riverview | Video @the.boneless; Days of Vikings Gone By....

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Video @the.boneless; Days of Vikings Gone By....

[When the video starts, the memory is in the dead of night. The darkness is the kind that you can't get anymore with electric lights all over the place. This is true dark, the kind when only the moonshine can help anyone to see. There's a group of men and women sleeping soundly on the ground. The peacefulness of the scene is broken as a man creeps among them, slitting their throats with cold efficiency. As he moves between them, there's another figure to his right, crawling around doing the same thing. It's hard to tell at first who it is. Then one of the men wakes up. Spotting the figure, he derisively says, 'What do you want, cripple?' Turning to face him, it's clear this is everyone's favorite psychopathic Viking teenager.

Things turn into a blur of action as Ivar begins brutally killing the other Vikings around him. He uses whatever weapon he has at hand, everything from a knife to an axe to a sword. If anyone ever wondered how a teenage Viking who couldn't use his legs ever became a feared warrior, now you have your answer. Soon, he's killed five people in little under a minute, and only one young woman is left. He crawls towards her like something out of a nightmare. She pleads for her life. 'Ivar! Ivar! You don't need to kill me. Because...you can have this.' Offering herself to him, he seems to consider the proposition. Leaning in, it appears for a moment that he's going to kiss her. Then he stabs her in the side, instead ending her life. With all the Vikings around him dead, Ivar flops on the ground, exhausted. Peculiarly enough, there's a happy, satisfied smile on his face, the kind no one in Riverview has ever seen. He clearly enjoyed the carnage that had just taken place.

The scene fades out and comes back in. The man who had initially been slitting throats and Ivar are hunkered down behind some bushes, hiding from something or someone. It's clearly not too long after the first memory, since both are wearing the same clothes. In fact, it's the next day. Watching, whatever they're hiding from passes by. The man beside Ivar has the exact same ice-blue shade to his eyes that Ivar does. This is his father, Ragnar Lodbrok Sigurdsson, one of the most famous kings among all Vikings.

Ragnar pulls out some dried fish and the two talk while eating. 'I bet you wish you'd never brought me along, right? And I bet you wish you would have killed me when I was born, just like you wanted to,' Ivar says. Oh yes, that was something that had happened. Viking childhoods were brutal things.

'Only when you talk,' Ragnar says back, and it's clear where part of Ivar's sense of humor comes from. Ragnar continues to talk, telling of how he thought Ivar's legs were a weakness, but that he turned out to be wrong. Something seems to soften in Ivar's face as he listens intently. 'You are special. Not in spite of your legs. But because of them.' They're the words Ivar has been waiting to hear his whole life and it shows in his eyes. This was the moment he gave his heart completely to his father, receiving the recognition no one has ever shown him. The memory fades out as Ivar says that was the first time he'd ever heard his father admit to being wrong about something. Ragnar replies it will never happen again.]

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There are far things worse than death. Death, I don't fear. [At least, that's what she's telling herself. Considering all the shit Rey has gone through, death may even be a blessing, but she was too stubborn to die..]

It doesn't mean the pain from death, a sudden loss of life, suddenly goes away. Like that life didn't mean anything.

[She takes a deep breath, taking a step back from her emotions. No need to make it anymore personal.]

Good! Once you are free from that fear, life becomes that much better. [People who didn't worry about death could live more in the moment, become more passionate about things that were important to them.

Rey's words cause Ivar's eyes to go far away, losing some of their eternal anger. His voice is quiet and sad. At the end of the day, he's just a kid who lost his father.]

I know. It still hurts knowing he's gone, that I'll never get the chance to see him again. I don't even have a picture of him. These memories, they're all I have left. But I'll see him one day. In Valhalla.

...uh-huh.

[Life doesn't become better or worse once that fear goes away. At least, not in her case. Maybe, she is afraid...not of death, but dying alone. Dying as some useless thing or person that's been tossed aside. But, that's something for another day.]

Better to have something to ling to, like memories, than have nothing at all.

But, I am sorry for your loss. [She doesn't know how long ago he lost his father, but a loss is still a loss. Han, even in the short time she knew him...he was a friend. Almost like a father figure, if she were to have one. ]

I suppose you're right. Better to have the time I did with him than nothing at all.

[But it never would have been enough. Ten or twenty years wouldn't have been enough, let along a few months here and there that barely totaled a handful of years.

