Fate Rebellion

"..ter…? ster…? Master?!" 

Rurik eyes snapped open, and he found himself back on the boat, still standing at the bow, Eilin next to him. Confusion filled his mind. "What… just happened?" he muttered, his eyes panning around the area. 

He was feeling cautious, yet… unsure why. For some reason, the fog seemed more dangerous now, the ringing that still carried over from the other boats did nothing to help. 

"I don't know, Master," Eilin said in a worried tone, her hand on his shoulder. "You suddenly became unresponsive, like you were sleeping, but without falling over. Are you alright? Is there anything I can do?" 

Rurik frowned and started to mutter, "I—" 

But he interrupted himself when something came to him. It was a distorted image of some middle-aged, average-looking woman warning him about something. "Midgard…? Rebellious fate…? What in the name of Hel is going on?" he cursed, becoming frustrated in his confusion. 

Beside him, Eilin became increasingly concerned, but didn't say anything else. She realized he was going through something, and didn't want to interfere. But her prudence rapidly turned back into panic when Rurik suddenly grabbed his head, groaned, and bent forward a little. 

"Gah!" he spat as a splitting headache rampaged through his brain… quickly followed by more memories. As if out of nowhere, the entire interaction he had with those crones was poured back into his mind. 

"Master? What's wrong? What can I do?" Eilin's voice trembled with desperation. She'd grabbed his shoulders and was trying to find anything wrong with him. 

Behind the two, a few tens of warriors who occupied their longboat listened anxiously to their interaction, but didn't interfere. It's not like any of them knew what was going on either, they couldn't even see them, as the fog still hung heavy over their boat. 

But, just as suddenly as it appeared, the headache receded again, leaving only the previously lost memories in its wake. Rurik blinked as the scenes from earlier played through his mind its entirety again. 

"Luna…" he muttered gratefully, instantly realizing it was her who, somehow, returned his memories to him. Closing his eyes, he sighed. He still had no idea what was happening, or where Luna was… but it felt good knowing she was looking out for him. 

As for the revelations those crones so helpfully provided? He'd have to think about it later. 

Seeing that he appeared to be doing better, Eilin had calmed down a bit but still looked at him anxiously. "Master…?" 

Rurik sighed and finally acknowledged her presence with a tired smile. "I'm fine, Eilin." 

His faithful servant wasn't happy with that, however, and continued fussing over him. "Are you sure? You were in pain, right? What happened?" 

Rurik chuckled, magnanimously enduring her attention. "Yes, I'm fine, Eilin. I'll tell you about it later, alright? I believe we still have more immediate problems to deal with." 

Realizing he truly appeared fine, a scared Eilin quickly hugged him, burying her face in his chest. "Thank the gods… You scared me." 

Rurik caressed her hair comfortingly but kept his attention on the surroundings with a stern frown. They were still surrounded by a fog so thick he could barely see a meter in front of him. 

The surrounding sea still resounded with the sound of a great many ringing bells, but… he felt like there were fewer than before. 

But that wasn't the only change. The air felt… thicker… pregnant with something more. His body felt lighter, and stronger. He actually felt like he had to be careful with Eilin, lest he accidentally hurt her. 

"Do you feel it, Eilin? Something is strange…" he muttered, his eyes constantly scanning the fog. 

Having finally calmed down, Eilin released him, rubbed her face to reset herself, and then nodded. "I do, Master. The air feels electric, somehow." 

With her acknowledgement, Rurik turned around, towards the rest of the boat. He couldn't see the warriors gathered, but he knew they should be. "What about you, my warriors?" he asked them sternly. "Feel any different?" 

It took a few seconds, as if they had the shake themselves free from their own revery, but then he started getting acknowledgements from them. Nodding, Rurik returned to watching the fog float by, searching for any signs of something different. Yet, one thing he'd already realized. 

"I don't think we're on Earth anymore…" he muttered thoughtfully, just low enough that only Eilin could hear him. 

"W— What…?" she muttered, stunned into silence. 

At that moment, a cry resounded. "Land! Straight ahead!" 

Rurik instantly swivelled his gaze to the front of the ship, immediately noticing the same thing. Ahead, the fog had already thinned into mist, and just beyond it was the vague shape of a landmass. 

The longboat's skipper instantly began screaming orders at the crew, spittle flying everywhere, awakening them from their stupor. 

"Steer hard away!" 

"Oars out! Reverse stroke!" 

"Drop the sail!" 

The boat rapidly turned into a hive of orderly activity. When push came to shove, Vikings were nothing if not disciplined and experienced sailors. No action was unnecessary, no order unheeded, and no one got in each other's way. 

Rurik and Eilin, as nobles, didn't have a job related to the ship's functioning, so they simply kept their eyes on the horizon instead. 

The sailor's actions were having an effect, as the boat was rapidly slowing down, but land was fast approaching as well. The helmsman did what he could to change their course, but their speed was too high. Before entering the fog, they'd been in open waters, still days away from England, and their speed reflected that. 

Within moments, they entered the mist area and could suddenly see a few meters around themselves again. Moments after that, they let the mist. Suddenly, it was like a whole world opened up in front of them as they were spat out by a fog-like monster. 

 A cold, watery sun shone down on them from a blue sky. The world around them looked beautiful, but they had no time to enjoy it. No more than ten meters before them was a stony beach, and they were racing right at it. 

"Brace for impact!" a stern Rurik cried out solemnly, as he grabbed Eilin and made the only decision he could: jumping off. They were at the bow, which was soon to be the main impact zone, so a well-timed evacuation was their best option. 

Behind them, the entire crew ducked down, used shields to protect their heads, grabbed whatever they could reach that was nailed down, and started roaring to pump themselves up. 

Then, they closed their eyes. 

Crack 

Boom 

Splash 

"Raaaah!"