Leif Erikson

You are Leif Erikson, a Viking around the year 1000. Though born in Iceland to Eirek the Red and his wife Thjodhild around 975, you have grown up in Eiríksfjǫrðr, Greenland, because your father was exiled from Iceland after being convicted of two murders. You have been largely raised by your foster father Tyrkir, who has taught you skills like sailing and boat-handling, hunting and fishing for food, and chopping grain with a knife. A typical Viking, your size and strength contribute to your impressive appearance. Your life is good, but you dream of travels… Exploring is in your blood! Your father was an explorer, and you hope to follow in his footsteps by discovering new lands. One day, a sailor named Bjarni Herjolfsson returns to Greenland to visit his father. He tells of lands he saw on his journey but did not explore. The people of Greenland are somewhat upset about his lack of interest in the islands. You interpret this as the perfect opportunity to both please your country and explore! You tell your father of your urge to travel, and he agrees to let you sail a trading ship to Norway. [[You buy Bjarni's ship to sail to Norway. Maybe after the trading you can sail to the islands he has seen and explore like your father once did…->Who to bring]]

Great! You have a ship, now you need a crew. Who will you bring with you? [[Your father, Eirek the Red->Too Old]] [[Your foster father, Tyrkir->Round Up Men]]

Tyrkir says yes and helps you round up 34 other men. You set out for Norway on a sturdy cargo ship called a knorr. It is the perfect ship for long voyages and a small crew. After some time sailing, the winds get very rough. Your crew spots land but it is off-course. Do you sail to it? [[Yes! It is out of the way, but maybe you will find good resources and safety from the storm.->Sudreyjar]] [[No! You and your crew can bear the rough winds. You want to get to Norway as soon as possible.->Norway]]

Your father says that he is too old and that his days of exploration are behind him. He refuses the offer to join your journey. You understand his reasoning, but you still want him to come. It would be helpful to have him onboard, but you worry insisting will incite his hot-temper. [[Accept his refusal and go ask Tyrkir->Round Up Men]] [[Your father is lucky! He is also knowledgeable about exploration. You insist that he comes->Falls Off Horse]]

Thanks to your thorough persuasion, your father eventually agrees to join you on your voyage. The two of you head to the ship to prepare it. Unfortunately, he falls off his horse on the way there. He is very religious and interprets the event as bad omen — a sign from the Pagan gods not to embark on this journey. Now that he will not be joining you, you need someone else. [[Go ask Tyrkir->Round Up Men]]

You land on an island called Sudreyjar and decide to rest there until the sea is safer again. It takes time. You spend the summer in Sudreyjar and meet a noblewoman named Thorgunna. She becomes pregnant by you. Soon after, a favorable wind arrives! Though you want to stay with your love and meet your shared child, you also want to continue on your voyage. [[Set sail for Norway->Norway]] [[Stay with Thorgunna->Life with Thorgunna]]

You arrive in Norway about the time of harvest-tide and complete your trades. While here, you join the bodyguard of King Olaf Tryggvason. You develop a good relationship with the king, and he converts you to Christianity. You are baptized at the Royal Court. After a while of living in Norway as a devout Christian, Olaf requests that you return home to Greenland to spread the religion. Knowing your father and most of Greenland are devoted to their Pagan gods, you recognize it will be hard to convert them. Still, Olaf regards you highly and you want to please him. What will you do? [[Deny the request->Upset King, Go Explore]] [[Accept the request->Explore or Preach]]

Though you and some of your men decide to stay with the women you have met in Sudreyjar, you agree to let the rest sail your ship to Norway as planned. They complete the trades, then sail back to Greenland. They inform your father of your choice. You live out your life happily in Sudreyjar with Thorgunna. You do not marry her, but she does gives birth to your son Thorgils, whom you accept and help raise. Thorgils grows up to become the local chief, taking over the position from Thorgunna's father when he dies of old age. You live a respectable life on the island, and you are happy to have a family of your own. But, still enveloped with dreams of exploration, you are forever somewhat unsatisfied.

King Tryggvason is upset. He declares that if you are not willing to spread the faith, then you are not fully devoted to it. You try to explain and defend your love of Christianity, but he will not hear it. He demands you leave. No longer on good terms with the king, you gather your men, board your ship, and set sail. On board, you remember the lands Bjarni Herjolfsson told of seeing, and you set out to find them. After some time sailing, you spot two islands. Which island will you sail to? [[The forested one->Markland]] [[The mountainous one->Helluland]]

On board the ship, you remember the lands Bjarni Herjolfsson told of. You are tempted to search for them- you were born to explore! Plus, Greenland is getting crowded, so it would be beneficial to find more land for the Vikings. But, you also feel that you should not waste time. You feel obliged to get back to Greenland and preach Christianity per Olaf's request. What should you do? [[Forget Bjarni's lands and set course for Greenland->Early End in Greenland]] [[Set out to find the lands Bjarni saw->Two Islands]]

You and your crew arrive at an island covered in trees and sandy beaches. You call it Markland, which means forest-land. You decide not to explore the other, mountainous island, as you can now see that it is icy. Instead, you set out to find the third land that Herjolfsson described. On the sunny day of your arrival, you drink the sweet dew from the luscious grass and decide to stay there for the winter. On the first day, you split your crew in half so that some can stay to build shelter and other can go explore the land. How do you want to help? [[Stay and build small cabins->Cabins in Leifsbudir]] [[Go explore the region->Tyrkir Missing]]

