Goffre Alvisson's Story

Wolfgang Yorisson and his band of four rescuers docked their convertiboat in Hanger II as the landing team used flags and hand signals to guide them in. For this task, they had to open the pod doors, meaning that Hanger II would be temporarily exposed to the exosphere of Bastion IV where there would be extremely low densities of oxygen. To prevent the landing team from suffocating or passing out in the very high altitudes, they would guide the Karvi-2 home from behind the thick air-tight pressurized transparent glass wall of the Landing Control Station, a separate room connected to Hanger II for this exact purpose. Once Karvi-2 had landed safely, the thick pod doors were sealed shut again, and oxygen was quickly released through the opening air vents into the hanger. Wolfgang and Kelsey waited patiently to lift back the bimini-like rooftop of their convertiboat until it was safe. One of the messengers in the control station would pull the plug out of the large curling sheep horn megaphone protruding through the wall and spoke into it, his voice amplified by the horn.

"Wolfgang Yorisson, report to the captain's chamber. Jarl Goffre would like to have a word with you, in private" the messenger said nonchalantly.

Once they were cleared to step out of the vehicle, Wolfgang Yorisson and his band left the escape pod's hanger and made their way to the bridge, passing up several other rooms and corridors including the engineering station, the green houses, the mess hall, med bay, weapon defense systems, gender-neutral restrooms and the workout station, as well as many personal lockers and living quarters, passing through one thick air-tight gate after another before reaching the bridge. There, the small band of rescuers would split up and go their separate ways as Wolfgang Yorisson stood at the foot of the guarded ramp leading to the captain's quarters, nodding to the two guards in black bear-hide covered purple uniforms whilst tucking his silver helmet under his arm. There was a great deal of commotion throughout the longship as everyone was excited and gossiping about their near-death experience and the Stjörnhestr's sudden last minute evasive maneuvers around the much larger Aschen Conflagration, with the jarl Goffre Alvisson and his leading pilots being the talk of the ship.

A few minutes later, another tall armed guardian in a black bear-hide covered purple uniform would walk down the ramp, and nod his head respectfully to Wolfgang Yorisson before addressing him. "The Jarl will see you now," he said before accompanying Wolfgang up the ramp to the open doorway of the captain's chamber. Once he stepped inside, the doors would seal shut behind him. Wolfgang gazed around the room, which was actually located inside the gold plated horse-bust prow of the space-faring longship, marvelling at the luxurious surroundings before looking at Jarl Goffre, who was still gazing out of his round mirror-glass silver horse-eye window with his back to Wolfgang and his arms folded behind him, staring at the Hastiti Class cruiser as it slowly drifted further and further away from his view.

"You wanted to see me My Lord?" Wolfgang inquired, a bit confused and curious as to why the jarl had summoned him. Goffre Alvisson continued to keep his eyes on the Aschen cruiser while addressing him. "Go ahead, have a seat. Make yourself comfortable," Jarl Goffre suggested, motioning to the bottle of mead on the table, sitting between two cow horn cups. Wolfgang cocked an eyebrow before slowly walking over to the expensive hand-crafted oakwood table. He picked up the bottle of mead and filled both cups before taking a seat in one of the wooden chairs with grey and white furry wolfskin coverings. "Isn't she magnificent?" the jarl asked, still gazing out of the window. "My Lord?" the karl asked, unsure exactly what the jarl was referring to. "You know what this means, Wolfgang? It means the sagas were right. The world tree is bigger than we could have ever imagined," Jarl Goffre said, still smiling with awe at the size of the much larger Aschen cruiser as it faded in the distance.

Wolfgang Yorisson picked up one of the cow horn cups and took a swig of mead. "That was a good call you made back there, Jarl, everyone on the ship is talking about it," he forwarded. Jarl Goffre gazed out at the stars and the Norse constellations, pointing to one tiny twinkling star in the heavens above and tapping his fingertip on the window, smiling at what he knew that dot to be, the entire Sirius System, the distant solar system of Gaia, their home planet. Goffre Alvisson turned around and walked over to the oakwood table, a look of absolute gladness in his eyes. "And what about the others? Who are they?" the jarl asked, almost as if testing Wolfgang's knowledge. Wolfgang just shook his head, unsure what to say. "Some say they are the Aesir, making their way back to Asgard, or the Angels of the Hvitkristr... others think they might be the Jotnar, or Tunglalfar from another dimension," Wolfgang recalled, repeating the same gossip he had heard on the bridge below. "And what about you Wolfgang, what do you think? Do you believe any of that to be true? Do you believe they are really gods?" Goffre asked inquisitively.

