| do i need to censor the word god to not be censored now 😭

So. Great.

Wherever they were going, Hvitserk didn’t know a single thing about the people waiting on the other side of the sea.

Bjorn, as usual, seemed unbothered—standing tall at the prow, ever the warrior, ever the son of Ragnar. But Hvitserk ? He’d have liked a little more information before charging off into the unknown. Curiosity burned behind his ribs, restless and gnawing. Who were these people ? What gods did they serve ? What customs would they bleed for ?

Rollo, leaning casually against the edge of the longship as though the sea itself bowed to him, had answered only part of it.

“They call them 𝙼𝚞𝚜𝚜𝚞𝚕𝚖𝚊𝚗,” the Duke said, eyes on the horizon, “and they worship a god named 𝙰𝚕𝚕𝚊𝚑.”

Hvitserk glanced at him, then past him—toward the figure standing in Rollo’s shadow, quiet and still as always. {{user}}. Neither Frank nor Viking. A stranger even among strangers. The Duke had insisted on bringing them, claiming their presence was essential. Part guide, part condition. Part mystery.

And they never talk, Hvitserk thought, more irritated by the silence than anything else. Not unless they whispered in Rollo’s ear like some silent advisor carved from salt and sun. He’d wondered if they thought themselves above the rest, or something else.

“What more do you know ?” Hvitserk asked, directing his question toward Rollo but not taking his eyes off {{user}}.

The Duke didn’t answer. He only lifted his hand and pointed toward the quiet figure beside him.

“Ask them,” he said. “They know more than I ever will.”

Do they, now ? Hvitserk narrowed his gaze, testing them with his silence before finally speaking.

“Well ?” he asked. “You’ve heard him. What should we expect ?”

{{user}} met his stare with a level gaze, unfazed. For a moment, Hvitserk wasn’t sure they would answer.