I see.
So, Canute is dead?
No.
To be precise, he went missing.
Ragnar's men clashed with Thorkell in Marlborough in an attempt to save His Highness.
And in the midst of the chaos,
His Highness went missing.
So he is no longer held captive by Thorkell's men?
Correct. We observed Thorkell's force for two more days,
but we have not seen anyone resembling His Highness among them.
Perhaps he is still alive and waiting for help.
However, no rescue expedition can be dispatched until the spring.
I can sense your concern, Your Majesty.
If only Canute had a greater affinity for ruling than his brother, Harald.
Perhaps he would never have been lost.
Beyond the night skies I'm trudging towards, a lone crow lies in wait
Cawing as if to hasten my gait
From the annals of history, shadows of skulls laughed at me
Laughing in my face with glee
So I just bleed and feel the blood I have inside me
Holding to the creed and blade to slay thee
Carry on the oath until my last scene
Higher than the sky and deeper than the sea
Keep your precious justice to yourself, bud
Use it till they're torn, become a pile of mud
I don't need their choice or voice to judge me
The one and only way I had and always seek
Anyone, everyone, I will crush 'em all
Enemies, let 'em see, now I see you fall
Kings and gods, change the odds
I'm the one who makes my final call
My scars, my past and even my solitude
I'll quell them all with just my feud
Keep your crown, I'll take you down
I'm the one who makes my final call
Aww. Here comes the snow!
After Yule
And there goes the war!
Oh winter...
DECEMBER 1013: GLOUCESTER, EARLDOM OF MERCIA
Must you freeze even the hearts of warriors?
Dear winter!
Hey, captain!
How do you like your pork? Boiled or seared?
Give me both!
Swallow your food first and I might understand.
'Kay.
After all's said and done,
it really hurt to let the prince get away.
Get away? You handed him over.
He might've been a coward, but he had his uses.
We could have raised him up and proclaimed him the new king.
He'd have been useful even just to recruit soldiers.
With you as his bannerman,
we might've raised ourselves a bit of an army, eh?
Indeed.
What?
Hey! You there, English girl!
Can I help you?
Any beer left? Bring over a barrel.
Hey, they ordered another keg!
Oh, not again!
Those gluttons are going to eat through the whole village!
They might as well be pillaging at this rate!
Stop sniveling!
I mean, if Canute was gonna get away anyway, we might as well have given him to the English.
What?
You're a wicked man, Thorkell.
When you sense the flames of war are growing dim, you stoke them up again.
And why the hell wouldn't I?
We're warriors, aren't we?
It's a battlefield that makes a warrior!
Well, in that case...
I'm afraid I've got some bad news about that.
There's to be a Witenagemot soon in Wessex.
Sweyn is to be crowned the Bretwalda: King of the Britons.
What?
That's total surrender!
Indeed.
Denmark will swallow England whole.
It looks like the nobility wants to end this war so badly that they're willing to abdicate the throne.
Why do my worst feelings always come true?
So what's the plan?
One last hurrah, a final assault on King Sweyn's stronghold?
You idiot!
I love fighting, but I hate losing!
I only fight to win!
This blows.
If only the entire world could be at war all the time.
It's a messenger!
Is the lord here?
Anything troubling you, Ear?
I'll say. It's fuckin' freezing.
NORTH PART OF EARLDOM OF MERCIA ASKELADD'S ARMY CONTROLLED FARM VILLAGE
The snow sucks up all the sound.
Even I can't hear that far anymore.
It's still better than sending out scouting patrols.
This way we don't give away our position.
Then you might wanna do something about them.
No one'd confuse 'em for simple farmers.
Father, forgive us our sins.
The holy folk? Keep an eye on them too.
"Forgive us our sins," they say.
Do they have to beg for forgiveness every time they so much as fart?
What a pain.
Oh, heavenly Father
who reigns above.
Please guide the souls of those who rest here to your side.
Bring salvation to the souls of the men who killed them.
And forgive us our sins.
You've got better uses for your time than praying for others.
Father.
