Across the Sea by Alan Eiland (good books to read for adults txt) 📕

and night, I had no way of finding my way to Greenland. So I took my best guess and sailed, not knowing that I had gone even further west. Soon I reached a land covered in trees, and fertile low hills, uninhabited. My men begged to stop but I felt compelled to leave, for I did not know of the peoples of this land, or what dangers existed. So we drifted away from the land and soon the skies cleared up and I was able to find my way east to Greenland. To this day, I regret my decision not to stop in that western land. But this voyage will end my regrets.” Bjarni said. Erik turned back the game, stroking his mustache. Leif was also thinking hard, eyes drawn to the amber ring on his finger. He quickly played, moving one of his hounds to encircle the fox upon the checked board. Erik laughed, moving backwards.
“Father, what role am I to play in your journey?” Leif asked.
“My lieutenant. You will be second in command, taking orders from none but me. You shall also pay for the ship, as is your debt to Bjarni.” Erik said. Leif pushed another hound forward, backing the fox into a corner.
“I should lead this expedition. As a way of redeeming my honor.” Leif said. Erik backed the fox away, grimacing.
“I am leading the expedition. Your honor will be judged by your conduct on the journey.” Erik said. Then Leif pushed another hound forward, cornering the fox.
“I won. And I should lead the expedition, for holmgang is an ancient rite and I am bound to follow its dictates by law. It is a form of oath.” Leif said. Erik smiled, moving the fox past the row of hounds, escaping them.
“You did not win, I won. And an oath to a king from his vassal, or from a king to his vassals, is the highest form of oath between men, superseding all others. I swore I should lead this voyage, and I shall.” Erik said. Leif cursed. His father had outwitted him. But then he remembered the ring.
“When do you intend to set out?” Leif asked.
“Midwinter at the Yule festival. Thus, we shall enough time to prepare. It shall happen immediately after Odin’s Blot festival.” Erik said.
“I cannot attend. I will pray in church for safe travel.” Leif said.
“You shall not! The ship leaves at the culmination of Blot, I require you to attend, though I cannot force you to pray.” Erik said.
“Then I shall pray earlier.” Leif said.
“Fine.” Erik said.
“May I play?” Bjarni asked. Leif nodded and switched seats with Bjarni, plotting his poisoning of Erik. The Blot ritual involved the passing around of a drinking horn of mead. The cup would start at the hands of the priest, having consecrated it and end up in the hands of Erik. The cup would then have to be poisoned right after Leif himself drank, so that Erik would be the only one to drink it before it was offered to the gods to “drink”. It must be done secretly, so after the game was finished, Leif returned to his room, practicing discretely turning his ring above a drinking horn smuggled from the kitchen. In a month, he confident that he could dispense the poison without the knowledge of anyone else.
One morning, before the sun had risen in the sky, Erik called on Leif to meet him down at the port, to see Bjarni’s ship and prepare it for the journey. Leif had paid Bjarni for the boat the week before, giving him an ornate sword and a pile of gold armrings.
When Leif arrived at the port, he immediately picked out Bjarni’s ship from the rest. It was dingy and decrepit, covered in barnacles and algae, unused and untouched for a decade. Erik immediately set Leif to work.
“This ship needs a new hull. You are good at shipbuilding, direct the craftsmen in construction.” Erik said. He waved his hand and a group of men walked over to him. A short, stout man with immense hands bowed to Leif.
“What should we do, lord?” the man asked. Leif grinned, for this was an area in which he excelled.
“Half of you go to Erik’s lumber stores, bring me the best oak you can find, as much as possible. The other half, dismantle everything but the keel of Bjarni’s ship. Clean the keel and bring it here.” Leif said. The craftsmen scurried off to do his bidding. The lumber fetching group returned first and Leif instructed them to cut long planks from the wood. Another piece of oak was taken for the mast. Leif himself received a knob of ash wood, which he began to carve with a carving knife. This was to be the ornamental prow head, inlaid with gold and silver. It began to take the shape of a dragon’s head, with great empty eye sockets that would be set with glass beads. Leif worked on this all day long, pausing only for brief meals and to give instructions to the craftsmen, who had at this time begun to build the inside of the ship, timbering it with steam bent ash lumber. They were fastened with copper pins. In