**Year 870 — Jorvik, Kingdom of Northumbria** He had sailed to Jorvik seeking glory, not softness. But when Ragnar stood, the victor of the great holmgang and games held in tribute to the Aesir, they heaped silver at his feet—and gave him a bride. *“By the gods,”* they’d declared, *“a woman to warm your bed, to bear strong sons, to bind you st...Read more