Viking Sword: A Fall of Yellow Fire: The Stranded One (Viking Brothers Saga Book 1)
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Henry was laughing back at her. “Caroline! My love!” he shouted over his shoulder. “You’re such a slow coach!”
“It’s this horse—stupid old Bluebell,” she called to him. “She’s the slowest in the stables, and you know it.”
He was still laughing. “Better safe than sorry. She must have a bit more speed than that, dear heart.” She shook her head at him, blushing a little. Her heart tightened with pleasure. It was so like Henry to share his endearments for her with anyone who happened to be around. He loved her as completely as she loved him and far more openly.
Still well ahead, Henry turned his horse to wait for her. The great bay, Sylvester, was as eager to keep speeding forward as his master was, and clearly unhappy at being held back. Henry laughed, both at the horse and at Caroline. She gradually approached at the much slower pace that Bluebell maintained.
“Come on, Caroline,” he called to her, shaking his head, his broad smile still on his face. “A sheep crosses the road faster than you do. Sylvester is losing whatever patience he had.”
“So go on!” Caroline waved her hand. “I’ll catch up.”
He hesitated, but only for a moment and then, Eustace now close behind him, raced off toward the distant end of the meadow, marked by a stone wall. Caroline settled back in her saddle, no longer trying to match his pace. Bluebell was clearly bumping along as fast as she intended to move.
They trundled along, Caroline enjoying the lovely morning and the delightful picture the two men ahead of her made, almost like a portrait of horsemen at play. They were side by side until abruptly Henry veered off to the right, toward the closer wall running down the edge of the field.
“I’ll bet I can take this one!” Henry’s voice floated back to her.
Víking Sword: A Fall of Yellow Fire
The Stranded One
Copyright 2014 © Màiri Norris
Cover Design © Dar Albert
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This novel is a work of fiction. The names, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or are historical references used fictitiously.
Any resemblance to any other actual persons or events, living or dead is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved. No part of the publication may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted by any means without written permission of the author.
AUTHOR’S NOTES
The title of Viking Sword is a play on the name of the hero, Brandr. In Old West Norse, “brandr” meant “sword” or “sword-blade”. It was a name common in the land now known as Denmark.
Gold—This precious metal was extremely rare in the Viking age, and its value reflects that scarcity. Values were variable during the period, but in general, eight ounces of silver (one ‘mark’) equaled one ounce of gold. Sixteen milk cows could be bought for only four ounces of gold, considered a very substantial sum. One and a half ounce gold was the price for one adult male slave (also variable: the more skilled or beautiful the slave, the higher their value).
Godi—The Vikings were an extremely law-abiding people with a well-structured code of behavior for all levels of society. The powerful and revered office of priest-chief upheld and enforced the law (the priest-chief was subject to the law, but to nothing and no one else), and existed throughout the Viking era among all the Scandinavian peoples. The nature of this office covered many aspects of life, including religious, political, civil, judicial, maritime/trade values and foreign relations. The name ‘Godor’ for the office, and the title ‘godi’, for the priest-chief, were used almost exclusively in Iceland. Though the community of Ljotness is Danish, I have chosen to use this highly descriptive and inclusive Icelandic term to describe their priest-chief.
Dane/Northman—The Saxons called the Vikings ‘Danes’ [Old English ‘Dene’]—regardless of what part of Scandinavia they came from—and ‘Northmen’ [Old English ‘Nordmanna’], along with less polite appellations such as barbarians, pagans and ravagers.
Smorrebrod—Danish smorrebrod is an open-faced sandwich on rye bread. It may be topped with a variety of meats such as smoked herring, ham, bacon or beef (and their juices), slices of cheese and boiled eggs and vegetables, and is usually served with cold beer or sour milk. While the name of this delicious sandwich is modern, dating from 1840’s Denmark, the concept is ancient. Open-faced “sandwiches” of this type have been eaten since the invention of bread. Certainly, the early Anglo-Saxon meat, cheese and vegetable topped “trencher” was representative of this well-loved dish during the Viking era. I chose to use the modern term for the dish because it was such a perfect word to describe the love life of Nicolaus, I could not resist.
Thralls—I have mentioned that Lissa’s slave status should have been branded on her upper arm, but was not. While it is true that slavery was widespread in both the Anglo-Saxon and the Viking cultures, and both made use of the brand (and among the Vikings, the thrall collar), I was unable to verify the common location of the brand on the body, so I chose the upper arm as a likely spot. [In my book Rose of Hope, I make mention of the forehead as the place where unruly and difficult slaves were branded. This is pure speculation on my part.]