the next month, the longship was almost complete, it had oar holes and slots to hang shields. Leif’s prow head had been set with red glass beads and gilded with gold and attached to the ship, the mast was carved with intricate designed and the rigging was set up. All that was left to put on was a sail, flag, and finish. Leif had already commission Freydis to make the sail, it was almost done. The flag motif was ancient, the Raven Banner, speaking to the bygone days of war and glory. The background of the quarter circular banner was red, the raven done in black. In the wind it appeared to fly. The sail was to be placed on the ship along with the flag before the Blot ceremony, that would happen in the next month. The ship was stocked and to Leif, the entire Greenland settlement seemed to be awaiting the Blot festival.
The morning of the Blot, Leif knelt in the chapel built by his mother, beside Erik’s longhouse. The single circular window allowed a beam of harsh white light to shine on Leif as he prayed alone.
“Lord, let this voyage be successful, let me lead it to glory, and let my name be known forever! Let me emerge from my father’s shadow, to be known for what I’ve done, not what my father has done. Let him bow to me, be proud of me, grateful for me. This I pray. Amen.” Leif prayed. He then left the chapel and returned to his room.
He washed his face, grooming in the manner in which he was accustomed, his hair shining like flame. His mustache was waxed and grown thicker than usual. He wore a red short tunic over a yellow tighter fitting long sleeved shirt that hung to his knees. His trousers were black. He wore burnished mail that hung to his thighs and had long sleeves. Over it he wore a red and yellow cloak, trimmed with heavy bear fur. He wore his sword and knife at his sides, his helmet on his head, a new shield on his back, and his cross around his neck. He stepped out into the sunlight, heading to the sacred space at the top of a hill, where a great ash tree stood. Leif took his seat beside Erik, across from Bjarni, at the head of a table. Directly across from Erik was a priest. The priest sacrificed pigs, horses, and slaves, hanging them from the branches of the tree. He chanted, sanctifying the journey as he spoke, his red robes fluttering in the light breeze, contrasting with his black beard. He stabbed the victims with spears, while beginning to speak.
“I sacrifice these victims to thee, O All Father, in the manner that you sacrificed thyself to thyself, wounded by your own spear and hanging from Yggdrasil, that you may look kindly upon us, granting a good harvest and good health for our people, as well as a safe journey west for the company of Erik the Red.”
Then the priest received a drinking horn of mead, sipping from it.
“We share this consecrated mead with thee in hopes of cementing this relationship.” the priest said. He passed the cup to a sitting man who sipped it. It was passed up the table. As the drinking horn neared him, Leif twisted the amber bead on his ring, his hands under the table. When the horn reached him, he drank slowly then passed his hand over the rim of the horn, pouring the poison into the cup. Erik took the horn and slurped heartily from the cup, then handed it to the priest who poured it on an altar.
“We give this drink unto thee, cementing the pact, sealing it.” the priest said. Then Erik and Leif mounted their horses and rode to the port. Just as Erik was about to board the ship, he fell from his horse, howling in pain. He hit the rock with a thud and Leif’s heart jumped in his chest as his father thrashed about on the ground. Erik’s eyes were rolled back in his head, he foamed at the mouth. But suddenly, he stopped. Slowly he stood, Leif and Bjarni helping him to his feet. He shook unsteadily, but spoke loudly and clearly.
“I have had a vision! Upon reaching here, I felt a pain in my head and fell to the ground. Once I hit, I saw Odin before me, enthroned. He took my hands and my whole form felt afire, I thrashed about as all my skin burned away. I was drowning in a pool of blood. Odin lifted me from the bloody pool and the fire was put out. He pulled me aboard his ship, made from bones. As we reached the middle of the blood sea, he cast me overboard. I believe Odin was telling me not to go on this voyage, for it would be my death. Thus, as king, I confer the oaths sworn by me to the Hirdmenn and by the Hirdmenn to me, to my eldest son and Lieutenant, Leif.” Erik said. Leif clasped arms with his father, then boarded the ship. As the Hirdmenn rowed the ship away, Leif shouted to his shorebound father:
“God bless you!” Erik simply scoffed, then grinned.
Imprint

Publication Date: 04-25-2010

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Dedication:
This book is dedicated to Odin