(IF I HAD A HEART PLAYING)
(CROWD SHOUTING)
We must call the faithful to the Cathedral
to celebrate High Mass
and the delivery of York from the pagans!
I agree, sire.
God works in mysterious ways.
(BELLS RINGING)
Listen! The bells!
(ALL CHEERING)
AETHELWULF: My son! (LAUGHS) Mannel, thank you.
Father.
(RATS SQUEAKING)
(WATER SLOSHING)
(BELLS RINGING IN DISTANCE)
(SLOSHING AND CLATTERING)
(SHUSHING)
Father!
(PEOPLE SHOUTING)
(YELLING)
Heahmund!
Fight for your God
and protect your king!
CAPTAIN: Sire! This way!
(ARROWS WHIZZING)
Sire! Stay down!
(GRUNTING)
(GRUNTS)
AETHELWULF: Men! Defend!
Cuthred, with me!
Form up!
Charge!
(GROANS)
(GROWLS)
(GRUNTS)
Mannel!
Push through! Cover!
Men! Fight on!
(YELLS)
Hold!
(LAUGHS)
(YELLS)
(STRAINING)
Let every soul be subject to a higher power!
For there is no power but that of God!
(BOTH GRUNTING)
Die! Die! Die!
Die! Die!
(YELLING)
Cover!
AETHELWULF: Come on!
(GRUNTING)
(SHOUTS)
CAPTAIN: Sire! Back!
MANNEL: Alfred! Alfred!
(GROANS)
(GRUNTS)
(SCREAMS)
Alfred!
Bear not your sword in vain!
Fight!
(PROMPTING HORSE)
(BREATHING HEAVILY)
Hold the wall!
Spears!
(LAUGHS)
Yah!
(YELLING)
(WINCING)
Yah!
(WOMAN WAILING)
Yah!
Hee-yah!
(HORSE WHINNIES)
(GROANS)
(SPEAKING NORSE)
(GRUNTING)
(IVAR SPEAKING NORSE)
(SHOUTING)
(IVAR SPEAKING NORSE)
(HORSE WHINNIES)
(HEAHMUND BREATHING HEAVILY)
(LAUGHS)
(ALL SHOUTING)
Yah! Yah!
-(PANTING) -MANNEL: Sire!
MANNEL: Sire!
-You must leave! You must run! -No! No!
I would rather die!
Save your son at least, if you don't care about yourself!
You are right! You are right!
You lead. I'll follow.
AETHELWULF: Alfred.
Protect your king!
Die like men!
(GRUNTING)
(SCREAMS)
(SHOUTS)
(LAUGHS)
Good God!
No! No!
(SCREAMS)
-Heathen! -(IVAR CHUCKLES)
(CROWD LAUGHS)
(IN ENGLISH) Christian.
Yes.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(CAMELS LOWING)
(MEN SCREAMING)
(SHUSHING)
Father!
Father.
(EXCLAIMS)
(SOBS)
(PANTING) What happened?
Aethelwulf!
-What happened? -They surprised us.
-Alfred? -AETHELWULF: They were hiding.
JUDITH: Sit down. Sit. AETHELWULF: I don't...
All right.
(MEN CONTINUE SCREAMING)
Mannel? My cousin? Where is Mannel?
He urged us to leave.
-He told us he would follow. -No.
AETHELWULF: He stayed behind.
He died trying to protect our escape.
Heahmund.
Heahmund! Bishop Heahmund!
Surely he survived?
He survived, surely he didn't die?
I thought that God had at last seen fit to...
To be merciful unto us...
And forgive us.
I was wrong, Judith.
I was wrong.
We must suffer.
(SOBBING) We must suffer.
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(HEAHMUND BREATHING WEAKLY)
(THUNDER RUMBLING)
(CHUCKLES)
(CAMELS LOWING)
(DISTANT CHATTERING)
(CLICKS TONGUE)
(CAMELS GRUNTING)
(CLICKS TONGUE)
(VILLAGERS CHATTER INDISTINCTLY)
(CAMELS BELLOWING)
(SIGHS)
(SPEAKING ARABIC)
Marhaba.
