Before I am Famous

literature is something we infer after the story is told

Danthorn’s Conquest

Posted on | January 6, 2008 |

He led a quest west of Greenland in search of lumber and pelts. They were to build a settlement and prosper or that was what he was told. Only a handful of women joined them on the expedition. Danthorn loved his wife; she was a good cook. After months on the rocky ocean they finally made land fall. The new world was lush and green and tall trees dotted the rocky shore.

Barking orders to the men, they started building temporary shelters. The few women scurried off the ships and searched for food. Danthorn went off by himself to explore the new world.
He found a spot that overlooked the ocean. Looking to the sky, he gave thanks to Odin. A rustling in the trees nearby, he turned and saw a slender figure. She wore fur and had hair like charred bark and eyes like acorns. Danthorn found her beautiful. Perhaps it was because she was different from the women he was accustomed to. Before he knew it, she sidled into the evergreens.

That night at the feast, everyone drank, sang and praised Odin on the safe journey. His people were merry but Danthorn’s mind was elsewhere to the girl with the acorn eyes. When the sun rose the next morning he ordered one group of men to cut down trees and another to hunt and retrieve pelts. He had a mission to accomplish, a mission from Erik the Red. He went along with the hunting group. The day dragged until finally they saw an antlered animal that looked much like a caribou except smaller. Danthorn drew his bow and shot at the animal. The arrow sliced through the animal’s heart and it fell to the ground.

He gutted the animal. He was a lone and looked up and saw the skraeling again. He rose to his feet and went toward her. She backed up. Extending his hand, she withdrew back into the woods. All in all the hunt was a success. Many of the men brought back spoils from the hunt. Much of the meat they could not use so they tossed it into the ocean. That night drumming and singing filled the air. Danthorn and others followed the music through t he woods and discovered a tribe of skraelings, dressed in fur and feathers and dancing around the fire.

Seeing some of the jewelry the skraelings wore, Danthorn and others wanted it for their very own. They drew their swords and charged the ritual. Women screamed and tried to run. Some of the men went after the women, grabbing a hold of their arms and throwing them to the ground, then stealing their necklaces and their dignity. Arrows flew through the air and hit some of the Vikings. Heads rolled to t he ground and bodies disrobed of fur and necklaces. The people scattered. Danthorn felt good about his small collection of jewels he obtained as did the others. After the raid, they set fire to the village. This w as their land now and those skraelings would just have to go somewhere else.

They came back to the settlement and had their own celebration. Danthorn could see the new world being a prosperous one. Imagining the honors he would receive from Erik the Red. Wonderful rewards awaited Danthorn if this mission would be successful and it would be. He drank some more wine and took his wife to bed.

The town which he named Vinland started to come together. Within a week, Danthorn prepared a ship to go to Greenland and then to the homeland to bring news and deliver goods from the new world. Danthorn was extremely pleased with himself. He knew his piety to Odin would bring him riches. He went to his spot and sat on the cliff overlooking t he ocean. Time passed and the girl with acorn eyes appeared beside him. She sat next to him. She looked unhurt and Danthorn was oddly pleased by that fact. Her hair hung straight around her tanned face. He wondered why she was not afraid of him.

He knew they couldn’t talk because they didn’t share the same language. He didn’t care about any other skraeling but this one. Her eyes locked with his. His heart jumped. She smiled slightly. Raising his hand to touch her face, she didn’t flinch nor run away, he stroked her hair and it felt like that of a rabbit and her skin supple and smooth like a fish’s underbelly. Her fingers were long and thin and stroked his long blonde bear. They said nothing but turned away from each other and looked at the ocean.

For the rest of the night, he thought of nothing except the skraeling with the acorn eyes. He slept but restless. Awaking to the sound of shouts of fire, he scrambled out of bed and discovered the ship he readied for sailing was ablaze. There was no use. The fire consumed much of the ship. Along with the fire went the riches Danthorn saw in his future. He knew who was responsible for this massacre of wealth and that would be the wretched skraelings. Gathering some men and a couple of women, they set out in search of the skraelings. They found a makeshift village by dawn.

With Odin’s fury as their power, they rushed on the village. The people were startled and some ran. Danthorn and others fileted anyone that stood in their way. Soon fires were started and their little shelters were soon smoldering. In the midst of the bloodbath he wondered where the girl with the almond eyes was. He looked at dead bodies and searched the faces of live ones. He didn’t see here. Before setting shelters on fire, he searched for her. Danthorn had to find her. She had to be unharmed. She was his special prize.

Darting into the thicket, he found her underneath one of his men. He already had her clothes ripped off. She tried pushing him away but it did no good. Danthorn rushed to her and shoved his man off of her. A fight ensued between the Vikings. Danthorn raised his sword and gashed his man’s arm. He fell to the ground. Grabbing the girl’s arm, he led her to their special place. He took off his coat and gave it to her. Blood oozed from wounds on her face and she shivered in the air. Sitting beside her and pulled her close to his body. The overpowering smell of thick wood filled the afternoon sky. Screams, hollering and grumbling overtook the gentle sound of birds and the light wind kissing the treetops.

She extended her hand and reached for his face. Danthorn turned and looked into her eyes and leaned in kissing her gently on her soft pink lips. She accepted the kiss from her rescuer.

“Traitor,” someone yelled a woman. He looked and it was his wife and she was not alone. His second in command Ragiir charged his sword ready. Instead of pleading for forgiveness from Odin and his people he looked into the eyes of his prize and held her. The sword sank into his chest and into his love’s chest. He felt the warm blood on his lips then felt the warm blood on her
lips.

Special thanks to Drew at The Ben Spark for help with this story!

comment  from blogger

Chivalrybean said…
Only thing worse that a woman scorned is a viking woman scorned.

Category: weekly shorts

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