Thanks to everyone who took the time to read this, especially those who offered comments. Some felt it’s overwritten and too detailed, more storybook than synopsis. I guess that’s true. Trying to be a professional screenwriter is such a longshot; chances are my stories will never be produced or seen. But here, in my little studio apartment of the Blogosphere, I still get to call the shots as long as there’s even ONE person who’ll read it. I’m grateful you’re here, and I owe you an ending, so here it is…

Norgaard and Sven are reunited with Sklagg and Klagg. Nadian finds two Druid children, LARZAN and MAYLA, who were also captured by the Giants. Nadian devises a secret plan with them. Loki appears to Galen, announcing the Chosen Warrior wasn’t captured and will be the Giants’ undoing unless Galen kills the boy himself. Galen calls for the young prisoners to be brought to the stage. 

Before Nadian, Klagg, Sklagg and Billy are dragged from the cage, Nadian tosses a small bag to Larzan and Mayla, the Druid children, and admonishes them to remember what she taught them. 

Suspended above a cooking pot filled with boiling water, it doesn’t look good for the youngsters. They will be served in a blood feast. Klagg is angry because you don’t get to sit at Odin’s table in Valhalla unless you die in battle. Being boiled alive to feed a Giant doesn’t count… that just figures. 

Jimmy knows he has to rescue all of them, but how? He’s run out of ideas.  He’s tired. All this talk of Viking ways and Druid codes and perfect balance has left him completely unraveled. 

Odin appears. Jimmy says he hates him—for taking Billy, for sending Jimmy back to this place, for making him feel like he could matter. He’s not a Chosen Warrior. He’s forgotten the advice of his Viking ancestors. He’s sorry! Is all this Viking stuff some kind of punishment for not listening? Is this why his Dad had to die so soon? He can’t help the tears as he grits his teeth. 

Odin softens. He tells Jimmy he isn’t punished. He’s privileged. “It feels the same,” Jimmy snaps. Odin replies, “That is what being alive feels like, a series of punishments and privileges.  Learn from the enemy and you’ll know how to defeat it.” Jimmy asks if that’s the Viking Way. Odin laughs. “When everything is in balance inside you, no matter what Code or Way you believe in, even a simple boy can wield the power of the Gods.” And with that, Jimmy springs into action. 

Back in the cage, Larzan and Mayla plant the seeds Nadian gave them; they make huge vines grow out of the rocks that pry open the bars of the cage. They escape, along with all the captured children. Sven gets his sword back; Norgaard grabs two. 

Jimmy knocks over the bubbling cauldron onto the Giants and unties Nadian, Billy, Klagg and Sklagg. Nadian uses Druid magic to help guide the rapidly-growing vines to help them. 

The Heroes see a corral of War Cats nearby, huge tigers with wings. They realize it’s the only way to escape. The growing vines soon sprout flowers with rows of sharp teeth that eat anything that climbs it. While the Giants suffer casualties, Jimmy again uses his dagger-darts to save the day. The Heroes also discover War Cats only obey someone who truly holds the power of life and death over them. 

Fearlessly, Jimmy intimidates the War Cats into obeying him, them but not before one of them mauls Norgaard.  Mortally injured, Norgaard sees Galen and his guards approach and stays back to fight. Before he dies, Norgaard tells Sven how proud he is to have him for a son, that he truly knows the Viking Way. The surviving Heroes, along with a cadre of rescued Viking and Druid children, escape aboard the flying War Cats. 

Jimmy and Billy reconcile the conflicts that brought them to the Viking world. In flight, Jimmy urges Sven to trust and follow him. Jimmy lands his War Cat on a frozen lake and instructs the kids he’s rescued to gather sticks from a nearby forest. Jimmy acts like the true leader he has become. Loki appears and urges Jimmy to give up; the odds of victory are too small against such a formidable enemy. Jimmy says he’s through being pushed around by men or Gods. Everybody’s going to start playing by his rules.              

Galen tells Loki that because he failed to kill the Chosen Warrior, he’ll be stripped of his God powers and forced to work in the sludge pits when Galen conquers the world.  Jimmy tricks Galen to fight without using magic and uses his agility to steal Odin’s Eye from around Galen’s neck.