(IN ENGLISH) Allah be praised, you've arrived safely.
Now, please, come into the tent
and relax after your journey.
The Emir will join you shortly.
Your weapons, please.
(MAN SPEAKING ARABIC)
(SPEAKING ARABIC)
Yeah.
(IN ENGLISH) How can you speak our language?
That is easy.
I have met Rus Vikings
from the Kievan empire many times.
I have been pleased to have helped them with the emperor.
Are you not the enemy of the emperor?
By no means.
Why?
Why should I seek such an enemy?
Ah.
There are many things you do not understand
about how the world works here.
If you take my advice,
you will just take it as it appears.
That is the best way.
Now, we have a trade deal to make.
How can I get furs, swords, falcons,
bear skins, whale meat...
And your slaves are the best!
Everybody knows that!
(CHUCKLES)
We Arabs pride ourselves on our hospitality so,
if there's anything I can do to make your stay here more comfortable,
or more pleasant, please do not be afraid to ask.
(WHISPERS AND CLICKS TONGUE)
(LEMUR SCREECHES)
WOMAN: Why are they following him?
(CROWD CHATTERING)
WOMAN 2: Floki!
(CROWD EXCLAIMING)
WOMAN 3: Floki has returned!
Floki.
I never thought I'd see you again.
Not in this lifetime anyway.
No.
It's strange for me too.
To be back here in this Great Hall.
If I listen carefully, I can still hear
the sound of Earl Haraldson's voice.
And Ragnar's voice.
Always Ragnar's voice.
Such memories we've shared, Lagertha.
Yes.
FLOKI: So much has happened to me, Lagertha.
So much.
I don't know who I am.
You are Floki, the boat builder.
I am more than that.
UBBE: Floki!
(CHUCKLES) Ubbe! Ubbe!
The last time I saw you, you were...
Sailing away in a small boat with no means of navigation.
You'd given yourself to the gods.
Oh, and the gods provided.
In what way?
They took me to a place.
A special place.
I was dead and then I was alive.
And then I came ashore.
And I was in this special place.
Where was this place?
At the edge of everything,
and yet at the very center of it all.
There's no one else there.
No one?
No humans.
Only the gods.
(PEOPLE WHISPERING DISTANTLY)
Huh.
Why did you come back here, Floki?
Because I felt that
it was wrong to keep this amazing place to myself.
I want to share it.
With whom?
With those who believe in the true gods.
FLOKI: I only want those who are pure in spirit and heart.
This place is only fit for true believers.
-Like you? -Yes.
Like me.
But not like me?
Or not like Ragnar?
We were never pure like you are.
I can't say.
All I know
is that the gods have sent me here to find kindred spirits.
Those who are willing to live pure lives among the gods.
LAGERTHA: You would take these warriors
and shield-maidens away from here,
to your special place?
Yes!
If they were willing to come with me.
In that case,
I must warn you, my friend.
This is my kingdom.
I rule Kattegat.
And I must protect it,
and look after it and its people.
Especially now, when we have every reason
to expect another attack
from the forces of King Harald.
The last thing I need
is for someone to take away my best warriors,
my best hopes.
Our best hopes.
You mustn't try to do it, Floki.
I forbid you.
Do you understand?
(BIRDS CALLING)
(BUBBLING)
(LAUGHS AND COUGHS)
(BUBBLING)
The Emir has sent you both a gift.
This one is for you.
And this one is for you.
Enjoy.
(SENSUOUS MUSIC PLAYING)
Mmm.
(WOMAN PANTING)
(GASPS AND LAUGHS)
(PANTING)
(WIND WHOOSHING)
HALFDAN: How was your evening?
(CLICKS TONGUE) Very satisfactory.
(BJORN SIGHS)
And yours?
She was...
Not a she.
What?
You heard.
Hmm.
And, uh...
Was that...
A problem for you?
I'm starving!
FLOKI: You mustn't be afraid.
