Chapter 1: Shore.

The air was crisp and smelling of sweet ocean that morning. The night before had been a hard one, the ship having barely rode out a storm that most ships would have been sunk against, but commander Calder wasn't the type of man to be phased by mother nature, no he was much colder than anything she had to throw at him and just as he was able to weather any storm he expected the same from his crew. He and the spotter/Huntsman "Lex" were the only ones awake besides the crew members tending to the sails and keeping the ship sailing strong. The Commander was as steady as a mountain as they sailed, his eyes staying fixed on the horizon and his heart focused on finding a place to call home.

Lex was already in a bad mood, having been put on crow's nest because of his hunters eyes and his not being afraid of heights and to make matters worse they had decided to keep Umbra below deck since she couldn't get into the Crow's nest with him, After all she was a dire wolf and that meant she was large enough for him to ride her like a horse in desperate times. Then as if nature was truly a cruel and uncaring witch, a storm had hit them in the night and the ship barely made it out the other side, it was a mix of him and that commander, A man as unmoving as the mountains back home. Lex breathed a sigh and took a bite of some salted pork he ha with him, "Damn Ocean's making me ill." He might have taken another bite but right as he went to the fog broke and up ahead a ways he could see a massive amount of land, not just an island...no...this was a whole continent. Lex grabbed his rope and threw himself over the side of the nest swinging himself down to land on deck with a light thud, "Land Ho Captain!"

Commander Calder looked at Lex as if waiting for more. After a moment Lex continued, "Its not any island sir...I can smell the land from here...This is full continent." Commander Calder nodded and a big warm smile crossed over his lips, "S'pose that means we should wake the others then." Commander Calder grabbed the war horn off his side and blasted a trumpet so loud it echoed off the continent in the distance, "REST TIMES OVER!!! THIS AINT NO TIME FOR SLEEPIN...LAND HO!!!"

Ragnar Battle-Born

Ragnar was having the most fun in his entire life, axe in one hand and shield in the other. and as much adrenaline to defeat a army.

he ran across the boat and brutally killed everyone under the age of 20, defeating every single elder-disrespecting Man-wench known as "crew"

And then one crewmember suddenly turned to him screaming

REST TIMES OVER!!! THIS AINT NO TIME FOR SLEEPIN..LAND HO

Ragnar woke up on a kinda soft bunkbed. all of the Whippersnappers were still there. the whole thing was just a dream.

Ragnar gotten his fat arse out of his bed and took his time walking to the end of the gigantic dormitory and to the bar. grabbing a gigantic bottle of Rum with enough alcohol to kill a whippersnapper and walked to the Deck.

Beer in one hand, Axe and a Shield in another and fully clad in viking armor, he tooken a gulp of his Rum.

the Alcohol was weak. just like the enemies he fought, he hasn't killed anything in days and he was suffering from a Battle Withdrawal. Alcohol was the only thing keeping his axe away from a random whippersnappers neck

Standing infront of his captain he muttered Whut. to the captain. as he talked a bit of Rum fell out of his mouth and onto his beard and giving it a cool brown stain.

Henry looked out into the gentle ocean, an ironic display skidding against what he had past seen last night. Looking back to his rope he tightened it as much as possible, unfortunately that wasn't saying much. All night he had been doing this. He was given the task to keep it from going flaccid and he preformed his task with no noise more then a grunt here and there. Again he looked over to the ominous sirulian blue deep before them. It was.... strange. Henry had been inland all his life, so the ocean was such a new thing to him, and he had learned to hate it. Not knowing how to swim and being stuck with nothing more than salted pigs, something he refused to eat, and bread as his previsions, Henry was about done with the sea that trapped him. Luckily his timing couldn't have been better. "REST TIMES OVER....NO TIME FOR SLEEPING, LAND HO!" shouted the nostalgic and salty voice of his captain. Looking behind him, the familiar and majestic look of land was apparent to him now, and relief swept over the young hand. Henry, eating no more than bread and an occasional apple a day, was sure he would waste away by the time they made it. But here he was, all in one piece in the end.

