Send a rider tonight
and he'll be back by morning.
Why don't they let
us dry ourselves and get warm?
If I stay like this,
I will rust.
What kind of fellow
is this Jarl Borg?
This is no way
to treat guests,
whoever they are.
Especially if they've been
traveling for days on end.
Are you the emissaries
from King Horik?
Well, I can tell you at once,
you're wasting your time.
It's my land,
and I want it
returned to me.
That's all I have to say.
He wants to
make peace with you
and come to some
kind of agreement.
Then tell him if
he leaves my land,
we can have peace.
But not before.
How can you make
peace, Jarl Borg,
if you insist on
humiliating him?
If I invade and defeat him,
will he not be
even more humiliated?
Not if he fights well.
In any case,
I am sure that
he would relish a fight.
What's your name?
Ragnar Lothbrok.
You are Ragnar Lothbrok,
the one who sailed west?
I am surprised that
you've heard about that.
How are you surprised?
Everyone has heard
of your exploits.
Why have we not offered
our guests dry
clothes and food?
Treat these folk well.
Give them ale,
let them dry out, feed them.
Tomorrow, you and I
will talk again,
Ragnar Lothbrok.
You haven't
eaten in three days.
You see?
I have fears.
Go to the Seer,
ask if your fears
will come true.
It's sometimes better
not to know one's fate.
I take it,
from what you said yesterday,
that King Horik is
prepared to compromise
and offer some deal
regarding those lands of mine,
which he still occupies?
He is prepared
to pay you
to renounce
your illegal claims
of his lands.
You disappoint me now,
Ragnar Lothbrok.
I thought you'd come here
with a serious purpose.
If you would just
name your price.
The land is priceless.
Which is why King Horik
wants to keep it for himself.
Every piece of
land has a price,
just like every human.
Well, you
don't understand.
This is not
a small plot of land
on which you grow
turnips and onions.
We're talking about
a vast swathe of land,
and on this land,
in the earth, are minerals,
things of great value.
Why else would I
assert my claim?
King Horik resists
your claim,
but still, in good faith,
he is willing to
settle with you.
If you will name
a reasonable price.
At the moment,
my price is King Horik's head.
Well, then,
it seems I am done.
Hold on,
please, sit down,
sit down.
Let's see if we can
find another way.
What do you
have in mind?
What if my claim
was acknowledged,
but I was willing
to lease the land
back to the King
during his lifetime?
Or what if we deferred
judgment on ownership,
but shared
the mineral rights?
What do you say?
Can we start negotiating
in this manner?
Why not?
I have not been
given the authority to
negotiate in this manner.
You mean King Horik
sent you here with
nothing but a demand?
And yet he speaks of peace!
I don't know
what is in his mind.
Well, then,
maybe you should ask him.
Let me make a suggestion.
Why don't you send
one of your men back
so he can put to King Horik
my ideas for a remedy?
If you think
that will work.
Good. Your messenger
will take several days.
So, in the meantime,
why don't you and
your men go and visit
our famous ash tree?
It is famous not
only for its size,
but because it
never loses its leaves,
summer or winter.
Some people even
say it's Yggdrasil,
the tree that
holds up the sky.
And I will
provide you an escort.
I only have one
very small request.
I would like one
of your men to stay
behind here as
a kind of security.
You understand, I hope?
My brother Rollo
will stay behind.
Floki!
So how long
must we travel?
It can take us three
days to reach the tree.
It looks like rain.
Come.
Why have you come?
I am frightened
for my husband.
Do you think your husband
is in some kind of danger?
I've had strange
and disturbing dreams.
What happens in your dreams?
Dark shapes come
to me at night.
Monstrous forms.
When I wake,
they skulk in the
shadows, shapeless,
but no sooner am I asleep
than they creep forward again.
Ah, yes.
The shadows come
from Hel's hall.
No one can ensnare them,
not even the gods.
What is it
that they want?
To take something
from you.
My life?
No, something far more
important to you than that.
My husband's life?
Tell me.
Why must you
all force me up
and unearth me
to sorrows?
Your husband is in danger,
but not for his life.
