The Guests of Odin Read Online Free PDF

Then they sailed away, travelling north towards their own country, but late on in the following day a sudden storm hit them and they collided with a submerged reef off Stad where they sank.
    All were drowned.
     
    2. Starkad’s First Shameful Deed
     
    Storvirk’s son Starkad escaped the fire and King Harald brought him up alongside his own son Vikar. But even there he was not safe, since King Herthjof of Hordaland, grandson of Fridthjof the Brave, made an attack on the kingdom one night, slew the king with treachery, and took his son Vikar hostage. Herthjof seized control of Harald’s kingdom, took the sons of great men as hostages, and went on to collect tribute throughout the land.
    In Herthjof’s army there was a man called Grani Horsehair, who lived at Ask on the island of Fenhring. Grani took Starkad and fostered him on Fenhring. Starkad was no more than three years old, and he spent the next nine years with his foster-father.
    King Herthjof was always at war and constantly faced rebellions in his own realm. He had a system of beacons built up on the mountains to give warning of attack, and he set Vikar, Harald’s son, with two other men to look after the beacon on Fenhring. Shortly after, Vikar went to see his foster-brother Starkad, at Ask. Starkad had grown to be a big youth but he spent all his time lounging by the fire in the kitchen wearing rough old clothes, and seemed to show very little promise. Vikar dragged Starkad out of bed and gave him clothes and weapons, marvelling at how much the boy had grown since he had come to Ask. Then they said farewell to Grani Horsehair and went down to Vikar’s ship where they gathered a band of twelve warriors and duellists with whom they marched against King Herthjof in search of vengeance .
    When Herthjof heard of this, he gathered many men in his hall, which was heavily fortified. Vikar’s Vikings battered down the doors and burst into the house, and the fighting grew fierce. Herthjof had many men but Vikar’s followers were the best warriors to be had, and they triumphed. Starkad and Vikar both fought Herthjof and he fell along with thirty men, while Vikar’s force sustained no losses at all .
    Now Vikar took Herthjof’s fleet and sailed along the coast, where they were joined by all his father’s friends. Together they took over the petty kingdoms of Agder, and Jaederen, and Hordaland, and the rest of Herthjof’s empire. Now Vikar became a powerful king and he spent every summer going on Viking raids.
    One summer he sailed east to Oslofjord and landed on the coast there, marching inland as far as Gautland until he reached Lake Vanern where he encountered King Sisar of Kiev and his army. The ensuing battle was long and hard. Sisar killed many of Vikar’s men in front of Starkad, who moved forward and attacked the king. Sisar, who was armed with a halberd, smashed Starkad’s shield, wounded him twice in the head, and broke his collarbone. Then he dealt Starkad two wounds on his hips. Starkad hit back, hacking off part of the king’s side, and wounding him badly in the lower leg. Then he cut Sisar’s other leg clean off.
    Vikar won the victory there, and the Kiev army fled the field. Then Vikar returned to his kingdom.
    Herthjof had two brothers; Geirthjof, who ruled the Uplands, and Fridthjof, who ruled Telemark. Geirthjof raised a large army, intending to attack Vikar and slay him in revenge for Herthjof’s death. Vikar raised levies throughout his kingdom and marched against Geirthjof. The battle of the Uplands lasted seventeen days, but at the end, King Geirthjof was slain and Vikar took over his kingdom and his brother’s kingdom since Fridthjof was out of the country at the time.
    Vikar left men in charge of the country and returned to Agder, where he married and had two sons, Harald, and the wise yet miserly counsellor Neri. But now Fridthjof returned and took over the Uplands and Telemark, and sent messages to Vikar demanding he pay tribute or suffer