Whipping the cool sweat from his brow, henry allowed himself to give a small, yet sincere smile. After all these years, he'd be a real man, someone free from the injustice of prejudice and anger unassisted by any action. No longer would he be beaten for a job done in a mediocre fashion, or be forced into regal pay cuts do to his lack of speaking. Now he was free to be himself, He could be Henry, not some farm hand. Moving from his post to allow the other people to take there shift from him, Henry looked out from the edge of the boat to see the new land mas, the tepid heat of land crossing him and warming his heart. "this, this is home" He muttered to himself.

Ignacio was below deck tending to some of the crew that were injured in the storm, when the captain shouted that they were coming upon land he checked that the injured crew were stable, grabbed his satchel and tools, and came up from below deck, when he got to the main deck he looked over the side of the ship at the land using the magnifying lens on his mask to look, he didn't see much beyond the shore and tipped the lens back up and looked over the ocean for a moment before turning and walking toward the captain to report about his injured crewmen.

Jasper had just finished gutting the last of the fish he had caught the day before,all 4 of them. "Still," he thought tossing the fist-full of guts to his cat Monty "I've never seen these colors somewhere, they should taste wonderful fried in butter and salt." He mused to the old dream sickle cat. Rubbing the old feline's ears he continued "Still we've got a lot of work to do, lots of tastes to discover!" He added jovial. "Still," He said much more solemn, "I hope we find it in time. A flavor so great so satisfying, that it is bound to bring the joy back into our master's life!" Jasper reminisced remembering how the emperor had grown more and more upset as his people starved, and he no longer took an interest in food. He no longer needed me, was often on the chefs mind. "Land Ho!" Was the call from above deck. " No time for dark thoughts Monty!" He yelled awakening his slumbering cat. " We have a mission!" he said running up deck, to see the new world.

Henry walked back to deck, in both arms he carried heavy chest filled with tools and necessary resources to be used at shore. Bumping into Jasper he felt himself weary of the of man's taste in food. It was....irrational. No man should be so enticed by making food rather than eating it. Even more so he instantly suspected the man as a cannibal. To Henry, it seemed odd someone looking for the perfect taste would not have tried such a thing by now. Regardless he bowed his head in apologies and rushed on. Going to the captain he set down his chest and looked to him, his eyes asking what to do next.

Captain Calder smiled a bright and strong smile, it had been much to long since he had a reason to smile like this, ''I can not describe how beautiful land is...'' Commander Calder turned to Henry and put a hand on his shoulder, ''I see you're ready my boy!'' He turned the ships wheel slightly and started heading inland up until he found a large stretch of sand, ''What say we dock her then eh?'' and with that he guided the ship close before finally shouting the order to the crew, ''PREPARE TO DOCK!!!'' The men threw themselves into action as the ship began to lay anchor, ''I'm going to check on the injured, alright brother?'' and with that he approached their doctor, ''Ignacio, how bad is it?''

Lex passed by Henry and smiled a bit, ''I'm gonna go get Umbra...If you still want to learn how to use a bow...Well nows a better time than any...'' He tapped his bow on his back to emphasize his point. he then took off below deck to locate his dire wolf.

Henry listen to the Captian's every word. So he wasn't the only one happy to see the shoreline. With a hand on his shoulder, Henry glanced over to the large hand that blanketed his shoulder. A mix of worry and confusion swelled him, but he kept his cool. "I see your ready my boy!" The leader shouted in a jolly manor. Giving a minor smirk of agreement, the young man watched as he was abandoned, only for a new man to take a request of him. Lex. He had been wanting to learn the how to use the mans weapon for a while. It would be useful and keep him off te edge for a while. Henry followed the man to what Henry saw as a dog.

Ragnar

Ragnar noticed the land in the distance and was filled with glee, he had spent a big long time in that wooden coffin known as a boat. and now he was finally about to get out, and possibly kill a bunch of whippersnapper natives and go Hernan Cortes on there behinds

Ragnar Smiled, today he was finally going to do something

Jasper looked at the fast approaching land mass with excitement. Then he looked at the crew on deck. At least now he knew he wasn't the only one without his sea legs! He thought looking at their haggard faces and their own relief to see the land.