He is in danger
from the magical world.
How?
Answer me.
I was unwilling to speak
and I will say no more now!
So, Rollo,
how do you get on
with your brother?
We get along fine.
Why shouldn't we?
No reason.
But not all brothers
get on so well.
I know that from
personal experience.
What do you mean?
I, too, had a brother.
I loved him.
We were very close,
as befits blood brothers.
We fought together
in the shield-wall.
We shared the same women.
When my father was
killed, there was
fierce competition to
replace him as Jarl.
And although I
was his eldest son,
I was not sure I
was going to succeed.
However,
I was elected
at the thing.
We had a feast
to celebrate.
My wife was there.
My young, beautiful wife.
We'd just gotten married.
And all the others who had
stood for election against me.
My brother poisoned them
all.
I only survived because
my wife took the cup
I was about to drink from
and drained it herself
in celebration.
I will never
forget her screams.
It's my wife's
screams that will
haunt me for
the rest of my life.
My brother
denied responsibility,
but his guilt was too obvious.
So I blinded him
with my own hands,
and then I burned him alive.
Although he laughed
while he was burning.
That's what I know about
the love between brothers.
Ragnar would
never do such a thing.
Of course not.
No, your brother
is different.
Your brother's a great man,
a great warrior.
As am I.
I'm sure you are.
And yet I've
never heard of you.
Whoa.
Our camp is set
up over here.
There's some
excellent fishing upstream,
under the waterfall.
I will go.
And I also,
for everybody knows...
Three eyes are
better than one.
You! Look away!
Who are you?
Look away at once!
What are we
supposed to
be looking at?
I'm blind!
See? I can't
see anything!
Arne!
What? You're going
to try to kill us
for protecting the
reputation of our mistress?
Shame on you!
We came upon your
mistress by chance.
We are strangers here,
traveling to
the great ash tree,
guests of Jarl Borg.
Jarl Borg?
Then why didn't
you say so at once?
We will just return
to our horses then.
You spied on me.
We meant no harm.
They say they are
guests of Jarl Borg.
Are you alone?
We are traveling with
Earl Ragnar Lothbrok.
Then I think Earl Ragnar owes
me an apology on your behalf.
Don't you?
I never knew that
fresh fish was
also packed in salt.
Listen, it's
not our fault.
We just saw her
bathing. What were
we supposed to do?
Fish.
You did not see
her, Ragnar.
So you get your
cheek slashed,
and now I'm supposed
to apologize
for you two staring
at a naked body?
That's what she said.
Who is she, anyway,
to put such a high price
on her nakedness?
We didn't ask.
I'm intrigued.
What's so intriguing?
Sometimes the gods put things
like this in front of us
as some kind of test.
She has set me a challenge
and I am up to task.
See, I'm less interested in
what you say is her beauty,
than what I suspect
is her wit.
So tell her,
I invite her
here to join us.
Neither dressed
nor undressed.
What else?
Neither hungry nor full,
neither in company nor alone.
Can you remember
all of that, one eye?
What did the
Seer tell you?
He said that it's true,
that Ragnar is in danger.
From whom?
I don't know.
Who do you think?
I think he is in
danger from himself.
Have you ever been
to Yggdrasil before?
No.
So, Earl Ragnar,
I come to you
as you desired.
Neither dressed
nor undressed,
neither hungry nor full,
neither alone
nor yet in company.
Do I pass your test?
I owe you an apology.
I accept.
Could I offer you some
horrible salted fish?
I'm very tempted.
You can get tired
of fresh fish.
Come.
Sit, please.
May I ask your name?
My name is Aslaug.
We're on our way to
see the great ash tree.
Of course.
You are welcome to join us.
Will you come along, Aslaug?
Siggy, what is it?
No, it's nothing.
I visited my cousin
a few days ago.
She had just buried
her young son.
Why did he die?
One day he was fine,
and the next,
he caught a fever that
made him sweat and cry
out in the night,
and the next day,
she put him in the ground.
But if this
is Yggdrasil,
then it must be the same tree
that Lord Odin once
hanged himself from.
