Original subtitles

[faint ambient music]

[mysterious music]

[speaks foreign language]

[Narrator] It is written in the heavens...

That a life shall be mirrored in it's birth.

Like a reflection in water.

Fleeting but true.

And so it was for Helle.

Daughter of Asmund.

The one and only true heir...

To the king of Volsung.

A kingdom under attack.

[imposing music]

[shouting]

- [grunting] - [weapons clash]

[screams]

[woman screaming]

[groans]

I'm here, my love.

[groans] And you should not be.

The kingdom needs you in battle.

But it is a bad omen for a child to be born

with an absent father.

It would be worse luck if our child

was born into slavery.

[whimpers]

My lords,

bring your king his sword.

He has a battle to win.

[determined orchestrated music]

[screams]

[epic music] [grunts]

- [shouting] - [clanging weapons]

[grunting]

[shouts]

[shouts]

[grunting]

- [slicing] - [screams]

[cheering]

[Narrator] The king was victorious that day,

but he had spoken the truth.

[crying]

- It is a curse for a child... - No!

[Narrator] To be worn with an absent father.

No!

[sobs]

[ghostly, reverent music]

[sobs]

[Narrator] The king had a brother

as fingers have five brothers but none are equals.

With his brother's mind filled with grief,

the half-prince, as he was known,

took advantage,

planting a seed that would take 20 years and one to ripen,

knowing that patience is bitter,

but it has the sweetest fruit.

Do you trust me?

You're my brother.

My blood.

So that may be the brother you need.

We have just survived our enemy.

If they hear that you're weak, that you are mourning,

they might strike again.

If they hear that your heir is a girl,

that weakness will seem greater still,

and then they will certainly attack.

That may be so.

But I cannot change the sex of my child, brother.

No, you cannot, but I can.

My own son was born just three days ago.

You shall take him as your own,

and I will raise your daughter as mine.

I can't.

You can and you must.

Think of your sanity, brother.

Every time you look at this woman child,

you will see the true cause of Alva's death.

[baby cries]

How can you be expected to love such a curse?

The broken hand can mend.

But a broken heart cannot.

You will love her as your own.

I will.

As my word is my oath.

[baby cries]

[Narrator] Yes.

It is a curse for a child to be born

with an absent father.

[sudden dramatic music]

[uneasy orchestrated music]

[panting]

[yells]

- [exciting music] - [grunting]

[grunts]

[faint, uneasy music]

[grunts]

[yelling]

- [exciting music] - [grunting]

[yells]

[shouts]

[grunting]

[whacking]

[cracks]

[screams]

- [grunts] - [whacks]

[shouts]

[grunting]

[whacks]

[panting]

[bird chirps]

[grunting]

It seems

you have learned all I have to teach you, Princess.

[panting]

How I wish that one day I will see real battle,

but I never will.

No wish can come true that can't be kept secret.

Then why do you keep my training a secret?

If I told you,

what hope would my wish have of coming true?

[low, reverent music]

I thank you for the favor.

I may one day ask a favor of you in return.

[weapons clash]

[sighs]

[grunting]

[dog barks]

[horse whinnies]

[yells]

- [frantic grunting] - [weapons clash]

- [grunting] - [weapons clash]

[panting]

That's enough for today.

[dog barking]

I'm sorry, father.

I will train harder.

Longer.

Hakon,

I fear there are some things we cannot train.

It is in your blood,

or it is not.

If it's in your blood, it will be in your child's, father.

And we will find it.

Find it?

Yes.

And I know where it hides.

[pensive orchestrated music]

- [ghostly music] - [wind blows]

A day of grief is longer than a year of joy.

Your mother, I knew her well.

Who are you?

I demand your name.

[chuckles]

Such passion, such bravery.

My,

how you remind me of her.

Are you of this world or the next?

The next.

From Valhalla.

And I come with a message.

Remember,

however dark the forest,

there is always a path through it.

[wind blows]

[mourning orchestrated music]

[wood clatters]

Maid, where is Princess Helle?

Helle.

What in the name of the gods are you doing?

As my father commands, my king.

My brother has you do the labor of a slave?

He wishes to teach me humility.

It surprises me to hear humility is a trait he values.

Do not judge my father too harshly, dear uncle.

Try to remember the burden he's lived with all these years.

Burden?

I am a curse.

You?

A curse?

My father could not be present at my birth

for he was fighting heroically against our enemies

at your very side.

And we know the gods curse a child

born with an absent father.

My mother's death, that is my fault alone.

Every time my father sees me is a reminder

that I took his beloved's life.

This is the curse he lives with.

The curse I am.

He tells you all this.

Honesty is another lesson my father teaches rigorously.

Humility, heroism, honesty.

I'm seeing my brother in a whole new light today.

[wood clatters]

Enough with the fire.

Tell me, Helle,

have you ever held a sword?

[simmering percussive music]

[dog barks]

On my command.

