The United States of Vinland: The Landing (The Markland Trilogy) (25 page)

––––––––

F
rae
was terrified.

Blood
and slaughter seemed only a heartbeat away. The thought pushed her rudely into
the realisation she would never see her son again, and that heartbreaking
moment melted her paralysis.

She
took a step forward and opened her mouth to speak.

At
the same moment, the beach flared white, illuminated by a bolt of lightning
overhead. The unexpected light gave pause to the skraelings, while stirring the
Norse.

Alfvin
hissed, “The gods are with us!”

And
then thunder cracked to roll over the standoff.

Frae
raised her voice and said, “I am a woman, a mother, and have fought my own
battles against what the world has thrown against me. If you dismiss my
survival of those trials, then you are no better than the men you claim to
hate!”

The
head skraeling lowered his spear, caught off guard, first by the lightning and
now, by her speech. After a moment he called out, “What battles have you
survived, what trials have you lived through?” his tone was dismissive.

Frae
licked her lips and answered, “I was once a prisoner in Lakeland, where the one
your anger is against lives. He beat me and threatened my life. I escaped to
Godsland where I have found only kindness and peace.”

He
frowned. “It is not enough. Show me some daring, some bravery! Why should I
believe any of this?”

Lightning
flared again, starkly bathing the landscape in its glow, and thunder rolled
over the land, buzzing the air with power.

Some
of the skraelings called out in surprise.

The
Norse hoped it was a sign that the gods were with them.

All
of them, as the blazing light faded, were lost to darkness, their vision overwhelmed
by the blinding display.

Until
a heartbeat later.

A
softer flash of lightning lit up the sky above and the beach below. As it did,
coming backed by a low and rumbling roll of thunder, both parties found that
the space between the two groups was no longer empty.

Seta
stood there.

In
a voice loud and laced with contempt, she said, “If you think my sister has not
been through enough in the way of daring, I offer up my own from just one
night.”

She
cast down the pelts at his feet.

The
lead skraeling jumped back, startled enough by her appearance, even before he
took in the sight of four bloodstained wolfskins.

She
went on. “Last night, while you were sitting around a campfire, I was killing
wolves. I was doing it to save a stranger and his grandchildren!” She drew
Torrador’s knife, pointing its glinting blade at the leader’s belly. “Now, I
dare you to say I have no will or courage!”

Silence
took the beach.

Doroba
hurried up beside her, urging Torrador before him, the Norseman carrying the
children, one in each arm.

Some
of the skraelings called out in alarm at how close the Norseman was to them,
but Torrador followed Doroba’s guidance. He dropped to his knee beside Seta and
put the children down so they could stand.

Doroba
called out so all could hear, “They came to me last night, my family dead from
a season of ill-fortune, sickness and, lastly, under attack from a pack of
hungry wolves. Seta charged in first and slew one with that blade, not long
after her man, Torrador, flew in like a hunting bird to join the killing. They
beat back the pack, slaughtering countless beasts and saving my grandchildren.
Seta is a warrior!” His words came in a gentler way than Seta’s, but also
flowed with passion.

The
lead skraeling remained speechless.

Frae
translated what he said for the Norseman.

A
fresh silence settled, also held by the sky.

Slowly,
a whispering of murmurs and queries sounded through the skraeling ranks.

Their
doubts were clear.

Finally,
the lead skraeling said, “You have shown great courage, that is true. But some
of our people do not want to lose this land.”

Seta,
despite her bravado, was exhausted, and the emotions that had driven her a
moment ago were now fading. All she wanted to do was get some sleep, ideally
with Torrador beside her.

She
knew what Alfvin wanted; the low hills and the beach, and some land to farm.
She had heard him talk all winter long in Godsland hall about Guldale. She
said, “Have you or any of the warriors behind you killed four wolves?”

The
leader looked to those behind him, but already knew the answer verified by
shaking heads. “No, it is a great feat.”

“What
of three?”

Again,
the answer was no.

“Two?”

One
skraeling had, and more offered that they had killed a wolf or injured one.

Seta,
emboldened by the stature the wolfskins gave her, even if in truth she had not
killed all of them on her own, offered, “I will give you the skins if you give
me and my sister the land of the beach and these low hills, to share with our
husbands.”

Torrador
whispered, “And the land along the river, back up to the lake.”

She
went on, “And the land along the river, up to the lake. You can keep your right
to come and go, as long as you come in peace.”

“You
ask for much.”

Lightning
flashed again, followed by a crack of thunder.