"Monty!" Jasper said to his cat now rubbing against his legs. "These folks need a good meal on solid ground." He remark approaching the captain waiting for orders.

when the captain turned to him after giving his order to the crew Ignacio began reporting the status of the injured crew "some of your men will be up an about in a few hours, though i suggest they keep to light work for awhile, I've managed to stabilize some of the more serious injuries, but i don't suspect they will improve anytime soon and one man may lose his leg, other than that most of the injured should be able to rejoin the crew in a few days"

Henry lets the new air take over him. The ceramic and smooth air took over the dank and burning air of the sea, or the stagnant mess of hell fire in the core of there ship, the kind that made the blaze of the hot farm day nothing compared to it. This one was cooling, soothing and lively, a sweet sent to it, like mildew and honey. Henry was getting to excited now, overusing his body to rush things to there desired destination. By the eight set he was wobbling, his masculine frame starting to fail him in exhaustion, and he wasn't even off the boat! Sitting down for a break, eating more bread and stale ale, he found himself wondering. What was land like, did it feel different? Would they be alone? What was it like here? It was just too exciting.

Captain Calder nodded as Ignacio spoke, "Just make sure they make it doctor...These men are vital to the crew..." He placed a firm hand on the doctor's shoulder, "Thank you for all you've done so far." Captain Calder turned his gaze to Jasper, "Jasper...These men are going to want a meal made with fresh meat...I'm sure the hunter and Henry are going to bring back something...But if I know you...You already have something in mind for it?" The Captain turned and grimly nodded to Ragnar, "Ragner...It might not be safe to leave the boat for everyone just yet...Head out there and make sure this landing is a safe one."

Lex walked to the deepest part of their massive ship and there he found her, curled up on a bunch of furs that Lex had brought, "Hello Umbra..." The massive wolf's ears perked up and she moved like lightning to hold him down and thoroughly lick his face. "Umbra..." She didn't seem to have any intention of slowing down, "...Suffocating me..." Umbra stopped and looked over to Henry and cocked her head to the side as if to ask if he wanted licked to? Lex smiled, "Come on girl...It's time to hunt." The massive wolf stood up and started following Lex, "Come on Henry...If I know our captain He'll be sending out Ragnar along with us to scope things out."

Ragnar Battle-Born

Aye aye sir! Ragnar told his captain and then suddenly looking forward, He ran forward running as fast as ever. to the edge of the boat Ragnar makes a Big Jump. and with a Arc makes a Dive and disappears near the end of the boat. a splash of water flies up onto the boat. wetting the floor of the boat

Ragnar Dived into the water splitting it like a knife. The heat of the sun was quickly replaced by a cool feel from the blue and blurry Water. Ragnar immediately went for the surface in a Arc, going to the top of the water and staring forward to the land. The Land wasn't far away from him.

About 10 Kilometers. it wouldn't be much for Old but strong Geezer. Ragnars arms started turning Clock wise and Ragnar Swum. Moving faster than the boat itself as he swam to the shore, the land growing bigger and bigger as he swum to it, Using a boat took to long and Ragnar hasn't Exercised in a week. Swimming to shore was a godsend for him

Captain Calder nodded as Ignacio spoke, "Just make sure they make it doctor...These men are vital to the crew..." He placed a firm hand on the doctor's shoulder, "Thank you for all you've done so far." Captain Calder turned his gaze to Jasper, "Jasper...These men are going to want a meal made with fresh meat...I'm sure the hunter and Henry are going to bring back something...But if I know you...You already have something in mind for it?" The Captain turned and grimly nodded to Ragnar, "Ragner...It might not be safe to leave the boat for everyone just yet...Head out there and make sure this landing is a safe one."

Lex walked to the deepest part of their massive ship and there he found her, curled up on a bunch of furs that Lex had brought, "Hello Umbra..." The massive wolf's ears perked up and she moved like lightning to hold him down and thoroughly lick his face. "Umbra..." She didn't seem to have any intention of slowing down, "...Suffocating me..." Umbra stopped and looked over to Henry and cocked her head to the side as if to ask if he wanted licked to? Lex smiled, "Come on girl...It's time to hunt." The massive wolf stood up and started following Lex, "Come on Henry...If I know our captain He'll be sending out Ragnar along with us to scope things out."