- [grunting] - [swords clash]

My brother, what happened here?

Fight.

I command you.

As your king commands.

- [swords clash] - [grunting]

Why is she here, brother?

My heir is a coward, Bard.

Hakon?

I fear it is in his blood.

[grunting]

Listen to me, Asmund.

Kind Asmund.

Right answer to a fool is silence.

I did listen to you.

Once.

Did you know the gods stopped appearing to me

the night of Alva's death?

All these years,

I feared they'd abandoned me

as I abandoned my queen.

Maybe the gods didn't abandon me as I abandoned my wife.

Maybe they abandoned me as I abandoned my child.

[swords clash]

[grunting]

[whacks]

[grunting]

- [laughing] - [modest triumphant music]

[reverent music]

[applause]

My dear Lord Soini,

it is almost as if someone had been training

the girl all these years.

[wind blows]

Your mother was the bravest woman I have ever known.

She happily gave her life to save her people.

She would be so very proud of what you have become, child.

As proud as your father is.

My father could not care less.

[wind blows]

[uneasy orchestrated music]

[door opens]

[door creaks]

[Bard] Hello, my curse.

Father.

I thought you asleep.

How can I sleep when all I do is worry about you?

Worry?

Of course, for I know what is in your heart.

You wish the king was your father.

Not I.

But just as you are my curse,

so I am yours.

I raised you, not he.

Do you know why you were invited there to train?

You are an opportunity.

Nothing more.

An opportunity to lower the standard of warrior

around the true heir,

and hopefully raise the boy's confidence.

That can't be true.

Can it not?

But just as you are an opportunity,

so it is one for you.

If you could only see it.

See it?

If you could truly prove your bravery,

maybe he would see you as more

than just a prop for his son.

How?

No.

No, it's too much.

It isn't.

Whatever it is, it is not too much for me.

If you ever felt anything in your heart for me, father,

please tell me.

Only one thing scared my brother when we were boys.

And it still scares him today.

The Kraken monster of the round cave.

Kraken do not exist.

And we must never think of such foolish things,

our king decrees it.

Are you sure they don't exist?

Are you sure talk of them wasn't banned

by your beloved king?

Why would he do such a thing?

Because truly, it is the one thing that scares him,

and because some men believe

if you forget a thing long enough, it will disappear.

But it never does.

I don't believe you.

Our king is afraid of nothing.

Of course you don't believe.

What coward would?

I'm not a coward.

I'm a warrior.

I'm a trained warrior.

A real warrior would find out for certain,

and then slay the beast where it drew.

And if you kill the one thing the king feared,

then he might truly love you.

[uneasy, foreboding music]

[wind blows]

Well played, my prince.

Well played.

Oh, how goodness shouts.

And evil whispers.

[wind blows]

[footsteps]

[Hakon] Cousin, can we talk?

Not now.

But it must be now.

Then you'll have to join me.

Where are you going?

On an adventure.

- [wind howls] - [ominous music]

[Hakon] Helle, please tell me we're not going

where I think we're going.

[footsteps]

You said it would be just the girl.

[wind blows]

Rain does not fall on one roof alone.

An unexpected pleasure then.

So there is no anger later,

exactly what are your expectations, brother Bard?

I expect that neither the girl nor the boy

will leave the cave alive.

Is that explanation enough?

And how Asmund will regret letting his sex

shrivel up in grief.

For you, then, will be his only heir,

Prince Bard.

[Bard] Am I paying for both?

Just one.

[chuckles]

My warrior takes great pride in his work,

and with a girl like that,

he should also like to take great pleasure.

But if your heart desires mercy--

Mercy's for the weak.

Do you see me as such?

Did you not hear your orders?

[grunts]

[worrying music]

Helle.

- I'm going in. - What?

If you don't want to walk with me, you can go back,

alone in the dark,

and pray that a pack of wild wolves won't catch you

and rip the flesh from your bones.

[worrying, epic music]

Helle.

- Helle! - Shh!

Helle, please, I must tell you something.

I really don't want to be king.

Have you lost your senses?

My father has lost his senses

if he considers me a king in waiting.

I would be terrible.

Terrible.

Try and tell me that I'm wrong without laughter.

Hakon...

It's true.

We both know it.

The lords know it and the king knows it, too.

You can learn.

I have proven that I cannot.

I've proved it every day.

And the longer it goes on,

the longer I will keep on proving it.

I'm not brave.

I'm not bold.

I'm not strong.

But I am smart.

I have a brain, at least I can use that.

And it's telling me who should be our next king.

Who?

You, my dear cousin.

[destined, reverent music]

No.

There is no greater mirror than a true friend.

Please, Helle, let me show you who you really are.

The one and only true heir to the kingdom of Volsung.

[growling]

What was that?

The Kraken lives.

Kraken?

[murmuring]

[wind howls]

[Asmund] Helle.

