γ → un: ghostking

[deathkid]

[ the view this time is of nico, sitting atop a gravestone. there's a fire crackling nearby, the glow making him look even more gaunt and sinister than usual ( if the dark hair, italian cheekbones emphasized by dark circles under his eyes, and the nearly all black clothing decorated with skulls aren't enough ). against the headstone he's sitting on rests a lethal looking, pure black sword.

it might seem like the beginnings of a horror movie of some sort, except nico is currently munching on french fries while gazing at the toy figurine he got with his quarantine equivalent of a happy meal. it's a pirate, of all things. ]

For those of you who are unaware, I am providing funeral services for anyone who decides to die heroically. Shroud burning, free of charge.

[ cheerful, isn't he. ]

Fortunately, I haven't had to do so yet, but where I'm from it's pretty common, so I might as well offer it here too. Trust me, though. Burning your body is best. You don't know who might decide to raise you from the dead.

[ and he gives a snap of his fingers. the earth at the feet of the tombstone he's sitting on begins to shift and soon enough, a skeletal hand begins climbing out. nico flashes a wry grin, and then turns the feed off. ]

Comments

[deathkid]

I'm not as familiar with Norse/Viking burials, but... if you explain it to me, I can do my best.

[ragnarsson]

It's not too terribly hard. Find a river or the sea, stick my body on a ship with all my weapons and dressed in some new clothes, and send it out lit on fire. The smoke from it will help me reach the afterlife.

[He pauses.]

Normally, you'd sacrifice a thrall to take with me to Valhalla, but we appear to be a bit short on those here.

[He means a slave girl.]

[deathkid]

Sounds relatively easy. I think I can manage that. Maybe not the thrall, though.

[ because he's a bit unsure about that bit. he thinks of undead people when someone says "thrall". ]

[ragnarsson]

Good to know someone will host a proper funeral for me.

Yes, they appear to frown a bit on slavery here.

[Ivar didn't see what the big deal was. His family had always treated their slaves very well.]

[deathkid]

[ oh, so that's what a thrall is... he frowns just a little. granted, the greeks had slaves too, but they moved on from that. ]

Right... A lot of places do these days. Just put yourself in the place of the slave and imagine why some people don't like it, I guess.

[ragnarsson]

We always treated our slaves perfectly fine back home.

[Really, it's not like they were beaten or starved. Even Margrethe, the sex slave the Ragnarssons had shared, was still free to choose whether she willingly wanted to sleep with them or not. Generally, they were just servants who just so happened to be owned by another person.]

[deathkid]

Things change over time. It's... not considered right to own another person these days.

[ragnarsson]

So I keep hearing. I'm attempting to adjust.

[It wasn't the easiest thing to go from the Viking culture to one like that the Riverview inhabitants had adopted. To go from a fierce, war-like, and oftentimes hedonistic society to one much more mild and calm had been a great shock.]