Thorfinn and his crew are on their way to Greece, the first leg of their expedition to Vinland. Having landed near Bergen, in Norway, Thorfinn is attacked by a bear, only to be saved by a fierce huntress named Hild. While sharing a meal together, Hild recounts how her village and family were massacred many years ago—a story Thorfinn knows quite intimately. Now, Thorfinn must face Hild and his own violent past in order to press forward. As his journey progresses, Thorfinn encounters more factions that do not share his vision, and a war in the name of Vinland may be looming on the horizon.
After months of hard labor as a farm slave, Thorfinn begins to realize what his father meant by the words, “A true warrior needs no sword.” Perhaps he can find a new purchase on life in the mysterious land he heard tell of in his childhood: the continent to the west known as Vinland.
After months of hard labor as a farm slave, Thorfinn begins to realize what his father meant by the words, “A true warrior needs no sword.” Perhaps he can find a new purchase on life in the mysterious land he heard tell of in his childhood: the continent to the west known as Vinland.
Thanks to his claim by lineage, the attackers surrounding Jomsborg want Thorfinn to be their leader, but it is a mantle he intensely rejects. When the battle for leadership over the powerful Jomsvikings reaches a stalemate, Thorfinn must make a critical decision. With Gudrid held captive within the fortressed city, walking away will not be an option. He must infiltrate Jomsborg to break her out, and the ensuing battle will leave the greatest mercenary force in the North Sea changed forever…
Thanks to his claim by lineage, the attackers surrounding Jomsborg want Thorfinn to be their leader, but it is a mantle he intensely rejects. When the battle for leadership over the powerful Jomsvikings reaches a stalemate, Thorfinn must make a critical decision. With Gudrid held captive within the fortressed city, walking away will not be an option. He must infiltrate Jomsborg to break her out, and the ensuing battle will leave the greatest mercenary force in the North Sea changed forever…
Sigurd returns home to Iceland to face the horrible Halfdan, but a father and a king can only be as good as his word—a blessing he refuses to bestow to Sigurd without a fight. All the while, Gudrid joins Thorfinn and the crew on their journey to Thorfinn’s childhood home, where Halfdan’s presence looms mightily…However, with some help from fresh faces and promising volunteers, the day the ships set off for Vinland is imminent.
Sigurd returns home to Iceland to face the horrible Halfdan, but a father and a king can only be as good as his word—a blessing he refuses to bestow to Sigurd without a fight. All the while, Gudrid joins Thorfinn and the crew on their journey to Thorfinn’s childhood home, where Halfdan’s presence looms mightily…However, with some help from fresh faces and promising volunteers, the day the ships set off for Vinland is imminent.
Thorfinn’s travels have taken him from Iceland to England, Denmark, the distant trading posts of the Byzantine Empire, and back home again. On the journey, he has amassed scars, losses, and sins to atone for, but also found strength in his friends, in his new wife, and in the dream that he’s never let go, of a new land free of brutality and slavery. At last, the moment has come to set foot on Vinland—not the misty ideal he has carried there, but the real thing—and to meet the people who have made it their home for generations before Thorfinn’s quest began…
Thorfinn’s travels have taken him from Iceland to England, Denmark, the distant trading posts of the Byzantine Empire, and back home again. On the journey, he has amassed scars, losses, and sins to atone for, but also found strength in his friends, in his new wife, and in the dream that he’s never let go, of a new land free of brutality and slavery. At last, the moment has come to set foot on Vinland—not the misty ideal he has carried there, but the real thing—and to meet the people who have made it their home for generations before Thorfinn’s quest began…
The first wheat grown in Arnheid Village sways in the breeze, Gudrid is pregnant, and Hild has finally let go of her need for vengeance. The new world that Thorfinn dreamed of, a world without war or slavery, seems within reach. Yet history is a tide that too often sweeps away individuals with good intentions, and there are those among the Lnu who believe that continued toleration of these newcomers will end in disaster, and some among the Norsemen who still hold onto a belief in physical force as a first, not last, resort. What will sprout from this seed of uncertainty, alongside the golden grain…?
The first wheat grown in Arnheid Village sways in the breeze, Gudrid is pregnant, and Hild has finally let go of her need for vengeance. The new world that Thorfinn dreamed of, a world without war or slavery, seems within reach. Yet history is a tide that too often sweeps away individuals with good intentions, and there are those among the Lnu who believe that continued toleration of these newcomers will end in disaster, and some among the Norsemen who still hold onto a belief in physical force as a first, not last, resort. What will sprout from this seed of uncertainty, alongside the golden grain…?