The Varangian Way

Far beyond the sea and distant lands Came men with thirty ships Had wanted to reach the Neva by night But the weather was not on their side And as the wind grew stronger and stronger The rain ran down our cheeks The bow was turned towards Gardar The sail flew up again Holmgard and beyond That's where the winds will us guide For fame and for gold Set sail for those lands unknown Osmo and Dalk, Kyy, Kokko and Ulf Were glad to be off the oars Turo had eaten too much again Now hanging himself overboard The Tostensson twins were excited as always Adventure was their game Myself, Hakon the Bastard was out to find my name Holmgard and beyond That's where the winds will us guide For fame and for gold Set sail for those lands unknown Who is "I" without a past? A river without a source? An event without a cause? Threads of different lengths Some longer, some shorter So many of them spun together The crones keep on weaving The algorithm of our lives Cause and effect, the fates of men We know the way to Aldeigju Upstream the river Alode You take us to the portage And further [South] Long is the way to the unknown Long are the rivers in the East Far lies the land that Ingvar And his men desire to reach Many dangers lie ahead Some of us may never return Rather sold as a slave to the Saracens Than chained to your bed, chained by your life! Holmgard and beyond That's where the winds will us guide For fame and for gold Set sail for those lands unknown

Curse on thee, cruel iron Curses on the steel thou givest Curses on thee, tongue of evil Curses on thy life forever! Once thou wert of little value Having neither form nor beauty Neither strength noe great importance When in form of milk thou rested When for ages thou wert hidden In the breasts of God's three daughters Hidden in their heaving bosoms On the borders of the cloudlets In the blue vault of the heavens Thou wert once of little value Having neither form nor beauty Neither strength nor great importance When like water thou wert resting On the broad back of the marshes On the steep decline of the marshes On the steep declines of mountains When thou wert but formless matter Only dust of rusty color Curses on thee, cruel iron Curses on the steel thou givest Curses on thee, tongue of evil Cursed be thy life forever! Surely thou wert void of greatness Having neither strength nor beauty When the moose was trampling on thee When the roebuck trod on thee And the bear-paws scratched thy body Surely thou hadst little value When the skilful Ilmarinen First of all the iron-workers Brought thee from the blackened swamp-lands Took thee to his ancient smithy Placed thee in his fiery furnace Truly thou hadst little vigor Little strength, and little danger When thou in the fire wert hissing Rolling forth like seething water From the furnace of the smithy When thou gavest oath the strongest By the furnace, by the anvil By the rongs, and by the hammer By the dwelling of the blacksmith By the fire within the furnace Curses on thee, cruel iron Curses on the steel thou givest Curses on thee, tongue of evil Now forsooth thou hast grown mighty Thou canst rage in wildest fury Thou hast broken all thy pledges All thy solemn vows hast broken Like the dogs thou shamest honor Shamest both thyself and kindred Tained all with breath and evil Tell all who drove thee to this mischief Tell who taught thee thy malice Tell who gavest thee thine evil! Tell me! Now tell me! Did thy father, or thy mother Did the eldest of thy brothers Did the youngest of thy sisters Did the worst of all thy kindred [Give to thee thine evil nature?] Not thy father, nor thy mother Not the eldest of thy sisters Not the youngest of thy sisters Not the worst of all thy kindred But thyself hast done this mischief Thou the cause of all our trouble Come and view thine evil doings And amend this flood of damage Curses on thee, cruel iron Curses on the steel thou givest Curses on thee, tongue of evil Cursed be thy life forever!