Wolfgang thought about that question silently for a moment, taking another swig of mead before wiping his mouth on his blue shirt sleeve and shaking his head. "No," he answered. "And why not?" immediately asked the jarl. Wolfgang looked down at the table, contemplating his own answer as if he had not really been sure of it himself. "Because..." he hesitated. Jarl Goffre leaned over the table closer to him, looking into Wolfgang's eyes. "Because?" he asked, urging him to finish his reasoning. Wolfgang paused for a moment, then looked up at him. "Because... If that was true, then why did they run from us?"

Wolfgang had a point. Jarl Goffre nodded and smiled, refilling the karl's cup before picking up the other cup of mead and raising it in the air. "My sediments exactly," he said, offering a toast to Wolfgang before taking a swig of mead. "I knew you were a smart man Wolfgang, which is why I have another favor to ask you... I wonder if you wouldn't mind going down to check on our fellowmen, and see how Svegdir Staghelm is doing. Now that I know for sure we're not alone in the galaxy, I'm beginning to wonder if they might not be either," Jarl Goffre suggested.

Wolfgang Yorisson just nodded quietly, taking another swig of mead before turning to gaze out of the window at the continent of Xamoyos below.

The Empyrean Norse encampment was underway. The gang's shelter had been constructed, the fire was going, the fishing traps were set and the rain catcher was complete. Svegdir Staghelm and Jonah Marksberg had finished clearing the area surrounding their campsite and had already started on building a wooden fence around the shelter at the base of the hill. Birger Torvesson had finished drawing a rough map of the immediate area and was still on the hill slope, sketching the different things he saw in his leather bound journal. He watched quietly as a few species of small flying animals landed on the silver rooftop of the shelter, and as they perched themselves in place, he started to draw them as well. The other two karls, Borstein and Danegh, had left the fire burning as they ventured off further into the brush to look for any recognizable nuts and berries, and anything else which they might be able to forage and store for later.

Borstein and Danegh would use the buddy system, bringing their golden dwarf-crafted spears with them as they wandered off into the bushes, cautiously observing the nearby fauna to see what the giant herbivores had deemed edible. Borstein found a small pile of animal droppings on the ground and crouched down to examine it. He waved his hand over the pellets to see if they were fresh, and, finding the dung to be cold and almost dry, he picked up a small portion of it with his fingertips and sniffed it, breaking the grassy substance apart with his fingers to examine whatever might be contained within. Not surprisingly, Borstein found what he was looking for. There in the animal's droppings, he found berries, and he wiped his fingers on his pants before scouting the area to see if he could find a source.

In the meantime, Danegh had spotted a strange looking tree that was rather foreign to him, and a large rodent-like creature similar to a big squirrel, or even maybe a lemur of some kind, that had been clinging to the side of the tree watching him with bulging eyes. That's not a possom, he thought, but it would sure do the trick. Danegh tried to hook the creature with his spear, but it quickly lept off the tree and darted off into the bushes. He wasn't about to give up that easily though, as he swung around the tree and chased the critter into the foliage. Back at camp, Svegdir Staghelm was using a rock to hammer down a fence post into the ground when suddenly he struck something beneath the soil. There was something hard under the surface obstructing his project. He removed the fence post, pulled out his small seax and began digging. What he found was another rock about the size of a softball. But it wasn't just any rock. It was a diamond, larger than any diamond he had ever seen before. Svegdir couldn't believe his own eyes. Not even a whole hour on this new land, and already he was richer than any other karl in the entire kingdom. But now was not the time to be greedy. He quickly dug another hole and reburied his newfound treasure close to where he would put his next fence post, with plans of coming back to it later.

Birger Torvesson watched as the winged rabbit with razor sharp pointy teeth flew down out of nowhere and attacked the sun-bathing pterosaurs, scuffling for a moment before they all flew away. What a very peculiar place, he thought to himself, deciding it might be better for him to return to the shelter and check on the fire. Jonah Marksberg continued to strip and chop wood with his long-handled Danish axe, fashioning thick long pointed stakes to be used for fencing, while making a pile of bark and other scrap wood to be used in the fire. "Did you see that?" Birger asked. "See what?" asked Jonah, who was apparently too busy to notice anything at the moment. Birger Torvesson just shook his head, and started adding dry bark to the fire. He then sat down in front of the fire pit and opened his book, proceeding to make another rough sketch of what he had seen.