When Jimmy’s friends return with sticks they gathered, he coordinates them into a hockey team. They slide on the ice and keep Odin’s Eye away from the clumsy Giants, using the amulet like a hockey puck. Billy slips. Galen lifts his club to kill him. Jimmy finally remembers all the advice his Dad once gave him: 

Look in the center 

What do you see 

When all come together 

The power of three 

He looks at the Valknut symbol on his runestone necklace. In the center of the symbol, all three of the interlocking triangles intersect. It then changes before Jimmy’s eyes until it looks just like a dart board…  complete with a bullseye.

Jimmy looks down at the amulet he’s been using as a puck. Loki appears once more. He’s switched allegiances yet again, deciding life in a sludge pit isn’t the bright future he was looking for. Loki mentions to Jimmy that a well-placed shot to Galen’s head will kill him, if both the projectile and the shot are powerful enough. Jimmy sets up his Dad’s signature hockey move, the Svensson-Slap-Shot, and shoots Odin’s Eye at Galen’s forehead. Galen blows up, destroying the amulet as well. 

Switching sides yet again, Loki now tries to incite the Giants to overpower Jimmy now that the amulet’s destroyed. Loki denounces Odin and vows to rule the Giants when they win the war. The remaining Giants close in. Even without Galen, the Giant army seems insurmountable. 

Kylem appears, rising from the ground with companies of well-armed Druid soldiers by his side. Nadian is surprised when he apologizes for doubting her and hands her complete command of his army. She’s earned his respect by not only mastering the Code of Druids, but also mastering the honor, courage and strength that comes from doing things the Viking Way. With such skills, she will make an excellent leader for the Druids one day. Nodding solemnly, Nadian accepts. 

Odin reappears to Jimmy, who questions him: when all come together, the power of three…  which three things was it? The Honor, Courage and Strength of the Viking Way? The Precision, Patience and Loyalty of the Druid’s Code? Or was it the fact that Gods, Human and Giants (that is, Loki, who’s a Giant) all worked together to defeat Galen? Odin says it was all of these things. When Jimmy finally embodied the spirit of all those elements, working in perfect synchronization…  Jimmy finishes Odin’s thought. “I saw the center of the triangles wasn’t ‘nothing’. It was ‘everything’. The triangles all meet in that one spot. So whatever you believe in, you can always find something everyone has in common.” Odin nods; the boy has become a man. 

Over the horizon march thousands of Viking fighters, biting their shields and raging with battle lust. On the sea, hundreds of Viking longboats—all with fierce dragon’s heads carved into their prows—carry Viking warriors to the battle. Jimmy and Billy both commit to helping Sven and Nadian fight the Giant army. 

Despite the fact Loki actually did help save the world, Odin is fed up with his treachery. He strips Loki of his powers and drops him into a hole in the ground, sealing it for a thousand years. He apologizes to his one true son, Thor, for showing Loki such preferential treatment all these years. 

After the victory, Sven delivers a solemn eulogy for Norgaard and the other fallen warriors. Vikings and Druids commemorate as one people, no longer enemies, each with a point of view that matters. Jimmy finally forgives his father and says goodbye to him. Jimmy and Nadian kiss; Jimmy and Sven proclaim their friendship with a handshake. Odin appears. Jimmy apologizes that he destroyed the amulet, Odin’s Eye. but Odin flips up his eye patch to show the Eye went right back where it belongs, in his head.

Jimmy realizes something else– he wasn’t destined to be with Nadian, they belong to different times, different worlds. But he sees the way Sven looks at Nadian, with love in his eyes… and how she might someday love Sven as well. It becomes clear who these two people are, and why Jimmy was chosen to return here in the first place. Sven and Nadian are his ancestors… direct ancestors.  Jimmy gives his runestone necklace to Sven, knowing Sven will pass it down to his child one day and through generations, it will one day end up in Jimmy’s hands. Proud of both the modern-day boys, Odin sends Jimmy and Billy back to their proper time. 

Later… Odin, as boisterous as ever, welcomes newly Fallen Warriors to his Hall of Valhalla. Frigg and Thor are there to celebrate. One Fallen Warrior is Norgaard. They eat and drink together, laughing loudly, sharing stories of days past and days to come. 