Does my voice even reach your ears above?
Our Father.
You...
created us in your image.
But you did not grant us your strength.
Father.
If you love the good and the wicked alike,
then why do you test us in our weakness?
Father above.
Does my voice reach your ears?
Our Father.
I admit...
I begin to doubt your love.
Silence!
You dare...
to doubt God?
And you call yourself a follower of Christ?!
You ought to be ashamed!
Doubting God's love is the last thing a devout Christian should ever do!
There is no father...
There is no father who would not love his own son!
Your Highness...
Oh! Just a moment!
Father...
Danish soldiers?
You're certain?
Yes. That's what the message said.
They've apparently taken over a small village up the Severn.
The lord of the area sent out a summons for help, see...
According to the only survivor,
the enemy has around one to two hundred men.
Soldiers from neighboring areas are already heading there,
but we were thinking about asking the great and heroic Thorkell to come along.
What do you think?
Seems clear to me.
There can't be many Danish contingents of that size acting independently at this time of year.
They feint going by sea and then march over land to Gainsborough,
only to take to hibernation when the snow traps them?
That's my guess.
Thorfinn and Canute.
All right!
Wake everyone up! We're going marching!
And...
Hey, you.
We'll need provisions for the band.
Enough for five hundred.
Five days' worth should do it.
Five hundred?
Now this is more like it!
If we play our hand right,
there'll be fun to wring from this war yet!
How many men are there, Ear?
Hard to say.
Maybe fifty? A hundred?
They're flanking us along the woods to the east.
They shouldn't have sniffed us out so fast.
Did we tip our hand somehow?
Not sure.
But they know we're here, and we can't change that.
We're leaving?
Tonight? We can't finish in time.
We've only finished two sleds!
And I just started on the third one yesterday!
And your work is fine.
Just get the job done by tonight.
We'll abandon the ones we can't finish.
I said that's impossible!
We only have two carpenters!
The English forces have sniffed us out.
What? They're onto us?
Yep.
They've combed through the snow.
Must have quite a bone to pick with us Danes.
How in the...
We must hurry, or we'll miss our chance to escape.
Is that clear? Now get cracking.
On the double.
Get the boys ready for battle, Bjorn.
Capture their commander.
I want to know how they knew.
Understood.
Oh, and Bjorn?
One more thing.
This is the perfect chance.
Let's put our plan into motion.
They're onto us?
Think this means trouble?
We'll be fine!
You've seen how weak the English are.
That ain't what I mean.
I'm talking about Askeladd's luck.
His luck?
First the heavy snowfall, and now this.
I've never seen his plans betray him in succession like this.
Oh! What a fine-looking coney!
You caught it, Thorfinn?
What?
Are you going to eat it alone?
Are you going to roast it?
And what if I do?
A meal of meat alone isn't healthy!
Stew it with greens!
I'll cook us up some soup with that rabbit.
Buzz off.
I'll eat it exactly as I like it.
You're going to borrow someone's stove anyway, right?
Come over here!
Your Highness! I've brought broad beans, cabbage, and a hare!
A hare?
Yes. Thorfinn caught it.
I thought it would be good to add to the soup.
Well done.
Drain the blood and remove its organs.
Not bad considering what we had.
The rabbit made it work.
I've grown tired of eating salt-cured meat.
You have my thanks.
What's wrong? Don't hold back.
You caught the rabbit.
Good, isn't it?
Catch us a deer next time!
I thought you noble types had everything cooked for you.
It's my hobby.
I don't normally get the chance.
No one knows about it except Ragnar.
Do not tell anyone of this either, okay?
Why? Who cares?
A long time ago,
I made a dish of cod.
It turned out well,
so I brought it to my father.
But His Majesty did not eat it.
He flew into a rage and told me,
"No son of a king pretends to do a slave's work."
Since then, I have officially stopped cooking.
A prince has no need for that skill.
At that time,
His Majesty must have been very busy.
When the war is over, we shall present him with a good fowl.
I'm certain he would love it.
What bird?
I've never cooked poultry before.