Submitted by BloodShrine — Apr 26, 2025

Long is the way we have come Still, nothing changes under the sun The day we lay ahold The wind rocks the fields of gold Zer sum is the name of the game? Gain or lose My win Is your loss Have your cake and eat it too Long is the way we have come Still nothing changes under the sun Few have found the stone Searching for the fields of gold The finest of craftsmen forged For day and night Deep down Lost at sea Their great feat now lies Is a draw the only win? Would a tie double the loss? A fight For existence Life-death: 0-0 Long is the way we have come Still nothing changes under the sun Firmly we keep our course Fighting for fields of gold

Submitted by Corpse Grinder — Apr 26, 2025

Time to raise a toast to our generous host Jarisleif! Jarisleif! Ruler of the Rus from coast to coast Jarisleif! Jarisleif! May beer flow as long as we can stand on two All the pretty girls, come, keep us warm! Tonight we drink, no room for depressing thoughts Fill your horns!

Submitted by MetalElf — Apr 26, 2025

New friends Last night An offer was made Nordbrikt Would leave Five hundred strong Long is the hour when lying awake Sleeping his hard when so much is at stake I've reached my goal, called the final door Behind it- three doors more Lying in my bed Thinking of the things they said Time is running out What to do I moon about Out in the open sea I've swum without a sight A sight of an opposite shore, a sight of some light Turning back, staying here, my strength is running out Forward, or I drown Rising from my bed Thinking of the things they said The moment draws nigh One chance a year when the water is high Corridors I run Heavy doors Which one? Where did I come from? Was I already here? It all seems familiar, yet I have no idea New friends Last night An offer was made Nordbrikt Would leave Five hundred and one "Joy and sorrow we have encountered Always stood as one Your heart will follow, and maybe tomorrow You will find what you seek Go now, and don't look back! Give my greetings to the Greek King!" The wind flew the raven banner with pride Eagles were soaring aloft Filled with hope and excitement side by side Five hundred and one cast off So long is the way to the unknown Long is the way we have come At the head of the ships a horn was blown We sailed off with the morning sun Five hundred and one

Submitted by Dahmers Fridge — Apr 26, 2025

A terrible noise heard from far away Drowning all other sounds No cry of the birds nor voice of men Just an awful groan Silence fell over the men As the river seemed to end Then... Clouds of spray, Pechenegs prey The Insatiable One is hungry today Avoid the rocks for all you're worth Whirlpools gaze from the depths of earth Like dominoes six locks will fall One after another The World Serpent will rise from the silt And poison the sky Clouds of spray, Pechenegs pray The Insatiable One is hungry today The violent current swept Karl away One mistake- with your life you pay Silence fell over the men As the river seemed to... A sight they had dreamed of Now opened in front of them Fraught with danger and travail The river came to an end

Submitted by Corpse Defiler — Apr 26, 2025

Long have I drifted without a course A rudderless ship I have sailed The Nile just keeps flowing without a source Maybe all the seekers just failed? To Holmgard and beyond In search of a bond Far from home I've come But the road has just begun Breathing history Veiled in mystery The sublime The greatest of our time Tsargrad! "Come with us to the south Write your name on our roll" I was told; Konstantinopolis Sui generis The saints and emperors Of bygone centuries The man-made birds in their trees Out load their paean rings Immortality! In astonishing colours the East meets the West The hill-banks arise in their green In wonder I sit on my empty chest As we glide down the strait in between To Holmgard and beyond In search of a bond Distant church bells toll For their god they chant and troll Breathing history Veiled in mystery The sublime The greatest of our time Tsargrad! The Norwegian of rank In the court of The Prince I was convinced Konstantinopolis Ten gates to eternity Seen all for centuries Your inconquerable walls Your temples and your halls See all, hear all, know it all My sun rose in the North and now sets in the South The Golden Horn lives up to its name From tower to tower a chain guards its mouth Unbreakable, they claim To Holmgard and beyond In a seach of a bond Adventures lie ahead Many knots lie unravelled on my thread Breathing history Veiled in mystery The sublime The greatest of our time Tsargrad! Konstantinopolis Queen of the cities Your welcoming smile Made all worthwhile The sweat and the pain Bathing in gold Endless rooftops unfold The sun sets for a while just to rise again Great halls Great halls Greatest of all, Miklagard

Submitted by SerpentEve — Apr 26, 2025