Free Viking Voices by Vincent Atherton Page A

quite friendly, but in chatting with me Aud admits that she does not really like Thora very much either. My wife can be as contrary as most women in her dealings with her neighbours, but it is difficult to feel much warmth in Thora. Her instant switch of affection from Ivarr to Ragnald without a moment of mourning has left a very sour taste in all of our mouths. No one feels that she is a woman of any depth of emotion and is just coldly looking after her own best interest.
    The only credit she is given is for being a very effective mother in looking after the interests of her children with Ivarr. They have been able to retain their privileged lifestyle.
    It is not the most peaceful of night’s sleep, as the rain and wind continue to drive down and there is little shelter, but we both feel a great relief to be on land again after the difficult crossing, and we are learning to see the best in all the events that befall us. Aud says that we must fight hard, work hard and solve every problem, as that is the Viking spirit.
    That Viking spirit, which will carry us through all these difficulties is strong within us, and Ragnald knows his duty is to keep the fiery motivation alive. There is no better man for that job; he has the Viking spirit in great measure, with all its virtues and all its flaws, and he shows his spirit it to all and sundry.
    The morning sunshine makes us feel better and the rain has stopped for a while. We can see that we have been fortunate to arrive here as we have indeed found a very favourable site. This is a large south facing bay, which has several different beaches in a broad arc, where we can move the boats to. We can thus gain shelter from storms coming from most directions though our boats will always be vulnerable to a full storm coming directly from the south. It has good flat land for farming near to the coast and extensive woods for timber, so we could build our new town right here, and we therefore intend to do so.
    Ragnald strides out to negotiate with our neighbours, as he can undertake the task himself here without any need for translators. As a Jarl, with the backing of a heavily armed force that outnumber the farmers by at least ten to one, he has a very strong negotiating hand, and he is not in the mood for small talk. It is not so much a negotiation as his rapid dictation of terms to them, but he has my advice on the need to be fair or even generous to them.
    These villagers may be simple folk but they will be our neighbours for a long time and they will also have other Viking kinsmen who will look at this arrangement, and those kin will be better armed and perhaps also be very numerous. It makes sense to form a pact which emphasises co-operation and suits everyone. We already have enough enemies and too few friends.
    Ragnald’s terms are that the current owners will take the land to the east of the village, which has the more of the developed farm land, and just a few woods. Our men will cut down those woods straight away as we have need of the timber. This will allow them to easily develop some new land for farming, restoring the amount of land currently available to them, and enabling us to build new houses. We will be doing so right next to the existing settlements on raised land next to the bay.
    This will leave us extensive lands to the west of the settlement. Although most of it is now wooded, and therefore less immediately useful, it can soon be cultivated after we clear the woods. So the main task of developing new farm land will fall on us, the newcomers, and this seems to be just to all of us. It also gives us that great source of green timber, which we need for building houses and for fuel for our fires.
    It is already late in the season though and this winter we will struggle to feed ourselves. There is no possibility of any crops this year and we will need to live on our wits for some time to come. It will be difficult to feed such a large community and all of us will be