Looking to the large wolf, Henry was tensed and ready to defend himself. It wasn't every day such a thing could be seen and no matter what he never got over the fact such a think could even be existent. What was more striking than even the Goliath beast exterior visuals was it's inward personality. Like a dog in the city, joyous and lively. Sitting down to watch the moment of confection, he twiddled with a splinter of wood. When the wolf stared at him in a curious manor, all he did in return was send a black leer to it, as if he was impartial to the monstrous beast in any way. It wasn't until he heard mention of ragnar's name that he rolled his eyes and stooped himself up, still hesitant of the large animal . He never did like that man, but it would seem Henry wasn't a fan of most people. But Ragnar was different, a complete opposite of him. To Henry, ragnar was whinny, rude and lazy. Henry was a farm hand, but he still helped out as much he could!

Jeina hadn't exactly known how she had gotten aboard this ship, however she did, and that was all that had mattered. Many. Many days of putting up with these heathens had finally paid off, and now she will be rewarded with the fruits of her labors. 'The Gods shine brightly upon us this day,' Her mother would say as she rewarded herself with a drink and a meal... Such buffoonery.

The young woman sat on a crate, and the moment the hatch from below the deck was open, she had arose with wide and curious eyes. What had they landed on? Sailors, young and old, had claimed they had struck new land... Unheard of, yet not impossible. Upon getting a small taste of information, she whipped out her journal and scribbled down a few notes with a piece of charcoal she had stuffed deep within the crevices of her leather satchel.

"Interesting..." Jeina murmured. She pulled her cream hood over her head and tugged on her pale pink robes, sighing as she stared out onto the land. Her gaze had finally rested on those moving about the boat, leaving probably to explore.

Corsca walked out onto deck, yawning and stretching. It would take a lot more than some horn to wake her up from deep sleep. She had her mace lazy dragged behind her, as she observed the people scattering around on deck. She almost wanted to chuckle, but she still had the grogginess from waking up dragging her down. She yawned instead, her messy hair fluffing up in all directions, anyone who tried to criticize her would be swiftly dealt with anyways. "Morning." She grumbled, running a hand across her eyes, damn, she should just go back to sleep.

"Good morning, Ms. Corsca." Jeina dipped her head as she turned around to face her. Ah yes, the sellsword, she was a ruffian, however a good ally to have on her side. The young gypsy slipped her journal back into her bag and clasped her hands together, her eyes then trailing back and forth from Corsca to the new land. "The stars have aligned and lead us to the new continent, and now they tell us to explore," She said, "You are lucky to have woken up now, we should take it upon ourselves to wander."

She had hoped Corsca at least got the message she was sending, yet since the woman was currently groggy and rather inattentive, she doubted such.

Ragnar swum and swum for a long time until he could finally see land. it was incoming closer and closer, growing bigger and bigger until he eventually made it so far that it was too shallow to swim. the boat was extremely slow apparrently since a single person swum to a island faster than it.

Ragnar looked at the Island. their was a lot of sand and Big trees. really big trees. humongous trees. he eventually made it to the beach of the Island. Water dropping off of Ragnar and wetting the Beach below him, he walked forward towards the island,

pulling out a Axe half of his size off of his back, he walked forward into the Jungle of the Island. ready to make sure the area was "safe"

Lex motioned to Henry to follow him up as he and Umbra started heading topside, his massive Dire wolf would make people nervous as she always did, but that mattered little to him, He and her together...Were the best damn hunters the world over. As they walked together, Lex ran his fingers through her warm and soft fur, "Shes a terrifying beast yes...But you'll find no better a friend here or anywhere." with that they came up from the bowels of the ship and on deck, Umbra sniffed the air as she looked out at the island, Lex started walking to the edge of the boat, "Henry...You can take the boat if you wish...Umbra and I are going to swim I think..."