With
no need to lace her words with bravado, she said, “My husband and children need
land for our own hall and space to hang more pelts, as does my sister and her
family. If any would deny me my place, I will skin them like these wolves.”

His
eyes widened at the threat, but he gave a nod and stepped back amongst his
people. His kinsmen immediately swamped him with counsel.

Seta
waited, putting a hand out to Torrador’s shoulder, as he was still on his knees
beside her. She whispered, “Did I forget anything, my husband?”

She
could see his cheeks move as he smiled. Quietly, he whispered, “No, my wife.”

“Good.”

The
skraeling man stepped forward again and raised his voice. “We will take the
skins and you can have your land, as long as our people can still cross it
safely and, in peace.”

Relief
overcame Seta.

Frae,
behind her, translated his words, and drew a cheer from the Norse.

Once
the noise died down, the skraeling stepped forward and added, “But we will take
it all back if the halls you raise bring sickness.”

––––––––

T
hat
summer, the settlement of Guldale was founded, with Alfvin and Frae the first
to raise a hall, although Faraldr’s people were also quick to build. By the
time the snows returned, three halls sat clustered across two low hills near
the river’s mouth. Around these spread the first farmyards, fields and Alfvin’s
iron grounds and workings, along with a jetty running off the beach.

Seta
and Torrador were married in Godsland, their family consisting of the orphaned
grandchildren and the twins Seta had delivered to Ari. Soon enough she was
pregnant again with a child of Torrador’s.

They
spent the next winter with Alfvin and Frae, the Guldale settlers and, also
Doroba, although Seta missed the other Norse greatly, Halla in particular.

While
Seta and Torrador eventually built their own hall in Guldale, Seta would
forever spend the summers hosting Halla or visiting her in Godsland.

And
all about them, the Norse settlements grew.

-

Smoke on the
Horizon

Godsland,
Markland, twenty years later.

Ulfarr
awoke to the sound of a distant horn. He threw back his bedding without delay
and sat up in the sleeping alcove, the hall about him dimly lit by the
smoldering fire pit and the dull light before dawn.

Beside
him, his wife, Bryn, stirred “What is happening?”

“I do not
know. I will go and look.”

She looked
across the wide expanse of the new hall, the grandest in not just Godsland, but
all of Markland, and only finished at the previous summer’s end. She offered,
“I shall go and check on Eskil and Gudrid.”

He nodded,
“Do it. My father will want to know, if he has not already woken.”

Ulfarr
quickly rose and dressed, pulling on his boots last. He had grown into a
strapping man – blonde and broad – so big that some called him the Godsland
Giant. He patted Bryn’s leg as she began to dress herself, but he did not wait
as he hurried off to find what was happening.

By the
time he left their sleeping alcove and began crossing the hall, he could see
his childhood friend, Brandr, had also risen, summoned by the distant call.

Brandr had
his father’s brown hair and lean frame, but he was also taller, and more
muscular than Ballr the Icelander. Quick to meet Ulfarr, he asked, “Any idea
why the horn sounds?”

“No, but
let us take a look.”

The two
men visited Godsland often, but spent a good deal more time on errands for both
of their famous fathers, or exploring, or in Guldale or the settled vales
beyond. Regardless, whenever either found themselves in Godsland, they stayed
at the new hall – the original hall still held within its foundation – that
rose atop the hill. Around the magnificent hall, a structure of cut stone and
carved wood, spread a growing village, wharf and breakwater.

As they
approached the doors, Ulfarr observed, “I can smell smoke.”

Brandr
hurried. “Me too...something is wrong.”

In the
distance, another two horns called out to stir the coming dawn.

“Where are
the horns sounding from...Guldale?”

Ulfarr
pushed the doors open, “No, Guldale is likely too far away.”

The opened
doors revealed the view from the terrace outside the hilltop hall, the vista
spreading across the channel and down the coast, including a handful of
islands, and the cove and lands of Lakeland beyond.

The
mournful call of other horns arose.

A column
of thick smoke climbed darkly over the far shore’s ridgetop that hid the
Lakeland vale. As they watched, two others rose to join it, climbing high into
the sky as they took on the colours of sunrise. The smoke glowed at the base of
the plumes, lit by flaring oranges and yellows.

Half-a-dozen
more plumes of smoke billowed up in the distance, just as the sun rose, coming
not only from the Lakeland vale, but also from the inland and southerly vales
settled over the past twenty years.

The two
men were stunned. Finally, Ulfarr whispered, “Lakeland burns!”

