𝟶𝟶𝟷 . 𝙳𝙴𝚂𝙲𝚁𝙸𝙱𝙴 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙸𝚁 𝙹𝙾𝚄𝚁𝙽𝙴𝚈 𝚃𝙾 𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙰𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙴𝚂 .
much of the journey was spent on a ship which suited ulf fine , scandinavians were born and bred with land and sea legs . rocky waters were the majority of the view though on occasion said waters did pull them close enough to shore to witness the devastation left in the wake of war . nothing that ulf hadn’t encountered first hand , having been on the front lines at every given opportunity . even the aftermath of a battle is enough to get his heart racing , his blood pumping . ever eager for just one more til the valkyries called him home .
𝟶𝟶𝟸 . 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙸𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂 𝙾𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙸𝚁 𝙱𝙴𝚃𝚁𝙾𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙳 𝚆𝙷𝙴𝙽 𝙶𝙸𝚅𝙴𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙿𝙾𝚁𝚃𝚁𝙰𝙸𝚃 , 𝚆𝙷𝙴𝙽 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚈 𝙼𝙴𝙴𝚃 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙼 , 𝙱𝙴𝙸𝙽𝙶 𝚃𝙾𝙻𝙳 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝚈 𝙰𝚁𝙴 𝚃𝙾 𝙼𝙰𝚁𝚁𝚈 . 𝙷𝙰𝚂 𝙶𝚁𝙴𝙴𝙳 𝙵𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙴𝙳 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙼 𝙵𝙾𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙸𝚁 𝙼𝙾𝙽𝙴𝚈 , 𝙿𝙾𝚆𝙴𝚁 , 𝙱𝙴𝙰𝚄𝚃𝚈 ?
in truth , ulf barely spared the portrait a passing glance before discarding it underfoot . he thinks the entire thing to be a ruse , not for everyone of course but for his family he believes it to be a means of reclaiming their stolen kin and nothing more ; expecting to return home shortly . he has no want nor need of peace or alliances . the state of the world suits him as is and viking blood is best left untainted .
𝟶𝟶𝟹 . 𝚃𝙷𝙴𝙸𝚁 𝚃𝙷𝙾𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝚂 𝙾𝙵 𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙰𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙴𝚂 𝙰𝙽𝙳 𝙵𝚁𝙰𝙽𝙲𝙴 , 𝙷𝙾𝚆 𝙸𝚃 𝙸𝚂 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙻𝙴𝙰𝚂𝚃 𝚁𝚄𝙸𝙽𝙴𝙳 , 𝙷𝙾𝚆 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙿𝙰𝙻𝙰𝙲𝙴 𝙾𝙵 𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂𝙰𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙴𝚂' 𝙻𝚄𝚇𝚄𝚁𝚈 𝙲𝙾𝚄𝙻𝙳 𝙵𝙴𝙴𝙳 𝙼𝙸𝙻𝙻𝙸𝙾𝙽𝚂 .
it’s beautiful , of course , any fool with eyes can see that . ulf’s not witnessed so many riches in his life ; glittering gold & shimmering jewels abundant from the dining ware to even the architecture itself but a gilded cage still bears bars and ultimately ulf finds it suffocating . what good are riches when you possess so many they become meaningless ? when you become so enamored of them you bend the knee to something inconsequential ?