THE END

The following is a continuation of the synopsis for “The Viking Way”, a feature-length fantasy adventure screenplay I wrote. Parts 1-3 are below; scroll down if you want to read them. Here’s where we left off…

Jimmy resolves to go to Jotunheim immediately. Norgaard agrees; that was his plan as well. In fact, he made Jimmy a set of super-cool dagger darts for the

 journey. Jimmy’s awed; Sven’s jealous that Norgaard made nothing for him.

As they travel, Jimmy, Norgaard and Sven meet Nadian. Initially resistant to a Druid, the Vikings see her skill with a bow and decide to let her come along.

Up in Asgard, Loki is furious that the Evil Minions failed to kill Jimmy. After he insults Frigg, she confronts Odin—why is Loki allowed to be a God? Why did Odin adopt this Giant? Odin remembers that fateful day at the Well of Wisdom. After he tossed his eye into the Well and saw the terrible future, Odin was ready to extract revenge on Mirmir when the old Giant offered a proposition. Mirmir has seen in the Well that one of his twin sons will help destroy the world, while the other will help save it—but even Mirmir doesn’t know which one is which. He proposes that Odin adopt one of the Giant boys and raise him however he wishes, for good or ill. The other twin will be thrown into the forest, where two-headed jackals will tear him apart, so he’ll be unable to fulfill his destiny. Odin agrees. Even as a young boy, Galen is cruel and mean, while Loki is just a smartass. Odin chooses Loki and watches as Mirmir banishes Galen to the forest, into the foaming jaws of the rabid jackals. Frigg gets it. Odin has to keep Loki around because he believes Loki will help save the world. When she questions what happens if Loki is the twin destined to destroy the world, Loki proclaims his innocence while muttering to Shimsham under his breath that he must kill Jimmy quickly, even if he has to do it himself.

In a grassy meadow, our Heroes—Jimmy, Norgaard, Nadian and Sven—hear thunderous hooves. Over the ridge comes a stampede of Zombie Reindeer, with gnarled horns and fire belching from their nostrils. Loki rides one, laughing maniacally.

With nowhere to go, Norgaard and Sven draw their swords to go down fighting: “Strong as an oak we’ll stand, until we are no more!” cries Norgaard. Nadian follows, pulling her bow: “Even as we’re trampled, I will not let myself be uprooted!” Inspired, Jimmy uses his head and comes up with a plan. He, Sven and Nadian climb on top of Norgaard and pretend to be a tree, arms outstretched like branches, standing perfectly still. The stampede instinctively splits at the “tree”, sparing them. At the last second, the Heroes are pulled underground mysteriously.

They land in a cavern, surrounded by Druid soldiers. The leader, KYLEM (50’s), is Nadian’s father. He’s King of the Druids, making Nadian a princess. Kylem is angry that Nadian has left home to keep company with Vikings. Nadian’s angry that Kylem intervened when the Heroes had the situation under control. Kylem scoffs; such things are impossible with Vikings. Silly daughter. Nadian lashes back that their quest to

 find kidnapped children of any creed is noble and her father will never trust her like he would a son. She stomps off. Begrudgingly, Kylem offers the Vikings food and rest from their journey.

Loki’s furious. The Evil Minions didn’t work! The Zombie Reindeer Stampede failed miserably! This next attempt better work or else!

At a marvelous banquet, Sven admires Nadian’s courage in the stampede and realizes they have more in common than he thought. He’s falling for her. Jimmy sees them together and leaves, guilty for letting feelings for Nadian get in the way of finding Billy.  He tries calling Odin for help and is unanswered. It seems that big bag of wind disappears any time Jimmy really needs him. They… all do.  Anyone he depends on. Jimmy tries to find his

way back to the surface alone.  Then the cavern shakes. Kylem and his forces abandon the banquet, ready to fight. A Turpox, with gelatinous tentacles, entangles Jimmy.

Kylem’s soldiers shoot arrows at the Turpox, but the oozing tentacles just absorb them. As Kylem is grabbed and pulled toward the Turpox, Norgaard and Sven draw their swords. They hack and slash the tentacles apart with jolly gusto—that’s the Viking Way!

Kylem refuses to thank the Vikings for saving his life, which infuriates Nadian.  As the Heroes leave, Kylem urges Nadian to abandon the Vikings, regardless of their purpose.  She challenges Kylem to help someone in need someday rather than retreating underground when there’s trouble. There’s something to be said for Viking methods. Unyielding, Kylem lets her go.

