Vikings: Lords of the Ice Sea

Chapter 17 Going to sea
After the sacrificial ceremony concluded, Ragnar led the largest contingent in history out to sea.

Currently, there are two routes from Northern Europe to Britain:
The northern route starts off from the west coast of Norway, replenishes freshwater in the Shetland and Orkney Islands along the way, and then arrives in northern Britain.

The southern route is riskier, requiring a direct crossing of the North Sea from southern Norway, following the North Atlantic Circulation, and eventually reaching eastern Britain.

Figure

The fleet was large, consisting of twenty slow supply ships, so Ragnar chose the safer northern route. He led the fleet slowly along the Norwegian coastline, before making a brief stop in Bergen.

Three thousand five hundred raiders caused trouble in the area for two days, much to the annoyance of the lord of Bergen. However, due to the disparity in strength between the two sides, he dared not show any negligence on the surface and warmly entertained these uninvited guests until they set sail for the west.

"Odin above, I beg you to unleash a storm and send these lowly creatures into the sea to feed the fish!"

After leaving Bergen, the fleet officially began this unpredictable voyage. Vig's longship carried forty warriors, with Ivar as its captain.

As Ragnar's eldest son, Ivar went to sea with his father at the age of fourteen. In addition to the common operation of sundials and North Star for positioning, he also mastered a rare skill of determining position by using sunstones.

Seeing Vig's curious gaze, Ivar gave a brief demonstration: "If you encounter a dimly lit, cloudy day, and the sun is obscured by thick clouds, you can't directly determine its position. At this time, point one end of the sunstone at the clouds, and it will split into two beams of light. Adjust the angle until there are two beams of light. Then this direction is the sun's position."

After a short while, Vig quickly mastered the technique, but still felt that techniques like sundials and sunstones were too primitive and far inferior to the technology of the Age of Exploration.

"Sigh, this is completely gambling with your life."

At night, the crew took turns rowing. When Vig was woken up by his companion, he found himself surrounded by a grayish-white fog. He looked up and tried to find the North Star, but all he could see was a gray night sky.

"What should we do?" he asked Ivar, who took out a horn to contact the other ships. The deep sound spread into the fog, but there was no response.

They became separated from the fleet.

The next day, endless dark clouds piled up overhead, making it hard to breathe. Ivar used the sunstone to orient himself every now and then, constantly adjusting the longship's course. After sailing for three whole days, he still couldn't find any trace of the Shetland Islands.

"Release the ravens."

Traditionally, each Viking longship carried 2-4 ravens, scavengers that, once released, would tend to fly towards land in search of food. If a released raven flew off in a certain direction and never returned, it meant it had discovered land, and the longship could sail in that direction. If the raven circled in the air a few times and then returned, it indicated that there was no land visible nearby.

At Ivar's command, the crew opened the cage, and a dark-feathered raven fluttered into the sky before returning to the ship amidst the disappointed gazes of the crew.

Realizing the situation was dire, one of the young-looking crew members lost his composure: "This is the mist released by Jormungandr; we're going to be eaten by it!"

"This man is insane, tie him up." Ivar punched the man to the ground. Sailing at sea, it is most taboo for sailors to talk nonsense. If this panic is allowed to spread, it will at least affect morale, and at worst cause a mutiny.

The next two days were also overcast, and the wind and waves picked up, causing the ship to rock violently from side to side. Someone suggested holding a sacrificial ceremony, selecting an unlucky person to throw into the sea, which resulted in Ivar beating him severely.

"Remember, only the captain has the final say on this ship. If anyone disagrees, come and fight me!" Seeing the many evasive eyes, Ivar felt a growing unease. Violence could only have a temporary deterrent effect. If they couldn't find land soon, the crew would eventually mutini. Then, who would be willing to stand by his side?
Bjorn, Vig, Niels
Five names flashed through his mind, only five.

The time has come to the eighth day.

The sky remained overcast, but the wind and waves had subsided considerably. Ivar took this as divine mercy and urged the crew to row with all their might. He himself stood at the stern, steering the ship and occasionally making inspiring remarks.

At noon, a faint, dim light peeked through the gray clouds. Ivar opened the cage and released the last raven amidst the expectant gazes of the crew.

After making a few noises, the blackbird circled a few times above the longship, then suddenly flew away to the southwest without looking back.

"Follow it!" Ivar roared, and everyone rowed with all their might. Five hours later, Nelson, whose eyesight was the best, suddenly screamed, "Land! It's a cliff!"

In the distance, on the gray coastline, steep cliffs pierced the clouds like the teeth of giants. Although they didn't know the exact location, they had finally found a piece of land.

The longboat lurched onto a pebble beach, the creaking of its hull against the stones startling a flock of seagulls. Leaving ten men to watch the boat, Ivar led the rest inland to scout ahead.

Soon, they found several thatched-roof farmhouses on the hillside, with smoke billowing from their chimneys. When Ivar kicked open the door, the people inside were cooking soup around a fire. Upon seeing the group of raiders, they immediately grabbed axes, ready to fight.

Ivar: "Are you Vikings?"

“Yes.” The resident inside the house responded coldly.

"Put your weapons away." After a few seconds of stalemate, Ivar decided to spare his kin and revealed his identity.

Upon hearing that this person was the renowned Boneless One, a thirteen or fourteen-year-old boy couldn't help but exclaim, "You're Ivar? Can you take me with you?"

The next moment, the man covered his son's mouth, his face pale, and replied, "Take whatever you want, just don't lay a hand on him."

"Don't be nervous, I'm not one of those berserkers who're obsessed with killing." Ivar gave what he thought was a friendly smile, took out two silver coins and tossed them over, asking if the other person had seen a large fleet.

“Yes, a large fleet sailed south three days ago.” The host poured a bowl of hot soup for the man, indicating that this was Pictish land, with rugged and barren soil, only slightly better than Northern Europe.

The Picts, the people of what is now Scotland?
In Vig's memory, the concept of "Scotland" did not yet exist during this period. As the Picts in the east and the Gaels in the west slowly merged, a new nation gradually formed over a long period of time—the Scots.

Figure

Similarly, "England" does not exist at present. It will only be established when the monarch of Wessex, Alfred the Great (849-899 AD), defeats the Vikings. Afterwards, his descendants successively seize the territories of the "Seven Kingdoms" and eventually unify them into the Kingdom of England.

(End of this chapter)