You and your crew arrive on an island full of mountains and glaciers, with no grass to be seen. Referencing the island's rocky terrain, you call it Helluland, meaning stone-slab land. Not much here is worth exploring, so you head south to the other, forested, island. You name it Markland, which means forest-land. Then, you set out to find the third land that Bjarni Herjolfsson saw. The sky is bright and the day is fine when you come upon the island. Never have you tasted anything so sweet as the dew on the grass here. The island is abundant with resources, so you decide to stay through the winter. You split your crew into two groups: one will go explore, and the other will stay to build shelter. Which group will you join? [[Stay and build small cabins->Cabins in Leifsbudir]] [[Go explore the region->Tyrkir Missing]]

You build a number of cabins, which later earn the site the name Leifsbudir (Leif's Houses). The other men return to tell of their findings: large salmon and plenty of fields, rivers, and lakes. Tyrkir even finds grapevines! There were no grapes in Greenland, but you know they are valuable because they can be turned into wine, which can then be traded for money and goods! You commemorate this discovery and the opportunity it brings by naming the island Vinland, meaning wine-land. You have made a good life so far in this rich land. You are tempted to stay here and start your own permanent settlement, which you could found around Christianity without battling the deep-rooted beliefs of Pagan gods back in Greenland. But, you also feel you should bring back Christianity and the wealths of Vinland to your homeland, Greenland. Come spring, will you return to Greenland? [[No->End in Vinland]] [[Yes->End in Greenland]]

On the island, you and your men find salmon and plenty of fields for animals to graze. For several nights you explore then report back. One night, Tyrkir strays and does not return on time. Worried, you plan to send out a search party. Right before you do so, Tyrkir returns to say he found grapevines! This is great news. Grapes can be made into wine, which can be traded for money or goods. You commemorate this discovery and the opportunity it brings by naming the island Vinland, meaning wine-land. You have made a good life so far in this rich land. You are tempted to stay here and start your own permanent settlement, which you could found around Christianity without battling the deep-rooted beliefs of Pagan gods which you will be met with back in Greenland. But, you also feel you should bring back Christianity and the wealths of Vinland to your homeland, Greenland. Come spring, will you return to Greenland? [[No->End in Vinland]] [[Yes->End in Greenland]]

You decide to stay and live in the riches of Vinland. You have plenty of food and enjoy life with your men. Some of them return to Greenland and bring back women to Vinland. Though you are sad not to see your parents again, you are happy to get to practice your faith peacefully. You die in Vinland of old age.

Over the winter you collect grapes and lumber, then, in the spring, you return to Greenland as planned. On the way there you spot a rock with people stranded on it. Rescuing the fifteen men there coins you the nickname "Leif the Lucky". You return to Greenland and share your discoveries. You also preach Christianity like King Olaf Tryggvason requested. Although your father stays devoted to his pagan gods, your mother, Thjodhild, and much of Greenland convert. She even initiates the building of the first Christian church in your area. When Thorgils, your son by Thorgunna, comes to Greenland, you accept him as part of your family. Your other son, Thorkell, succeeds you as chieftain of Eiríksfjǫrðr. The people of Greenland are happy to recieve your knowledge of new islands, and the difficult-to-obtain goods that you brought back. Overall, you are glad you returned instead of staying in Vinland. You die in Greenland around 1020 CE.

With the intent of converting your settlement of Vikings to Christianity, you head home. Your ship is almost blown of course due to the strong winds, but you and your skilled crew manage to direct it back to Greenland. There, though you are able to convert much of Greenland, including your mother, to Christianity, your father stays true to his Pagan gods. Because of this, he distances himself from you and your mother. Though you live a generally happy life, you remain forever curious about islands you almost explored.

You sail through harsh weather for some time, and begin to regret your exploration-detour. Your perseverance is finally rewarded when one of your men spots two islands. You cannot decipher much about their terrain, except that one seems forested and the other has more mountains. You are currently headed for the middle of the two, so you must pick one. Which island will you sail to? [[The forested one->Markland]] [[The mountainous one->Helluland]]

[[Leif Erikson->Intro]] [[Bibliography->Bibliography]] By CH

A&E Television Networks. "Leif Eriksson." Biography. Last modified May 5, 2016. Accessed February 4, 2018. https://www.biography.com/people/leif-eriksson-9378184. Burgan, Michael. Leif Eriksson. Ground Breakers. Chicago, IL: Heinemann Library, 2002. Du Chaillu, Paul Belloni. The Early History Manners and Customs of the Ancestors of the English Speaking Nations. Vol. 2 of The Viking Age. N.p.: Kessinger Publishing, 2007. Knudsen, Shannon. Leif Eriksson. Illustrated by Mark Oldroyd. Minneapolis, MN: Carolrhoda Books, 2005. Sephton, J., trans. "The Saga of Erik the Red." Icelandic Saga Database. Last modified 1880. http://sagadb.org/eiriks_saga_rauda.en.