Why not?
All things are possible.
"I hung from a windy
tree for nine long nights,
"wounded by a spear,
"dedicated to Odin,
"from that tree of
which no man knows
"from where its roots run."
No, please.
Look after my daughter
first.
It's all right.
What's wrong, boy?
What do you think?
My father is making
a fool of himself.
He's enjoying himself
in the company of
a beautiful woman.
What's foolish
about that?
Some day you'll
do the same thing.
If Lagertha were here,
she'd cut his balls off.
Then it's
a good thing she's not.
Listen to me,
my friend.
Your father and mother
are a famous couple.
They love each other.
Everybody knows that.
So don't begrudge your old man
a little harmless fun, huh?
I trust all is to
your satisfaction.
You feed me very well.
You're an
important guest.
We would like to
keep you entertained
until your brother returns.
You always talk
about my brother.
What choice do I have?
He is your earl.
Which one would
you like tonight?
Why don't you
take both of them?
I don't need to be
bribed with women.
What is it you
want, Rollo?
What is it you
really want?
Fenrir, the giant wolf,
could not be constrained
by any means known to man,
so the dwarves forged a chain,
but not from metal.
Nothing made by man
could constrain Fenrir,
so they forged it
from the things we cannot see
and the things we cannot hear.
Like the breath of a fish,
the sound a moving cat makes.
The roots
of a mountain.
You know?
Of course I know!
These things interest me!
Like the terrible tricks
of the god Loki.
How he turns into a flea
to divest the goddess Freyja
of her precious necklace.
He's only a distant ancestor.
I came to ask
about Jarl Borg.
He won't sell.
He wants to make a deal.
I'm not interested
in deals.
That would make
it hard for Ragnar.
Ragnar will come to
the right conclusion
and make the
right decision.
In any case, there is
someone else in Götland
who looks after my affairs.
Don't you care if
the negotiations fail?
Look!
I am going to die.
No, you are not
going to die.
The Seer might think that
he is the only one in Kattegat
with the gift of prophecy,
but he's wrong,
and I know you are
not going to die.
I should tell you the truth
about who I really am.
I am Princess Aslaug.
My mother was
the shield-maiden
Brunhilde.
Everyone knows the renown
of your mother.
But I am not her.
I am myself.
Both my parents
are dead now,
and I did not
know them anyway.
Why did you
come along with me?
Because I had no choice.
Why did you do that?
Because I had no choice.
I hate you.
It's disgusting.
I could not help myself.
Shall I tell that
to Lagertha,
your wife?
If you want to.
You cannot love her
that much after all,
no matter what you say,
no matter what people think.
I don't care
what people think.
Of course I love
your mother.
Swear to me that it
will not happen again.
I swear to you it
won't happen again.
I love you.
Now, go play.
No!
Athelstan?
He is so weak
he cannot eat.
Pray to the gods,
please, for him.
Wait, no.
I said no.
No.
Lord of lords,
we make this offering to you,
hoping you will
find it pleasing.
Can you
try a little more?
Gyda.
Enjoy!
What's wrong with you?
I'm carrying your child.
Did the Seer not
promise you more sons?
Whoa.
We welcome our
guests to this feast.
Now tell us what you learned
from King Horik.
What compromises is
he willing to make?
Can I not eat first?
Well, he said...
What did he say?
He will make
no compromises,
no deals.
He say you must name
your price for the land.
Or?
He didn't say "or."
It seems your mission
has been entirely wasted,
Ragnar Lothbrok.
You and your men
must leave here
in the morning.
Unless you want to
repudiate King Horik,
renounce your
allegiance to him?
I see.
Very well.
Good.
War.
Odin.
So, my friend,
the die is cast.
King Horik has
left me no choice.
I must attack him and claim
what is rightfully mine.
Your brother will
clearly not support me,
but the question is,
will you?
Will you fight alongside me?
Together, you and I can
carve out the new kingdom.
Isn't that what
you really want?
The death of your brother
and the start
of your own fame?
Well, what do you say?
I say yes.
I will fight
with you.
I will fight with you
against my brother.