In regards to Brandr’s strongly conflicted attitude towards Lissa, perhaps it would help to explain the status of slaves in Viking society. Once he named her ‘thrall’, i.e., slave, and placed around her neck the makeshift collar of ownership, in the eyes of his people, she ceased to exist as a human being. She became property. ‘Unfree’.
Thralls were the lowest of the low, and viewed as little better than brute beasts. Their value was measured only by their usefulness: the extent of their skills, how much wealth could be obtained by selling them or, in the case of high-ranking nobles, how much ransom could be gained for them. They had almost no rights. If their usefulness to their owner ceased, they were killed. They could also be killed by any freeperson, and the only penalty was payment to their owners of ‘wergild’, i.e., their value in silver.
It is known that some were offered as sacrifices to the gods, although apparently, this was usually done only in cases of extreme need of the people. Some, when their owners died, were killed to accompany them in the afterlife.
For a freeperson to kill another freeperson to protect a thrall was a serious crime. A thrall could marry only another slave, and must have permission from their owners. While an individual thrall might have great value to—indeed, might even be loved by—his or her master, as far as society as a whole was concerned they were objects of scorn and contempt.
A freeperson could enjoy the sexual favors of a slave, and produce children, but they did not marry them (rare exceptions, spoken of in the sagas, were beautiful female thralls brought home from raids). The children of those unions were not free.
In the rare situation when a slave was freed, their status in society rose only slightly. Unless they could somehow gain a home, and enough riches to live independently (an unlikely prospect), they remained on the bottom rungs of life.
However, if a master freed a thrall and gave that slave riches, in essence, the master was declaring the thrall a member of his family. In this case, a thrall could become a fully functioning member of society.
OLD ENGLISH GLOSSARY OF PLACE NAMES FOUND IN VIKING SWORD
The following are the Old English names at the approximate time of this story.
Angelcynn—England; in its use at the time of this story, the land it encompassed would include the Kingdom of Wessex and Saxon Mercia.
Basingum—Basingstoke, Wiltshire
Colneceaster—Colchester, Essex
Dornwaraceaster—Dorchester, Dorset
Eaxanceaster—Exeter, Devon
Hamtunscir—Hampshire
Heorutforda—Hertford, Hertfordshire
Lundenwic—London
Mierce—kingdom of Mercia
Readingum—Reading, Berkshire
River Afen—River Avon
River Ligean—River Lea
&nbs
p; Swanwich—Swanage, Dorset
Sceptesberie—Shaftesbury, Dorset
Searesbyrig—Salisbury, Wiltshire
Sea of Germania—North Sea
Temese—River Thames
Werham—Wareham, Dorset
Westseaxna ríce—Wessex (West Saxons), Kingdom of; at the time of this story, it covered the entire southern section of England from coast to coast, and included the Kingdom of Mercia (Mierce), piercing the heart of Britain (Angelcynn) to the north
Wiltunscir—Wilton, Wiltshire
Windles-ore—Windsor, Berkshire
Wintanceastre—Wincester, Dorset
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Màiri Norris lives in Hampton Roads, Virginia with her husband, a retired Coast Guard master chief, and three cats. She is a US Navy vet, loves travel, especially to Scotland, and enjoys dollhouse miniatures when not writing. She is a member of Celtic Hearts Romance Writers, a chapter of Romance Writers of America. A lover of history, she also loves to read (and write) historical romance.
She has three new novels in the works, The Loft At 22nd Street, an Edwardian Christmas Novella (scheduled for release Christmas, 2014), For Love of the Rose, the second book in her Ballads of the Roses series, and Víking Shield, the second book in her Viking Brothers Saga, both scheduled for release in 2015.
Visit Màiri and learn more about this book and upcoming novels by this author at: http://www.romancingtheeras.com
Or, connect with Màiri on her Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/mairi.norris
Table of Contents
VÍKING SWORD:
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
DEDICATION
DISCLAIMER
GLOSSARY
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
EPILOG
I invite you to enjoy the following excerpt from The Broken Heart, Book Two of Beppie Harrison’s Hearts trilogy, set in the beautiful “Green Isle”, Ireland.
Copyright 2014 © Màiri Norris
AUTHOR’S NOTES
OLD ENGLISH GLOSSARY OF PLACE NAMES FOUND IN VIKING SWORD
ABOUT THE AUTHOR