He sighs heavily, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. It's hard at moments like this to have his anger sustain him. Grief is much easier to fall back on.]

Everyone always is always sorry. Such words lose their meaning after a while. [He pauses, not sure if he's insulted her by making her sentiments seem trivial.] No offense meant.

Yeah, that's more than what others might have had.

[She sits back in her bed, thinking over what's happened...her mind traveling back to her own family. The heart breaking realization that no one was coming back. She clung to the hope that they would for so many years, it was hard to let go. And she can't even recall what they looked like.]

None taken. [She's not offended or anything. She could understand how he felt, especially if people continued to pour out those words...the sincerity losses its effect and does nothing.]

Shows they care though, by saying such things. But, you're right, the words lose their meaning and after a while, you don't want to hear it. [You don't want the looks of pity or to be under estimated...but maybe they should talk about something else.]

What's Valhalla?

[Ivar is glad to be able to talk about something else, even if it relates back to death.]

Vikings go to one of four places when we die. Half of the glorious dead warriors go to Fólkvangr, our goddess Freya's meadow. Those who drown at sea are taken to the goddess Ran's hall under the waves. I nearly ended up there myself, but one of her nine daughters saved me from drowning.

[It's hard to tell if he sincerely believes that or is merely adding to his own legend. But no matter. He goes on explaining life after death for the Norse.]

Most everyone else ends up in Hel, the land ruled by the goddess of the same name. But the place every warrior wants to go is the place the other half of the warriors end up. Valhalla, the god Odin, my grandfather's hall. [Divine bragging rights, Ivar has them.] My father is there and I plan to see him again someday.

[Rey stays silent, listening to the legends of his world. it's hard for her to think of the other tales or deities that the other people of Jakku believed in. She knew some of them had their own gods that they prayed to, but couldn't recall their names.

It's interesting to hear there's a goddess, or a place for where a Viking dies.]

Hopefully not too soon.. [To suddenly die that is. But it's interesting to know that someone else likes to brag about their family history, but at least Ivar doesn't throw a temper tantrum over it.]

I can't recall the deities some of the others listed back from my world. [She was sure there were some, considering the climate and all..] Only hoped that tomorrow would be better than today. That was more or less it. {And for her family to return, but that's for another day.]

Not yet, of course. I have a war and a couple kings and queens to kill before I'm finished with this life.

[Plus, now he has his daughter to think about too. He's got to protect her till she's old enough to protect herself. Winter is precious to him, moreso than anyone else in Riverview.]

That sounds terribly pragmatic. [Life would be awful cold for Ivar without his gods in his life. His beliefs have helped shaped him into who he is.]

I take it peace isn't an option for Vikings? [She isn't trying to be dismissive, only curious. Killing is a part of their culture, he stated so himself, so she wasn't trying to judge him on that but...endless violence? Doesn't that get...tiresome after a while?]

Can't really pray to anything if nothing's there. Though, if given the choice, I would be out working rather than praying. Sitting by and waiting for something to happen doesn't work out in the desert.

Not unless you do want to die, but there are better options rather than starvation.

Peace is never an option for Vikings. We always need an enemy to fight. When we don't have one, we end up fighting each other.

[Times without violence just didn't exist for Vikings. To think of one was a concept that didn't quite mesh with the rest of Ivar's thinking.]

You know, some say that the gods help those who help themselves. It is true, I've found, to an extent. But a sacrifice now and then doesn't hurt either.

So Vikings just can't sit still? Not even among families or loved ones?

[Forgive her, she's trying to understand, but it's a hard concept to grasp right now. Especially for someone who has had to fight the elements each day on Jakku.]

I haven't heard that one before, but I managed to make due on my own without a sacrifice. [Then again, there wasn't much she could sacrifice. Nope, all food and water, she greatly needed.]

No, not even among them. My father loved his brother dearly, but one of the worst defeats he ever had was because his brother stabbed him in the back, and fought on the enemy's side.

[Something that would resonate down the line later on for Ivar. He and his brother Sigurd hate each other. Eventually, it would come to a head.]

[Part of Rey wanted to ask if actual stabbing was involved, but she held her tongue on it. He was sharing enough as is. There wasn't a need for her to dig deeper into his past.]

I can only imagine how that betrayal has seeped through family ties.

[A pause, trying to think of something other than death, fighting, and betrayal...something more neutral, but not too far off tangent.]

Do you have any other family?