The Heroes climb the mountain that separates Viking lands from Jotunheim. Four mounted Horsewomen intercept them, claiming they were sent by Odin to carry them faster to their destination. They turn out to be Skeletal Valkries, sent by Loki to dispatch the heroes. When Norgaard and Sven are overcome by their vicious charms, Jimmy uses his darts to destroy them. Norgaard thanks Jimmy, who responds with a handshake—probably the first one ever. Sven fumes with jealousy.

Loki’s in a panic before he realizes his greatest weapon is turning the Heroes against each other. He appears to Sven, pretending to be his conscience, and convinces the boy that Jimmy is a troublemaker who wants Norgaard’s pride and Nadian’s love all to himself—a real Viking would never tolerate it. Through gritted teeth, Sven agrees.

Before reaching Jotunheim, Jimmy talks with Norgaard by firelight. Pointing to Jimmy’s runestone necklace, Norgaard says Odin is watching over them, the symbol of Odin’s Knot proves it. Jimmy tries to convince Norgaard that Odin can’t protect them; he doesn’t even know what the symbol means! Norgaard won’t hear such nonsense.

Once they get to the land of the Giants, they see Galen on stage, inciting the crowd. Above him is a cage, and within it, the kidnapped children. Jimmy accidentally gives the Heroes’ position away and the Giants ambush them. Jimmy escapes while the others are caught. Sven calls Jimmy a traitor as he watches him bail out. NEXT: THE CLIMAX…

The following is a continuation of the synopsis for “The Viking Way”, a feature-length fantasy adventure screenplay I wrote. Check out the posts below for Parts 1 and 2. Here’s where we left off…

In Norgaard’s humble home, Jimmy meets the Viking’s family: wife INGE (30’s) and son SVEN—who’s 14, like Jimmy—plus 8-year-old twins KLAGG and SKLAGG. Sven believes Jimmy is a Druid spy and is ready to take him out with juvenile bravado. Jimmy convinces Norgaard to take him to the Viking Village to see if anyone knows of his brother.

The next day, Jimmy embarrasses himself in front of Nadian, the Druid girl who saved him, who catches him taking a leak. He discovers Vikings and Druids are sworn enemies, divided by differences in style: Vikings understand hack and slash, where the strongest and bravest survive—the Viking Way. Druids just don’t get it, always sneaking about. Jimmy sees Vikings battle each other for the sheer joy of it. He fascinated by their strength and power—envious, too.

In the tavern, an old SOOTHSAYER tells of Giants who steal Village children and eat them to make themselves strong to declare war on the Vikings. She tells of the Chosen Warrior who can lead the Vikings to victory against the Giants, if he can be found in time. Norgaard proposes training all for war; the Chosen Warrior will make himself known with fighting prowess. The Soothsayer also sees Billy locked in a cage in Jotunheim, land of the Giants. Eager to rescue Billy, Jimmy begs Norgaard to teach him to fight like a Viking. Shape-shifting Loki eavesdropped on this conversation as well and resolves that once he finds out the identity of the Chosen Warrior, he will kill him.

Jotunheim is a creepy, barren wasteland with gnarled old trees and quagmires filled with bubbling tar. Billy

 is locked in a cage with other captured children. Galen incites a horde of thousands of angry Giants, using the chaotic magic of Odin’s Eye (which he wears as an amulet) to empower his hellish army. 

Loki interrupts, appearing on stage.  Galen calls him a traitor for abandoning the Giants to live as a God with Odin as his adopted son. Loki is shocked—is this any way for Galen to treat his long-lost twin brother? The crowd is silent. Their leader has a brother who is a God—the… enemy?

For his audience, Galen recalls that day when Odin plucked out his eye and threw it in the Well of Wisdom. He remembers his father, MirmIr, calling him and his twin brother, Loki, outside their cave when they were just children—Giant children, but 10-year-olds nonetheless. Inexplicably, Mirmir allowed Odin to choose one of Mirmir’s sons to adopt as his own. The rejected son was to be banished to the forest to be eaten by the 2-headed jackals that live there. Odin chose Loki, leaving Galen to be cast into the forest. Before he goes, Galen promises he’ll make Odin pay dearly for his decision.