This land has no wars,
no diseases, no suffering.
Blessed by the gods in every way.
And the soil is good.
Good farming soil just waiting for you to plant it.
It seems too good to be true.
The only way to understand it
is that the gods meant it for us.
Meant it for true believers.
EYVIND: The climate is good?
The earth rich?
Yes, my friend.
How come we have never found this place before?
Because the gods were waiting
for the right people to find it.
We don't want to bring too many.
Just enough for a working colony
of believers. That's all.
And then,
can you imagine how perfect life will be?
The perfect conditions
for the growth of the crops,
and for the growth of the spirit.
You can't go, Guthrum.
Why not? I can make my own mind up.
Floki is crazy. Can't you see that?
No one can believe him anymore.
He makes absolute sense to me. It's what my father would've wanted
Your father didn't see this new world.
In any case, he wouldn't have wanted to run away.
To hide under a rock, to pretend nothing else in this world existed.
That is what Floki is offering.
I still want to go.
And betray Lagertha?
The gods are more important.
But it's not your fate. I know that.
You can't go, and that's the end of it.
You cannot stop me.
The Saxon army, or what remains of it,
has abandoned their camp and left.
(CHUCKLES)
IVAR: If you want to,
we can pursue them and destroy them.
I think we have more important things to do.
We must look to Kattegat.
What if Ubbe kills Lagertha,
or persuades her to crown him king?
The loss of our home base would be a devastating blow.
We need to sort things out.
We must kill Ubbe and Lagertha,
and you must be crowned king of Kattegat,
before Bjorn returns.
You are making more and more sense, my brother.
Good man.
I remember also that King Harald has an ambition
of invading Kattegat.
In the short term,
we should make an alliance and work with him.
This time we will truly quit York,
though leaving a big enough garrison
to keep it safe until our return.
Hmm?
And what of our prisoner? This bishop.
Well, what do you propose?
He seems like an important man.
We could offer him back to the Saxons
for a great ransom.
Or we could crucify him.
That would be fun.
(CHUCKLES)
(CHEWING)
Blessed is he who walked not in the council of the ungodly.
Nor standeth in the way of the sinner nor sitted in the seat of the scornful.
For he delights in the law of the Lord
and in that Lord that he meditate night and day.
And he should be planted like a tree by the rivers of water
(IVAR LAUGHS)
That bringeth forth his fruit. In his season.
(SIGHS)
You call me a heathen,
but to me, I am godly.
I live by the gods.
There is only one God!
But I have seen other gods.
I have seen Odin,
the All-father, with my own eyes.
-They are the devil's work. -(LAUGHS)
He conjures up demons
and fallen angels to beguile us,
and lead us into evil.
What is evil, hmm?
The slaughter of the innocent.
(SCOFFS) You slaughter when it suits you.
He who chooses to be heathen is not innocent!
But I could show you the ways of God.
I could bring you to salvation and to eternal life.
(LAUGHING)
Do you know who I am?
Of course.
You are Ivar, son of Ragnar Lothbrok.
(TENSE MUSIC PLAYING)
And many there are who fear you.
Hmm.
-But not you? -No.
I fear no man.
No matter how wicked.
People tell stories about other people.
People they don't know. Have never met.
And yet they still curse them and tell lies about them.
-Isn't that true? -Yes.
People told lies about our Savior.
Well, perhaps they tell lies about me as well.
How would I know?
I will give you the chance to find out.
You are coming on a journey with us.
(CHUCKLES)
I am already on a journey!
Aren't we all?
(DISTANT SHOUTING)
Halfdan!
I know. I can hear.
(SPEAKING ARABIC)
What has happened?
From what I can gather, Commander Euphemius
was placed under arrest last night...
-But somehow managed to escape. -(SIGHS)
And it was their fault?
Yes.
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
(GUARDS PLEADING IN ARABIC)
(ZIYADAT ALLAH SPEAKS ARABIC)
(SABERS CLANGING)
(SPEAKING ARABIC)
(INDISTINCT CHATTER)
We haven't exactly been the best bodyguards, have we?
