Verify

Dan went down with the men to wish them farewell. He was to stay behind and make sure that the colony stayed calm. The colony had grown to be a rather large, populating more than 1000 people. They were 200 men, and the rest was women, children and thralls. There were 100 building for living and several others kinds. Dan was ordered not to allow anyone to start a panic by scary stories. He was even allowed to use force to stop such. He stood at the shore, waiving and cheering as the boat sailed southwards. He wanted all the colonists to join him. That would keep the colonists minds occupied, he thought. Some colonists thought they were returning a madman. Others figured that this was something more, because some leaders went along. A few of them really believed the stranger, that Surt really was loose and the final days were coming.

Once back on the farm, Dan went to do his daily routines. At their farm, they built a main house and a barn. They had several animals like cows, sheep, and chicken. They were rather wealthy due to the things they brought from Denmark, and what his wife Ann had inherited from Norway. When they decided to leave, they were promised transport to a new land where the sun does not set. They were tempted by such wonderful nature. There were also growing problems at home that they wanted to put behind. True enough; the sun does not set in the summer at Greenland. But in the autumn they noticed that it does not last. In the winter, they realized the sun does not rise at all. That was typical native trick at his overcrowded island, she said. That winter was hard. They almost lost a child to the cold. Ann never forgave that and did certainly not think of going back to his homeland. Loki Island, she called it. Now they had settled and would rather figure out how to manage in this harsh nature.

Other settlers came to Dan and asked about the stranger. Dan’s way of smooth talking held the unwanted questions away for a long time. But the settlers grew impatient. They wanted straight answers to questions like: Why was he so burned? He is not from here, is he? Why did they all go, if it is about nothing? Dan felt cornered. He did not have a clue, but did not think of ever admitting that. He did not want to believe the stranger either. Dan said; he is a liar and they are returning him as a good favor. Do not worry. Soon our people will be back without the stranger. Then we will forget all about this and keep on with the good work. That speech calmed the settlers for a while. That evening, people gathered and pointed at the eastwards mountain top. Dan looked there too. He saw to his horror a black shadow coming over the mountain. The panic broke loose in the colony. No one listened to Dan anymore.

In the boat, there was plenty of time for Thorleif to think back to the times when he was a well respected politician in Trondheim, the capital of Norway. He was the owner of a large farm and had the position as the mayor in the town. It was the eve of a new age, when White Christ was introduced to the Norwegians. Thorleif has always considered religion as the highest form of ethics. To him it was natural to invite new priest into the community and find the common grounds for coexistence.

However, Thorleif was a politician, not a priest. He was rather concerned about society’s wellbeing and prospers, than philosophical discussions. Thorleif relied heavily on Harald that was well educated political science. But Thorleif did not agree to Harald’s opinion that statesmen should have control of every aspect of a city’s functions. Thorleif thought it was best to keep a balance of power by keeping aristocratic elite.

At first, the new priests of White Christ were most polite and including. After a few years there were demands. Some of the Norse Vanirs were considered improper and should be removed. Still Thorleif did not put much attention to those issue. That was religion and not supposed to interfere with politics. But Thorleif was wrong. It did interfere considerable. Soon White Christ was the main subject of most political decisions.

Thorleif was confronted in the end. There were plans to build a grand cathedral in the city. Both Harald and Thorleif thought it was a joke in the beginning. Harald did not even favour the grand Norse temple in Uppsala, although he considered it to be an effective barrier towards the monotheistic expansion from the Mediterranean. However, they were convinced when the detailed plan of the cathedral was presented to them. That was too much for Harald. He roared: Don’t they know where they are? This remote place is not an appropriate place for such a megamoleniac monument. We need several kinds of buildings in this town, but this cathedral will consume all our recourses. However, the plan was made and obstacles were to be removed. Two major obstacles were Thorleif and Harald. They managed to delay the plan considerably, but they were forever black-listed by powerful men.

The path to exile was quick and effective. There were rumours at first. Then there were talks that influenced major decisions. Then there were accusations that could not be proven false. Finally it was impossible for Thorleif to do any politics at all. His wife started to take the accusations seriously, or at least she acted that way. One day, he did not see his wife and children again. Thorleif became a dissident. There was not really any options. He had to leave, and the only place seemed to be to Iceland. But it was not easy for Thorleif to settle at there. He did not even put his precious spear on the wall in his new home. Now the arguments were that he brought White Christ from Norway to Iceland. No one really dared to include him in politics anymore. Thorleif was offered the position as a ruler of the Greenland colony. It was not what he wanted, but he really did not see any alternatives. He decided when Harald showed up and said he wanted to come along though. However, the traumatic excommunication in Trondheim kept them apart. They were not ready for talking yet.

The boat was steered by some of the best sailors. In fact they had sailed more seas in the harshest weathers, than most. The men were quite comfortable with that and did not think that this was going to be their last journey. But they kept looking at Oluf and became more and more convinced that he was not making this thing up. He even seemed to be as sane as anyone. Ironically, it was his sanity that worried the men the most.

They had almost come to reach the south cape of Greenland, where the mountain was lower. The sailors watched the sea, but the stranger watched the mountains. He knew what he was about to see, but would not tell before they could see for themselves. Then it appeared, the black shadow hovering over the bergs. Discretely Oluf poked at Thorleif and pointed at it. Thorleif stared over the bergs. He could not hide his fear. The other men noticed and looked in the same direction. Holy Christ, Peter shouted. Even the skilled sailors were distracted by the sight, and had a hard time steering the boat around the cape. Rushing through violent waves, the passengers held hard on to the boat and kept their head down from the foaming water. When the rocking calmed they had passed the cape, they got a clear view eastwards to Iceland. It was a shocking sight.

Even though the island itself could not to be seen, they knew that the giant black shadow came from there. A sailor asked aloud; shall we turn? The men looked at each other, and answered; no. This is an emergency, Thorleif said. We should go as far as we can to see if we can help. Reluctantly the others agreed. No one really thought they could do anything about it, but they all wanted to say that they tried. As they sailed eastwards, the shadow grew in their direction. Soon they could not see the sun for the shadow. Getting used to the dark, they could see lightning and something glowing at a mountaintop. Most of the time, they were transfixed by the sight, but reluctantly wanted to see more.

They had sailed for a day, when the boat bumped into something. Someone asked; what is it? Is it a reef? It was dark and sticking up of the water, but it was not of rock. It’s a whale, a sailor answered. The passengers were puzzled. It is dead, and over there is another one, he added. A whale rocked its tail. Oh, there is a live one, someone shouted. The sailors had a lifetime experience of hard life. Such matter could be humorous for them for a while. But soon they realized the grave situation too. None seemed to have survived.

Soon they could clearly see the eruptions from the volcanic mountain. It was spewing lava, smoke and ashes. In the distance they could see burning stones falling from the black cloud, into the water, like falling stars. They splashed and hissed when hitting the water. The magna was flowing like a glowing glassier from the mountain and into the sea. There was no way it could be the mountain itself burning. The substance was too massive. It had to come from deep beneath Midgard, probably from Niflhel, where Hel herself resides. Then it is true, Peter thought, Iceland is the gateway to Hell. So it is true Hans thought; Surt is loose. So it is true, Thorleif thought, even mountains does not last. Meanwhile, they sailed a little further. Then there was shouting in the front of the boat. Sven rushed forwards and saw another boat. The sail was ripped, the hull was burned, and it was filled with ashes. Coming closer he saw it was overfilled with torched bodies. Even the sailors were horrified. Let’s turn now, Thorleif shouted. No one protested when they sat the course back to Greenland.