Things like that make you learn who your real family is. [His mentor Floki had told stories of how he proved his loyalty to Ragnar, illustrating how he'd been more like family to his father than the one he was born with.]

Four brothers. [Notice he doesn't mention a mother in there. Being an orphan sucks.] It feels like a lot most days.

Four? [Interesting, she would've guessed more, but one never knows.]

A lot because...there's so many of you?

[She wouldn't know. It's hard to remember if she had a sibling or any at all. The faces of her parents...they were nothing but a blur or distant echoes. Nothing for her to hold onto.

But, she doesn't give much in the way of her own family, or lack there of. Yes, they are orphans, but they have survived and will continue to survive.]

Yes. I'm the youngest, and a lot of the time, it felt like I was getting left behind or ignored.

[He doesn't have to elaborate as to why. Being crippled meant watching things pass him by. As a child, he could only sit by while his brothers went off to play or spar without him. Later on, he'd learned ways to keep up, but it had been a steep learning curve.]

[He didn't need to tell her why, but she could see that he had found his own way to train. To become stronger, and really he was a strong person for doing what he needed to do.]

I wouldn't know if I'm the oldest or youngest. I can't recall much about my family. [So yes, hello fellow orphan. She knows what it's like to be left behind in a different sort of sense. At least they had that in common.] I know...they loved me. [At least that's what she tells herself.]

[Though he knew some about where Rey came from, she hadn't been forthcoming with a whole lot of personal details. He wondered if it was too painful for her to talk about.]

What happened? Did they die?

[The way she refers to them in past tense is what makes him think that they must be deceased.]

[It wasn't like her to talk about herself. More specifically, her past. It was a topic that didn't come up often, but now, thanks to whatever it was that was happening with Riverview, it was. More people had a glimpse into her a life on Jakku than she would've preferred.]

I don't know. We were separated when I was younger.

[Separated sounds a lot better than abandoned, but it was hard to remember if they left her on Jakku because they were forced to or not.]

They could be alive, but I don't think that's the case anymore.

That had to be hard growing up.

[But it does explain a bit about Rey, how she seems so very self-sufficient. Ivar can't imagine what would have happened to him if he'd had to grow up by himself. Likely, he'd be dead without his mother during his earlier years.]

But I understand. My father abandoned my family when I was a child. He didn't come back for ten years.

I survived.

[Not 'it was hard,' or 'I got through it,' but survived. She survived while on Jakku. She didn't enjoy it, but she survived it. There wasn't really a chance for her to be a child except in the few small moments she carved out for herself, but that was only after a long day's worth of work.]

I was still waiting for my family to come back, but things changed. You had time with your father, memories--stories that you can tell other family members or friends.

Being alive now shows you did a good job of it.

[She must have been young when her parents left. Who knew what Rey had to go through all those years without them.]

I did. I'm grateful for the time I did have, even if it never seems like it would have been enough.

[There's something of a half chuckle from her. She never thought about how good of a job she was doing. It was either survive or die, nothing really in between.]

Or maybe I was too stubborn to die.

[She went through a lot, and this conversation was supposed to be more about Ivar rather than her. She wasn't used to talking about herself this much....or at all.]

I don't think it ever will be. You'll always want more time, but...guess that's natural. Do you miss any other members of your family?

You and me both. Stubbornness got me through a lot when all I heard my entire childhood were things like, 'So when is he going to die?'

[Yes, people said this right in front of him. Vikings were never the most tactful group of people.]

I decided I just wasn't going to do it out of sheer spite.

[Her question makes grief flicker across his face again, quickly, and then replaced by something more shuttered off.]

My mother. She died around the same time he did. And some of my brothers. [Only some though. Sigurd he could have done without.] And my uncle Floki.

For that, I would've hit them or done worse. [But not kill over it, but a got ass kicking would've made it known to not pick on her. To simply throw that insult in front of him was infuriating.]

I'd imagine you made a considerable effort to be a pain in the ass then? In addition to surviving out of stubbornness and spite? [In hindsight, it may not be very thoughtful to take on a joking or somewhat playful tone about surviving a hard childhood, but to Rey it's a bit funny...and perhaps a bit morbid, but not too many people could relate to a childhood like hers.

And she went from talking about a somewhat happier subject to death again.]

...I shouldn't have brought that up...I'm sorry. [Because saying 'sorry for your loss' would be overkill right now. ]

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