(SIGHS) No, we have not.
(VILLAGERS CHATTERING)
(WOOD CREAKING)
(FLOKI BREATHES HEAVILY)
(SIGHS)
What do you want, Ubbe?
Me?
I don't want anything.
I'm just curious.
Like my father, I suppose. He was curious, no?
I know.
Since you were so good to Ivar when he was younger,
you should know that he and I have, uh, fallen out.
-Can you not be reconciled? -I don't think so.
I think it is more likely that, one day,
we will go to war against each other.
I feel the pity.
But also the relief that
I won't have to choose between you,
nor suffer grief or joy,
which in the end are the same thing.
Tell me the truth.
Do you really believe you have found the land of the gods?
Why would I lie to you, Ubbe?
Because you're insane.
(LAUGHS)
Am I?
(CHUCKLES)
(WIND BLOWING)
(COOK 1 SPEAKING IN ARABIC)
(COOK 2 SPEAKING ARABIC)
(COOK 1 SPEAKING)
(COOK 2 SPEAKING)
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
Please.
(THUMPING ON TABLE)
This feast is to celebrate our trade agreement
and our continuing cooperation.
In return for furs, swords, birds of prey, and slaves,
we are going to give you gold ornaments, silver ornaments,
pepper, saffron, and silk.
As you can see, these local spicy and exotic dishes
have been especially prepared for you by my famous chefs.
They will be insulted if you don't eat your fill.
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
Bismillah.
(IN ENGLISH) Please. (TAPS TABLE)
(ALL CHATTERING)
Mmm. It's good.
(MEN LAUGHING)
(SPEAKING GREEK)
-(LAUGHS) -(SPUTTERS)
(MEN LAUGHING)
What does he say?
He's saying that we've all just eaten Commander Euphemius.
-Bah! -(CHUCKLES)
-(GAGGING) -(IN ENGLISH) You see, I discovered that
Euphemius was trying to double-cross me,
and return to the emperor's favor.
Now, that was unacceptable.
(SUCKS TEETH)
And, in any case, I no longer need a puppet ruler
since I intend to capture Sicily myself.
I think we should return to the boats.
We are in the greatest danger.
Ziyadat Allah?
No. Kassia.
SINDRIC: Didn't you realize?
(OWL HOOTS)
(DOG BARKS)
-(ALL CHATTERING) -(DOOR OPENS)
FLOKI: Here are the chosen ones.
(LAUGHS)
Eyvind.
Kjetill Flatnose.
And your daughter, Aud.
And you, Guthrum.
(BREATHES HEAVILY)
You four will be responsible
for preparing all the families for the voyage.
But do it carefully
and with utter secrecy.
Tell no one else.
I must disappear from Kattegat.
I shall go back to my boatyard and prepare the boats.
You will all meet me there in nine days' time.
Travel separately,
and don't give any indication that you're leaving.
KJETILL: We shall do as you say, Floki.
We are eager to go.
But I have to say, the risks are high.
Nothing can be achieved without taking risks.
EYVIND: That is true.
But remember what we have been promised.
FLOKI: The gods will take care of us,
since we're doing all this in their name.
Now, I must go.
Farewell.
For now.
(DOOR CLOSES)
(INDISTINCT CHATTERING)
MAN: Ropes!
HEAHMUND: Lord, unto thee do I lift up my soul.
Let me not be ashamed,
let not mine enemies triumph over me.
So, is this an interruption of your journey...
Or is it a part of it?
What do you think, Bishop Heahmund?
(CAMELS LOWING)
(PANTING)
(STRAINING)
(EXHALES DEEPLY)
What are we going to do?
(SIGHS)
(SUSPENSEFUL MUSIC PLAYS)
(SWORDS UNSHEATHING)
(SOLDIERS SPEAKING ARABIC)
(WINCING)
Bjorn! There's a storm coming!
A storm?
If we can stay alive a few moments longer, maybe...
(SPEAKS ARABIC)
Too late!
(MUSIC PLAYING)