Borstein had found a small patch of shrubs with blue colored berries on them similar to the ones he had seen in the animal droppings. He started to pick the small berries and place them in his belt pouch. Borstein was a skilled Norse survivalist who knew better than to just eat some random wild berries, but he collected a whole bunch of them and stored them for later. "Danegh, come see this. Look at these berries I just found." Borstein said as he started to pick the small blue hued seeds and place them in his bag. But Danegh didn't respond. He had instead went chasing after the squirrely rodent with his spear, heading off into the brush. So consumed were they in what they had been doing, Borstein and Danegh had unknowingly strayed too far away from one another. Danegh would chase the critter to its underground burrow and smile. The creature was trapped now, he thought, as he snuck up to the entrance of the burrow and prepared to thrust his spear into the hole. But just then, something caught his ear.

"H...eeeeelp meeeeeee."

Danegh heard something which sounded like a human voice calling out for help. But he didn't recognize the person's voice. It didn't sound very familiar to him, or like any of the Norsemen he had arrived with at the valley. "Borstein? Borstein, is that you?" Danegh asked before clutching his spear with both hands and going deeper into the bushes to investigate the origin of the distress call.

"Odin's gallows, you look like shit,", Borstein said as the sauropod took a car-sized dump. He watched as the dung beetles proceeded to climb on top of the dino poo. He then turned to look behind him. "Heheh, Danegh, look at the size of the giant's dung. It's like a mountain," he chuckled. But nobody was behind him. Danegh wasn't there. He had wandered too far away from Borstein and away from the base camp. Borstein soon stopped smiling. He narrowed his eyes when he didn't hear anything from Danegh, and picking his spear up off of the ground with one hand, Borstein went looking for his fellowman.

Back at base camp, Birger and Jonah stopped what they were doing and looked at the newer, larger pterosaur with the jagged beak as it squawked at them. Neither one of them said anything or did anything but stared at the large flying creature for a moment as if listening to its opinion. Or maybe it's advice? After an ackward moment of staring at the pterosaur silently as if they didn't understand what it's squawk was about, Birger and Jonah went back to work, doing whatever they had been doing, which was mostly chopping wood and tending to the fire while detailing information about the new land they were in. Svegdir continued to build the fence around the shelter, shaking his head.

As Danegh went searching for the source of the distress call, he heard it again. "Hellllp.. Bornstein... meeeeeeeeee" Danegh eventually stopped. Suddenly, a xamatorapter rose its head up out of the bushes and looked at him, wiggling its feathery mane. It snarled at him. Danegh didn't know what to make of it. He raised his spear in front of him and pointed it at the raptor, but didn't move. He was on alert now, but had no idea that Erin was there, and wasn't even thinking about the possibility of her presence at that time. All he could see was a snickering reptile with a lot of sharp teeth and claws. He hadn't worn armor. All he had was a spear and his blue coat to protect him. He stared at the raptor as it snarled at him, and for a moment, Danegh snarled back.

Danegh soon found the origin of the human-like distress call. It had been a raptor, and it wasn't alone either. Three more raptors came running up from behind the first one to see what it had found. Danegh gripped his spear and gritted his teeth, bracing himself for an ambush. What were these beings who stood before him? Were they dwarves, or giants perhaps? Danegh had heard old stories about the dwarves and giants being able to shapeshift into animals and take on the personification of the forest. But those were ancient myths, and he wasn't expecting he'd ever run into a band of them on this new land.

Danegh glared at the Xamatorapter for a moment, gripping his spear with both hands as he pointed the spear point at the bipedal creature, so similar to one of Odin's ravens that it had to be a spirit. "Odin," Danegh said, forgetting all about the distress call for a moment. He stared at the raptor curiously, letting down his spear to accept his fate in the talons of the ravens, when suddenly a metal egg hit the ground and rolled between them, exploding in a flash of white light. Danegh would take a knee and divert his eyes with one arm, still holding his spear. He was blinded.

Back at the camp, Birger started to get an erie feeling about whether or not they should have camped on the slope, as he looked up at the Gladioxamos and took note of its creepy bird-like demeanor. As a male perched beside her, Birger grabbed his notebook again and made a sketch of the differences between the two, though it never occurred to him that one was male and one female. Just as the pterosaurs would be surprised to find that they had perched on elven silver, which their weight and claws could neither scratch nor bend, for it had been forged by enchantment to protect the Empyrean Norse starships in the vacuum of space.

