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Upon Unknown Shores

The sea had been rugged and rough over the last few days for Ketilbjörn, son of Dufniall. The young future Viking lord had set himself upon a great quest to seek new lands for himself and his Viking clan to make as their own. It had always been a dream of his to discover new worlds and new cultures to understand. While he was a fearsome Viking, he wasn't completely uncivilized. The other Vikings had made fun of him for that, but that only added to his thirst for battle. Whether he would strike first and think later or vice versa, he was able to hold his own on the battlefield, even if he wasn't a berserker. A long sea voyage aboard a Viking longboat was difficult for him at first, but he quickly learned to adapt to the sea. Vikings considered him "one of the guys" despite him having a fairly pragmatic attitude towards life, and tending not to expend effort in areas where it would be wasted. In laments terms, he was Viking that used brains and brawn in any given situation and his family knew it. His family had been well respected as great warriors and respectable Vikings of the Ragnar clan, Vikings who were as great of warriors as they were traders. While they would exchange goods, Ketilbjörn was known to do so for books and scrolls of knowledge for many better means for his clan. Unlike his siblings who aspire to carry on the family legacy, the young Viking had greater aspirations for exploration. Ever since his first travel to another part of the world, he became fascinated with such new things he's never seen before, like devices such tidal mills, hourglasses, and the mechanical clock. He wished he could understand more about such devices and how they could benefit his people. As soon as he became of age, he took it upon himself to set out and explore a new world for him to discover. And so he designed his own personal knarr (the Viking ship used for trade and exploration), loaded it with some supplies as well as gifts and goods to exchange with any natives of the land he might come across, he said goodbye to both his family and his whole tribe and shoved off into the unknown; vowing to return hopefully with news of a new world to explore.

And so here he was now, twenty-five years of age and still out to sea with nothing but the stars to guide him as well as a compass that he acquired one of his last travels. The sea had been tolerant with him, hopefully because of his prayer to the gods and goddesses of his people; especially to Baduhenna, one of the Norse gods of war and storms, in hopes for a safe journey. But now, all seemed to quiet as the ocean seemed too still and silent with hardly any wind at all. After an hour of rowing, he gets up to update his course so far. If he didn't find anything soon, he would have to turn around and head back home. Upon another look around, he sees something in the distance. Taking out his periscope and took a better look. It looked like...land! Excited with some new hope at last, he Immediately took to the oars and began to row quickly towards the possible land mass. As soon as he got close enough, he hopped out of his over-sized canoe and hefted it upon the shore with the assistance of two thick ropes attached to the stempost. Taking a breather, he took a moment to look around at his surroundings. Along the grassy shore, it seemed to be nothing but flat ground that leads off into the woods. What laid beyond that was uncertain and yet to be discovered. Ketilbjörn then took to work in unloading all his supplies and goods from the longboat, placing them along a flattened part of the ground suitable for him to sleep on. In the events that followed, Ketilbjörn took it upon himself to set up an improv Viking home all throughout the rest of the day as well as most of the next day. Once it was finished, he took a moment to cool himself off with water that he took the time to boil as clean water and wash off the sweat and filth off his face and drying himself with a clean rag. The worst part about getting here was over. What he hoped for now was to seek out anyone that could possibly be residing on this queer and mysterious place.