But Galen didn’t die in the jowls of the 2-headed jackals—he made them his pets. After he grew up, he returned to the Well of Wisdom, murdered his father Mirmir and stole Odin’s Eye from the Well. Galen will use its power to complete his revenge.  

Loki proclaims he wants to come back to the Giant’s world. He pretends to know the identity of the Chosen Warrior, whom he promises to kill in exchange for preferential treatment when Galen wins his war. Loki confides afterward to Shimsham that once he is home with his brethren the Giants, he’ll betray Galen to become leader of the Giants himself.

Back with the Vikings, Jimmy struggles with a sword that’s too heavy. Norgaard tells him the Viking Way is a perfect balance of Honor, Strength and Courage—you need all three to be a good Viking. Sven gets jealous that Norgaard ignores him while favoring Jimmy. When a bully picks a fight, Sven enjoys watching Jimmy chicken out and run away in fear.

Up in Asgard, Odin sees Jimmy’s behavior with Frigg and Thor, who can’t believe this coward will help lead to their salvation. Odin staunchly maintains: “Jimmy, the Chosen Warrior, will show that befilthed beast the harsh cruelty of cold iron and hot vengeance!” Still, Jimmy isn’t the stuff Odin’s dramatic legends are made of. Loki, eavesdropping yet again, now knows the identity of the Chosen Warrior and calls forth legions of Evil Minions to rub the boy out.

Jimmy runs to the river, furious. He calls out for Odin. Odin needs Jimmy for something, and if he doesn’t appear and tell Jimmy what’s going on immediately, Jimmy’s going to throw down his runestone necklace and give up—Billy can find his own way home.

Stuck, Odin appears. He confesses that he, King of the Norse Gods, made the biggest mistake of all time and he needs Jimmy to help him retrieve his eye from Galen. If the Chosen Warrior is tough enough to defeat the Giants, Odin reasons, he must be tough enough to get Odin’s lost eye back. Jimmy says he’ll retrieve the eye on one condition—Odin must grant him a wish, anything he wants. Odin refuses—granting a wish to a Human will surely set the Balance so out of whack that catastrophe is imminent. Jimmy’s firm and gets Odin to agree to the deal.

Jimmy the meets Nadian, who still thinks he’s a Viking and teases him.  When Jimmy lets it slip he thinks she’s beautiful—her dislike for him turns to sympathy. Jimmy’s hit Nadian’s weak spot—no one’s ever said that to her before.  Nadian excels with her bow and arrow to please her father, who regrets his only child is not a son. When a pack of Briar Beetles attack, Nadian sees how useless Jimmy is with his too-heavy sword and silly Viking ways of hacking and slashing. She takes him to her underground home to teach him how to fight Druid style, with speed, silence and deadly accuracy.

The pair practices archery. Jimmy learns the Code of the Druids—Precision, Patience and Loyalty. A true Druid strives for all three, in perfect balance. Jimmy reveals his talent for throwing darts (which he makes from broken arrows) and kisses Nadian.

Loki’s Evil Minions erupt from a gash in the earth and attack the Viking Village. Nadian investigates, but Jimmy hangs back. Panicking, he calls to Odin, using his runestone necklace like an intercom to the Gods. Odin appears, frustrated. Why isn’t he above ground, fighting evil!? He reminds him to pay attention to the advice of his ancestors or he may not survive the night, much less find his brother. Aaaaaaugh! Why didn’t Jimmy pay attention when his father gave him the advice, carried from generations from their Viking ancestors? And why can’t this big brute give him a hint? What the heck does this Valknut thing on the runestone necklace mean?

Odin admits he doesn’t know what the Valknut means. That’s why he needs Jimmy. And until Jimmy can figure it out, his continued survival depends on using his head. Looking down, Jimmy sees broken arrows. He makes more throwing darts and goes above ground to help.

While Nadian fights the attacking Evil Minions, Jimmy becomes scared of the hideous monsters. Odin’s nowhere to be found. Jimmy hides in the blacksmith’s shop while Norgaard, Sven and other Vikings battle the creatures. Nadian kills the largest beast, a Hellhound, with an enchanted arrow.

