No One's Viking : Viking Trading Lands Book Two (Viking Trading Lands Series 2)


 No One’s Viking
 Viking Trading Lands Book Two
 Megan Formanek
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 No One’s Viking
 Megan Formanek was born and raised in Australia on the bright, and sometimes very stormy, Illawarra region. At University she studied History and after graduation worked in Law before moving abroad, first to South Korea, and later to Italy and then England. During this time, she began writing to escape the brutal Korean winters and has continued ever since. She, her partner and their son, now live in the wet tropics of Far North Queensland.
 
 
 
 
 www.meganformanek.com
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 meganformanekauthor
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Contents
 
 
 
 Place Names
 
 
 
 
 Regional Map
 
 
 
 
 Aldeigjuborg Map
 
 
 
 
 One
 
 
 
 
 Two
 
 
 
 
 Three
 
 
 
 
 Four
 
 
 
 
 Five
 
 
 
 
 Six
 
 
 
 
 Seven
 
 
 
 
 Eight
 
 
 
 
 Nine
 
 
 
 
 Ten
 
 
 
 
 Eleven
 
 
 
 
 Twelve
 
 
 
 
 Thirteen
 
 
 
 
 Fourteen
 
 
 
 
 Fifteen
 
 
 
 
 Sixteen
 
 
 
 
 Seventeen
 
 
 
 
 Eighteen
 
 
 
 
 Nineteen
 
 
 
 
 Twenty
 
 
 
 
 Twenty-One
 
 
 
 
 Twenty-Two
 
 
 
 
 Twenty-Three
 
 
 
 
 Fortress Map
 
 
 
 
 Epilogue
 
 
 
 
 Author’s Note
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 First printing edition, 2023
 
 Copyright © 2023 by Megan Formanek
 
 Map of Northern Europe adapted from European Lake Location Map by Alexkr under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.
 
 Aldeigjuborg maps © 2023 by Dean Haynes, Megan Formanek
 
 This book is copyright under the Berne Convention.
 
 No reproduction without permission. All rights reserved.
 
 Published by Life Itinerant Publishing
 
 Cairns, Queensland, Australia
 
 
 
 
 www.meganformanek.com
 
 
 
 
 
 Paperback ISBN: 978-0-6488088-2-4
 
 eBook ISBN: 978-0-6488088-3-1
 
 This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, events, locales is entirely coincidental.
 
 Cover design, map design and typesetting by Dean Haynes
 
 
 
 
 For Maggie and Katrina
 Silent strength often speaks the loudest.
 
 
 
 
 
 Place Names
 The name given to any one place often changes with the passing of time. Just as we do in modern times, we often call a location by a different name depending on the language we speak. This was no different in the Viking Age. In the ninth century, and for a good many centuries after, spelling was inconsistent and largely phonetic. This can be problematic with accents affecting the pronunciation of place names and, thus, the way they are recorded.
 
 Some readers will favour alternative references to those I have selected, but wherever possible, I have adopted the Old Norse designations consistent with the language spoken by the main character. Additionally, the spelling has been adapted, omitting special characters which are especially difficult to pronounce for English speakers, let alone distinguish the sound without reference to an Old Norse dictionary. Further, as more archaeological evidence emerges, and our understanding of all things Viking improves, so does it change our perception of borders and the lands these names may refer to.
 
 
 
 
 
 Place Names
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Abandoned Paragon —
 
 
 Lyubshanskaya Fortress, Russia.
 
 
 
 
 Aldeigjuborg —
 
 
 Staraya Ladoga, Russia.
 
 
 
 
 Birka —
 
 
 Town on the island of Björkö, Sweden.
 
 
 
 
 Austmarr —
 
 
 Baltic Sea.
 
 
 
 
 Gardarike —
 
 
 Garðaríki in Old Norse, the lands of the Rus’ (Rurikid dynasty) now partially in both Ukraine and Russia.
 
 
 
 
 Karlstad —
 
 
 Town in Sweden.
 
 
 
 
 Miklagard —
 
 
 Also know as Constantinople. Now modern day Istanbul in Turkey.
 
 
 
 
 Holmgardr —
 
 
 Novgorod (Veliky), Russia.
 
 
 
 
 Kyiv —
 
 
 City, now capital of Ukraine.
 
 
 
 
 Serkland —
 
 
 Abbasid Caliphate. A land which encompassed much of the Middle East, western Asia and north-eastern Africa. The capital was Baghdad in modern day Iraq.
 
 
 
 
 Svealand —
 
 
 Sweden
 
 
 
 
 Uppsala —
 
 
 Uppsala region, Sweden.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Regional Map
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Aldeigjuborg Map
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 One
 
 
 Spring 882CE, Aldeigjuborg, Gardarike
 
 
 Hands tugged at my clothing, my arm, anything they could reach. The bride’s grasp was the most insistent. She pulled me into the circle’s centre as women whirled around us in a ring of colourful gowns. Her face was flushed with excitement as the words of the song echoed in neat rounds. ‘He will love her forever,’ the singing began again as Helga held me tight and whispered in
 
 my ear.
 
 
 
 ‘Will Mikel like me?’ Her voice caught at the mention of the man she would marry by
 
 day’s end.
 
 
 
 The women were oblivious to her concern. The melody continued without us. ‘And bring her flowers every morn and she will take him to their bed and from there,
 
 children born.’
 
 
 
 ‘Mikel already loves you.’ My voice strained to rise above the gaggle of voices. 
 
 
 The blank look on her face told me my answer