Svegdir Staghelm and Jonah Marksberg finished building the fences around the hill and began working on the other fences around their boat house. Borstein walked back to camp, looking disgruntled as he walked up the hill. "Where's Danegh? He's supposed to be helping me find some food," Borstein said, upset that someone would leave such an important task and return to base. But Danegh wasn't there. "I don't know. We thought he was with you," Staghelm answered, still hammering down his final post. Borstein looked over to Birger and Jonah, before turning around and looking back towards the thick brush at the treeline. He raised his his hands and cupped his mouth to shout Danegh's name, but Svegdir quickly stopped what he was doing and placed his hand over Borstein's mouth to silence him before he could make a big sound.

Birger's ear twitched at the sound of the creeping treetops. He would take note of it, and the strange looking fruit as it hit the earth with a plop. Svegdir looked suspiciously at Borstein before gazing into the thicket. One of his team members was missing in action. His primary objective had changed. He lowered his hand from over Borstein's mouth, but motioned for him to be silent as he gazed over at the spikey fruit, before gazing into the woods again. Svegdir and Borstein then both walked down the open hill together, heading into the dangerous forest to look for Danegh.

Birger Bengtson was the most talented artist during the Golden Age of what seemed to be a rising Nordic Empire, and Bengtson was a real Renaissance man, similar in comparison with other great artists like Michelangelo in his own right. Only his style was different, and his sketch work was rudimentary, more similar to carpentry designs than to sculptures or paintings. But he wrote in a similar linear script from left to right, using runic characters that seemed more fitting for wood or stone carvings than for papyrus or canvas.

Danegh was down on one knee, diverting his eyes from the blinding white light as the small pack of Xamoraptors darted off into the thick brush, startled by the sudden flashbang which had exploded right in front of them. Danegh was dazed and disoriented for a moment, but kept his hand on his spear whilst touching the ground so as not to lose his bearings entirely.

As the light receded, Danegh looked up to see a shimmering figure walking towards him from out of the foliage. The sunlight glimmered off of the slender figure as she approached, wearing a suit of armor with a glossy black visored helmet. Danegh could see that the figure's shape was familiar and had a humanoid appearance. But it certainly wasn't anyone familiar to him, and the armored figure appeared quite alien, like a person from a totally different culture or civilization.

As he gazed up at the stranger in front of him, placing a tighter grip on his spear, Danegh's fight or flight instincts were starting to kick in. He had heard rumours back on Gaia about the dokkalfar, a powerful race of dark elves who were known to attack humans and other elves alike. Although he had never seen one in person, he was already accustomed to sea elves, and he knew how dangerous such races could be. He watched cautiously, preparing to pounce.

Suddenly, however, there was a loud hissing sound as the figure's visor opened to reveal a more humanoid face with blue eyes. After a few seconds, the visored helmet retracted into the suit's shoulder, and Danegh could immediately tell that it was a woman with raven black hair. She quickly flung her disruptor rifle over her shoulder and stepped closer, looking down at him.

"Are you okay?" the woman asked as her strange unfamiliar armor glimmered in the sunlight. Danegh loosened his grip on his spear and stood up slowly, looking at the woman with confusion. He was utterly speechless, and had no idea what was going on. Had this stranger been the source of the distress call? That certainly didn't seem to be the case just a minute ago. He glanced at the opening in the bushes where the large bird-like creatures had been just moments ago. But where did they go? Danegh began to wonder to himself whether he was alive or dead. What was that bright blinding flash of light? His mind was overwhelmed with several questions as his heart started beating quickly and irregularly.

But the armored figure wasn't the only person who seemed a bit foreign and out of place as Danegh stood up slowly to face her. He himself had long free flowing light brown wavy hair with a curly beard and short mustache, and hazel colored eyes and bronze or ruddy skin. He was wearing a bright blue long sleeved shirt tunic with an open laced collar and brown baggy legged trousers which flared loosely before being tucked into his high blue wool socks and skin boots. Underneath his tunic, Danegh appeared to be wearing light armor, or a silver chainmail vest of some kind as the metal collar shimmered in the sunlight beneath his curly beard. He had several necklaces made of gold and silver, including a Mjolnir hammer pendant which hung down loosely over his chest. On his left breast appeared to be a patch or tag of some kind, showing a runic symbol which denoted his rank and duty within the Empyrean Norse Empire, and in his hand he was carrying a silver spear with a single small hook on the end.