Chicken or duck should do.
Do you remember the duck you ate at the winter solstice festival?
Yes, that was delicious.
I had to ask the cook for his secret.
It seems the trick lies in the broth.
The broth? I see.
Ragnar!
You idiot! I'm just bringing a message!
What is it?
What's happening?
The enemy has found us.
A battle has begun in the forest to the east.
What?
There aren't many of them,
but please be careful regardless.
How can this be?!
We've only been hiding here for ten days!
How did they know?!
How am I supposed to know?
Oh merciful God...
Why did we kill all of those poor souls?
Anyway,
we're moving on once we've crushed the English. Get ready.
I've been saying that we should turn back to Wales from the very start!
No. We're heading for Derby.
After all this, he still wants to go deeper into enemy territory?!
Bring me Askeladd at once!
He's leading at the front line right now.
But if your business is that urgent, I'm sure you can seek him out yourself.
I'll show you the way.
Unbelievable! You men are just like your leader!
Not the slightest shred of courtesy!
What proper Norse warrior can't see that his luck's run out?!
I swear on my sword,
my blade will teach him a dear lesson about his ignorance today!
Hey!
The sound of the battle is coming from that way!
You finally noticed?
By the gods, you're dense.
What?
What are you up to—
You traitors...
Sorry, Conehead.
Askeladd's orders.
Wanna go on?
We don't mind finishing the fight.
It'll speed things up. There's no saving you.
Bring Askeladd here!
I must speak with him.
If you have a message, I'll deliver it to him.
Just tell me.
Bring him here!
It's related to His Highness the Prince!
I must tell him directly!
Now!
I will hear your final words.
Shall we speak in private?
The cries stopped.
The battle's over.
This is just great...
The soup's gone cold.
I'm grateful to you, you know.
It couldn't have been easy to keep that weakling of a prince alive for this long.
And your death will likely spur further growth within him.
I will be taking over your duty to him
after your tragic death
at the hands of the English today.
Swear to your gods!
Swear that you will carry on my duty to the best of your ability
and that...
you will protect Prince Canute above all else!
I will do everything within my power to protect Prince Canute
and ensure that the death of Ragnar the warrior was not in vain.
Will that do?
It sickens me to leave His Highness with a man like you!
Better finish your message quickly.
You've lost a lot of blood.
Before you reach...
Gainsborough,
you ought to know of the succession...
The courtiers at Jelling are forming two competing factions
to determine who shall be the future king of Denmark.
One side seeks to place Prince Canute upon the throne.
The other aligns itself with his brother, Prince Harald.
The princes' wishes do not matter to them...
They're scheming nobles embroiled in petty squabbles.
Perhaps His Majesty feared that the Kingdom of Denmark might split.
It's likely he forced himself to make a decision.
A decision to kill one of his two sons.
King Sweyn decided to kill the prince?
His Majesty sent Prince Canute into this war
to have him die on the battlefield.
Know this...
Prince Canute's real enemy
at this moment
is none other than his own father, King Sweyn!
Flee into exile.
It is the only choice left.
When you reach Gainsborough,
my brother... will have arranged
for you...
Well, shit...
I would've loved to have known that earlier.
Please.
Just one...
last look...
Let me see His Highness.
To say farewell...
No.
Your Highness...
When this war is over...
we'll cook a bird together.
I'm certain
that His Majesty would...
love it.
I feel like I'm almost there, but I'm not
Hounded by bones drifting along on silent winds
Unceasing echoes of voices won't ever fade
We can't well turn back without knowing what lies ahead
We may see in the same colors
But the breaths we draw are shaded differently
You're gonna make me go
You're gonna make me drown
I've nothing left to even lose
You're gonna make me go
You're gonna make me drown
No I don't want it, I don't want it,
I don't want it
Don't let me go
You're gonna make me drown
I'll head towards an answer that affords no footing
You're gonna make me go
You're gonna make me drown
No I don't want it, I don't want it,
I don't want it
But I know no one's there
I will stay right here
I'll walk the precipice