to know the consequences.

You can see. You know the future.

I know what I know.

And what you cannot bear to know.

This is a big decision.

I have only been King a short while.

If I make the wrong choice...

You think of yourself only.

The living are all the same.

From either your shadow at morning sliding behind you,

or your shadow at evening rising to meet you,

I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

I'm sorry. I should not have asked.

I will say only this,

that whatever else you do,

whatever you decide,

do not betray your own gods in the process.

I don't understand.

Why would I betray my own gods?