The woman would only have seconds to absorb the Norseman's appearance, however, before he suddenly ran away from her in the opposite direction, deciding to flee from the area rather than make conversation. He quickly turned and jumped into the bushes without saying anything, apparently being frightened away by everything he had just witnessed. He didn't even bother to scream in fear. He just bolted, having no idea exactly where he was or even where he was going. All the surprised man knew at that particular moment was that he had seen enough. Danegh didn't like this new fertile planet after all. He just wanted to go back home.

"Danegh was already spooked by the Xamatoraptor... no, that doesn't sound right... the Peloronychus," Birger Torvesson wrote in his journal, taking a second to hit his pipe before he shaded in the description of the characters that Danegh had described... "Xamayos seems a fitting name for this land, though I assert from what an abundance of reptiles I've seen near our camp that we should call the place of our settlement Dracos Valley, and ourselves, the Dracos Valley Vikings, the first Empyrean Norse explorers to sail across the Milky Way rivers of Audumla and post on one of the sky chariots, gazing back at our own world Gaia as if she was just a fleeting stjorn." Birger finished his entry before closing his notebook and placing it into his bag, securing it under his seat and settling into his adjustable chair within the backseat of the convertiboat as everyone else climbed on board.

Karvi-1 was preparing to leave the area suddenly. Svegdir Staghelm had ordered everyone in his small crew to abandon the unfinished settlement and return to the karve lifeboat, undoing the rooftop of their temporary lodging and sliding the long narrow vessel back down the slope of the hill into the shallow water. Jonah Marksberg peered out over Lake Dineasair looking for any danger in the water as Borstein climbed into the convertiboat, followed by Danegh who was still trying to explain the mysterious woman in strange clothing, the voice-mimicking raptor and the enormous sauropod dinosaur with its massively long neck and legs. Svegdir Staghelm rushed everyone to be quiet and get in as he fastened his seat harness and used his key crystal to start up the boat. Once everyone was seated, the armored convertible rooftop slid shut and encapsulated everyone inside the cab. Jonah checked the readings on his dash panel and gave Svegdir the thumbs up, signaling that all systems were good. Hitting a few colorful glowing neon runic buttons and symbols on his display screen, Svegdir initiated the levitation sequence. Soon the convertiboat began to lift up out of the lake and rotate slowly, hovering above the water. It gave off an invisible energy field which distorted the air around the floating craft, giving off a very low barely audible humming sound.

The search team had completed their mission. They had gathered more than enough information to proceed with the next phase. It was time to report back to base before the situation became too dangerous. Svegdir wasn't taking any chances. He grabbed the steering wheel and proceeded to pull back on the steering colum, causing the convertiboat to tilt upwards and face diagonally towards the northern sky horizon. Without wasting any more time, the small almond-shaped silver vessel suddenly bolted into the clouds above the Grigori River at nearly the speed of light, leaving only a brief glimpse of an image trail behind it as waves of water splashed around the lake's surface where the craft had just launched from in the blink of an eye. At least the Norse explorers had found a place to camp. Even if their crude settlement were to be destroyed, at least they had a good reference point where they could return later with more men. But the small crew aboard Karvi-1 were holding valuable knowledge and information which they knew needed to be reported back to Jarl Goffre Alvisson, who would then commission the Karvi-3 to ship it home to the Empyrean Sea Beach on Gaia, where King Halfdan would give them further orders. It was a delicate operation which required teamwork and survival tactics which Svegdir knew.

As the convertiboat ascended above the clouds, it sailed through the sky silently, hovering towards the Stjornhestr mothership which sat floating majestically within the planet's exosphere. Wolfgang Yorisson and Kelsey the Healer were just about to gather up their own crew for Karvi-2 and rendezvous with Staghelm's gang on the surface when all of a sudden, Svegdir Staghelm appeared with his crew, their silver vessel moving forward quickly towards the Stjornhestr before slithering and winding slowly upon its approach to form Svegdir's signature docking sequence, informing the captain Jarl Goffre Alvisson that Karvi-1 was still being piloted by the same crew which took off in it. The craft was permitted to land and once the docking bay vault doors were sealed shut behind it, the chamber was depressurized and the gaseous oxidation process began, hissing and releasing gases into the docking bay area so that the crew could breathe as they exited the convertiboat, its metal rooftop sliding back slowly to reveal the five frightened passengers within. All of them looked like they had been to Jotunheim and back.