A voice
spoke deep and sure behind them, “Sound our horns and rally our people!” It was
Eskil, gazing upon the doom of Lakeland. “We go to help!”

––––––––

S
ign up for
Colin Taber’s emailed new release alerts at:

www.UnitedStatesofVinland.com

Continue your Markland
adventure!

B
ook 2 of The United
States of Vinland will be available in the second half of 2013.
Sign up for
a new release email alert from the author at:

www.UnitedStates
OfVinland.com

What if?

That’s
a great question, a favourite of mine, and one here applied to the topic of the
Vikings and their journeys west across the Atlantic.

The
thought first came to me years ago while on holiday in the United States – and
I’ve been thinking about it ever since.

What
if?

This
series will work its way through that question presenting an entire alternate
history. Along the way I will research, add some twists, elaborate on some not
so well known facts about the relevant areas, such as Greenland being subject
to a warming period back then, thus extending growing seasons (if only
marginally), while also taking advantage of the gaps in what we do and don’t
know, like the extinctions of previous peoples who lived in Markland. It’s also
true to say that I may use some artistic licence.

Eventually,
as we travel with each book through the generations, we will reach other areas
of North America and finally our destination of a very different version of the
world we know today.

In
the end, what I am hoping to create with this series is an exciting narrative
that many of you will join me on, as we explore what might have been.

Welcome
to Norse America.

Colin Taber – March 7
^th
2013

The Godsland
Hall:

Ballr:
An Icelandic
friend and supporter of Eskil, married to Halla. He has many skills, from those
of a warrior, to builder and carpenter.

Brandr:
The son of
Ballr and Halla.

Drifa:
Another
victim of the shipwreck, married to Manni.

Erik:
A Danish
farmer, also widowed by the shipwreck. He has come west to seek unclaimed land
after finding he was unable to secure a farm in Iceland.

Eskil:
Orphaned as
a child by the Battle of Svold, this bloody event fostered Eskil’s distrust of
the rising kings in Scandinavia and his loathing for the White Christ’s
missionaries who were one by one converting the region’s monarchs to their
alien faith. Eskil is leader of the expedition and driven by a dream that would
see him claim land so the old ways of his people may live on. He is married to
Gudrid and father to Ulfarr. Originally from Norway, he has spent time in
Denmark and Iceland before finally launching his expedition west across the
ocean.

Gudrid (Gudda):
Wife to
Eskil, mother to Ulfarr, and also strong in her faith. Gudrid is a wilful
youngest daughter of an established, but poor Icelandic farming family.

Halla:
Wife of
Ballr and friend of Gudrid, from a large and well established Icelandic family.

Manni:
One of the
ill fated to not survive the landing, married to Drifa.

Samr:
Younger
brother to Steinarr, a warrior and trader.

Steinarr:
A Norse
warrior and older brother to Samr.

Torrador:
Widowed by
the shipwreck, but loyal to the cause and accepting of his fate. Torrador is a
broad and tall man, a warrior from the Norwegian west coast.

Ulfarr:
The first
son of Markland born to Eskil and Gudrid.

The Lakeland
Hall:

Alfvin:
A Norse man
of fair mind and broad skills. Alfvin, with his cousin Ari and their thralls,
shifted allegiance from the Lakeland Hall to Godsland.

Ari:
A widowed
woodsman originally of Lakeland, but who also moved to Godsland with his thrall
Seta and his cousin Alfvin.

Frae:
Thrall of
Alfvin and survivor of the first meeting of the local indigenous population and
the Lakeland Norse. Sister to Seta.

Leif:
The
charismatic leader of the expedition’s second ship and the only natural rival
to Eskil’s leadership. Leif died within hours of the Lakeland landing.

Seta:
Thrall of
Ari and sister to Frae.

Thoromr:
Son of
Thrainn, a strong young man born in Iceland, only held in check by his father’s
overbearing ways. Cousin to Trion.

Thrainn:
Widowed by
the shipwreck and assumer of the leadership of the Lakeland men. Oldest of all
the survivors, father of Thoromr, and uncle to Trion. This giant Swede had
settled in Iceland prior to seeking land in the west.

Trion:
Weary of the
new lands he finds himself in. Iceland born nephew to Thrainn and cousin to
Thoromr.

Others:

Aldis:
The widowed
Greenlandic sister of Faraldr and destined for marriage.

Faraldr:
The
Greenlander who originally built the Lakeland Hall, as well as claimant on the
Lakeland vale. Brother to Aldis. He is head of a large family with many links
back to Iceland.