Afterward, Norgaard and Sven find Jimmy cowering. Jimmy gets Nadian to lie, saying he fought bravely and killed the Hellhound himself. She’s disappointed in him. Norgaard discovers his younger sons, Klagg and Sklagg, have been kidnapped by the Giants. NEXT: JIMMY, NORGAARD, SVEN AND NADIAN JOURNEY TO THE LAND OF THE GIANTS…

This post is a continuation of the synopsis for “The Viking Way”, a feature-length, family adventure screenplay I have written. Take a look at the previous post for the first part. Here we go… 

JIMMY SVENSSON (14) lives in modern-day Minnesota with his MOM and brother BILLY (12).  Jimmy mourns the unexpected death of his DAD, but can’t help being angry that his father disappeared from his life too soon.  So far, Jimmy’s failed to live up to Billy’s expectations as an older brother as well as Dad’s memory as a local ice hockey hero—Jimmy can’t even do Dad’s signature hockey move, the Svensson-Slap-Shot. To make things worse, Jimmy’s smaller than most other guys his age and gets teased about it. He feels like his whole life is messed up and… broken. 

Jimmy wears a runestone necklace that Dad gave him a year ago, the day Dad tried urgently to teach Jimmy the Svensson-Slap-Shot. Dad made Jimmy promise never to remove the stone from his neck. The runestone has a symbol on it called a Valknut, three interlocking triangles. He said the necklace has been passed down through many generations from their family’s Viking ancestors, along some cryptic advice— 

 Look in the center 

What do you see 

When all come together 

The power of Three 

Dad’s not sure what the Valknut means, or the advice that goes with it. But it always helped Dad keep his eye on the puck, and maybe it’ll do the same for Jimmy. In the year that followed, Dad got sick and died, leaving Jimmy feeling abandoned, the man of his family with no rule book to follow. After failing to make the ice hockey team yet again, Jimmy flings the “stupid, unlucky rock” away and plays darts, a game for which he has real talent, if he concentrates. Billy, ashamed of Jimmy’s poor performance on the ice, finds the discarded necklace and puts it on, believing Dad should have given the necklace to him instead of Jimmy all along. 

After an argument with Jimmy, Billy is approached by Odin, who sees the runestone necklace and assumes it’s Billy who will help lead the Vikings to victory. Proud of being chosen as a hero, Billy doesn’t reveal the actual owner of the necklace as Odin whisks him away in a whirlpool he summons on the skating rink. Jimmy sees Billy sucked away and stands by, paralyzed. When the whirlpool burps up the runestone necklace and spits it onto the ground, Odin’s perplexed until Jimmy confesses it was his all along. Then Odin gets angry. He looks at Jimmy with his one eye and growls the only way Jimmy will ever see his brother again is to fetch him from the gaping maw of death. Jimmy tries to run away, but Odin makes the whirlpool grow larger until it engulfs him. 

Jimmy lands in the middle of a dark forest, alone—he’s traveled to Viking Age Scandinavia in the mid-tenth century, more than a thousand years ago. He gets chased by Viking teenage bullies; a pretty Druid girl named NADIAN (14) helps him escape. Jimmy almost drowns in the river; when he gets out, Nadian has kindly left him her cloak to wear. 

Disoriented, Jimmy wanders to a Village and takes refuge in a blacksmith’s shop. He’s amazed by the Viking weapons—swords, spears, axes and more, all gleaming and pointy—hanging on the wall. He is interrupted by NORGAARD (30’s), the village blacksmith who thinks Jimmy is a Druid thief and goes in for the kill, sword slashing away. 

While Jimmy tries to dodge Norgaard’s wildly swinging sword, Odin and Frigg look down on the action. Odin knows he must intervene or his Chosen Warrior’s going to be skewered before he even has a chance! Frigg reminds him Gods interacting with Humans is very dangerous and can further tilt the Balance out of whack, creating more chaotic power for Galen to harness. Odin replaces the runestone necklace around Jimmy’s neck.  Norgaard recognizes the Valknut on Jimmy’s necklace as a symbol for Odin and spares the boy, taking him home instead. This, Norgaard tells Jimmy, is “The Viking Way.”  NEXT: JIMMY LEARNS BILLY’S WHEREABOUTS, AND WHY VIKINGS AND DRUIDS ARE SWORN ENEMIES…

