The Skald

9 hrs. 8 min.

Language Russian

Author Nikolay Bakhroshin

Narrator Sergey Shvets

As a child, he was captured by Vikings and taken out of the Slavic forests to Swedish fjords. He grew up among the Varangians, rising from an unrighted slave to a free warrior in the retinue of an earl. He became famous not only for his combat skills, but also for his talent as a poet-skalд—something the Norsemen revered as inspired by the gods.

But the curse of Veles—once cast upon him by a wizard—will not allow the Slavic youth to serve the enemy. After killing the earl’s brother in single combat, the Skald is forced to flee from revenge onto an island of free Vikings, beyond the power of any konung. Will he be able to pass this deadly test and enter the brotherhood of warriors? Will the Veles curse protect him from the vengeance of Norse gods? Will blood and the rage of battles wash away the memory of a lost homeland?

Read this pagan action tale about the bloody Viking age and their raids on Rus—about the “beautiful and furious world” of our warlike ancestors, in which Slavic blood mixed with Norse, and Slavic steadfastness with Varangian valor, forging an unbreakable alloy.

1. The Skald 2. Vikings. The Curse of the Magi (narrated by Sergey Shvets)