With the popularity of “How to Train Your Dragon” and “Clash of the Titans” at the box office, I thought I’d share a synopsis of “The Viking Way”,  a family fantasy adventure screenplay I wrote which was inspired by legends of Viking lore and Norse mythology. If you’d like to read the whole script, drop me a note. DISCLAIMER: I only own some (but not all) the copyrights to the illustrations I’ve used to help tell the story. If you see something that should be credited or removed, please let me know; I just want to help visualize what’s going on.   Here’s the story…

Modern-day teenager Jimmy Svensson travels back in time to the barbaric Viking Age to help Odin, King of the Norse Gods, fight a war against evil Giants that could wipe out Humanity and the Gods themselves. Burdened by fear and lacking in confidence, Jimmy learns how he alone can make a difference and that true power lies in never giving up and achieving an inner balance that no Human, God or Giant can ever destroy.

ODIN (50’s) is King of the Norse Gods—the biggest, baddest God of them all.  He’s a barrel-chested warrior with bulging muscles, a long gray beard tied in battle braids and Viking symbols tattooed all over him. He wears a black eye patch, carries a fearsome spear and rules over his kingdom of Asgard. For countless centuries, no one has messed with Odin; those who do usually end up with his spear sticking out of their bellies. The Alpha of Alphas, the most popular guy in the Universe—that’s Odin.

One day began like every other, with Odin—loud, proud and boisterous—welcoming fallen Viking Warriors to his Hall of Valhalla. According to legend, Valhalla is where deserving Vikings who die in battle spend eternity doing what they love best—fighting all day and carousing all night.  Odin celebrates with his wife, FRIGG (40’s) and two sons: THOR (20’s), handsome God of Thunder, and LOKI (20’s), a spoiled Giant that Odin adopted as a boy. Being Odin’s adopted son, Loki is also a God—of Deceit and Trickery. With his gluttonous pet serpent SHIMSHAM, Loki delights in insulting everyone around him. Frigg and Thor can’t figure out why Odin tolerates Loki’s behavior—no one else would be able to get away with such insolence.

When Odin’s pet ravens are killed by the evil Giant, GALEN (20’s), in a declaration of war, Odin vows revenge: “I’ll carve out his vile heart, roast it over the acrid flames of the Netherworld and feed it to my dogs for supper!” When Frigg begs to know what’s going on, Odin tells her Giants are ready to wage war against the Vikings and the Gods themselves. The Legends foretell of a war called Ragnorak; should it come to pass, the Giants will win, annihilating all Humanity and Gods to rule over the Earth and Skies. Frigg can’t believe it: how can lowly Giants vanquish all-powerful Gods? Odin confesses his own carelessness caused such a destiny to be possible.

As King, Odin’s job is to maintain perfect Balance between the three living forces—the noble Gods, neutral Humans and evil Giants. Many years ago, Odin was tempted to know the future—something even King of the Gods isn’t privy to. He sought out the Well of Wisdom, guarded by an old Giant named Mirmir. The Legends say if you look into the well’s water, you can see what is to come. Mirmir refused to let Odin dip his head in the water, as to do so would upset the Balance that Mirmir is also responsible for maintaining. Believing he is outsmarting Mirmir, Odin plucks out his own eye with his spear and tosses it into the well.  His wish granted, he saw that Ragnorak indeed happens. Galen has the power to smite down the Gods with Odin’s Eye—the same one Odin threw into the well in order to see the future in the first place. Galen stole it from the well and used it to harness the powers of Chaos, which threw the all-important Balance between Gods, Humans and Giants out of whack. Not even Odin can compete with such immense power.

Fortunately, Odin also saw something else in the well—a Chosen Warrior destined to help Odin, a Human hero from the future. Frigg is incredulous: Humans are just helpless lambs!  All Odin knows is his Chosen Warrior will wear a runestone necklace, and will have what Odin needs to stop the Giants. When Odin disappears in time to find him, it’s revealed that Loki and Shimsham have eavesdropped on Odin and Frigg. Loki prefers his cushy life as a God versus the brutal existence of a Giant. To protect his future, Loki decides to play both sides of the Odin-Galen conflict, to benefit from either side that emerges victorious in this upcoming war. NEXT: FLASH FORWARD 1,000 YEARS…