[Helle] Father. Father.

[heavy breathing]

Father. Father.

[Asmund] Helle.

[Helle screams]

[panting]

Helle.

[panting]

[panting]

- [yelps] - [splashes]

Hakon?

[dramatic foreboding music]

[Hakon] Helle!

Helle!

[growls]

[gasps]

[grunts]

[tense music]

- [grunts] - [yelps]

[percussive battle music]

- [grunts] - [weapons clash]

- [grunts] - [weapons clash]

[man struggles]

[grunts]

[exciting music]

- [grunting] - [weapons clash]

[shouts]

- [yells] - [weapons clash]

[blade falls to ground]

[grunting]

[wet stabbing]

[yells]

[dramatic percussive music]

[grunting]

[grunting]

[yells]

[yells]

- [shreds] - [screams]

- [wet stabbing] - [grunts]

[reverent music]

[body thuds]

Sleep is the cousin of death.

And lo, how I have slept all these years, Helle.

I'm sorry.

To look at you is to see your mother.

She was a great woman.

Better than I.

And I have been a coward and hidden from that too long.

Forgive me.

More than that, let me make amends.

Amends?

Hakon,

to you, too, I owe an apology.

Father?

No, I am not.

Nor should I have ever put that burden on your shoulders.

Father.

[stabbing]

Father?

[grave music]

Run!

Your kingdom needs you.

Now more than ever, my queen.

Run!

For Volsung!

[swords clash]

- [stabbing] - [Hakon screams]

[dramatic, worrying music]

Kill.

And when the old moon disappears completely,

the new moon can finally come out.

[exciting chase music]

[panting]

Where is she?

We need her dead.

We don't need her dead.

We just need her blamed.

Come.

We must burn my brother.

[lost, operatic music]

[shaky breathing]

[ghostly music]

A knot tied by a wise man

must not be undone by a fool.

You must finish what your father cold not.

Your mother, she happily gave her life to save her people.

I carried her to Valhalla myself,

and in that moment as we crossed to the next world,

your father made a mistake.

A mistake only you can rectify now.

HOW?

Truth has one color.

A lie, many.

Show your true color and the world will believe.

But first, survive.

I would take your father with me tonight,

but not you.

Survive, and we will meet again, Helle.

The one true heir to the kingdom of Volsung.

[wind blows]

[lost, reverent music]

[mournful music]

Lord Soini.

Prince Bard.

Prince?

Surely I am your king now.

Unless you think a traitor should rule Volsung?

I would never kneel to a traitor.

Half-prince.

Now is not the time, of course.

But we really must discuss your position.

Shall we say tomorrow?

Let's meet here.

My chambers.

They used to be Asmund's.

But after he burns,

they will be mine.

Like everything else in Volsung.

[mournful music]

What did he want?

To kill me.

[Red Cloak] Why?

Because I know what he knows.

The one true heir of Volsung is a queen,

not a king.

Gather our most loyal men.

And after the funeral, we leave,

and we search the whole world if we have to

until we find our queen.

And we bring her home.

[epic orchestrated music]

That Helle would take our king from us,

that she would kill my brother?

How I wish this were a bad dream.

As the bloodline dictates,

as the gods demand,

I will be your new king!

But first--

[bowstrings strain]

[arrows fly]

[fire crackles]

Goodbye, my brother!

Onwards to Valhalla!

[lost, mournful music]

[sky rumbles]

[screams]

[weak breathing]

[crows caw]

[winds blow]

When your thirst is quenched,

let me feed you.

Come, child.

Feast at my feet.

The mushrooms have a power.

They blur the vision.

And clear the mind.

[ghostly ambient music]

The hunger will end,

but the loneliness will destroy you.

I can end your loneliness.

Let me take you to your parents, child.

You have your father's blade.

Take it to your soul.

Feel the warmth of his love.

Yes.

Guide the blade deep inside,

and I will guide you to Valhalla!

- [shouts] - [birds call]

[grave, foreboding music]

[faint heroic music]

[sighs]

[epic, imposing music]

[forge booms]

[forge hammer strikes]

[forge hammer strikes]

[Bard] ls it ready?

Not quite, my king.

[forge hammer striking]

My brother did love a sword.

But then, imagination was never really his thing.

My noble brother,

carrying on my noble father's noble legacy.

Great leaders, my king.

As you are, too, of course.

- [steam hisses] - [bubbling]

[grave music]

[Bard] Does it fit?

It fits me, my king.

Put it on.

[hinge creaks]

Beautiful.

If it pleases my king, I can make more.

No, you shall never make another.

[gasps]

[veins]

Please! Please!

Please!

If you see my brother, do say hello.

[screams]

[ax slices]

[grave music]

This head fits well enough.

But there is another that will fit better still.

She's already dead.

Are you certain?

How could she survive alone out there?

She's just a girl.

You promised me her body.

Still I wait.

So send men.

Search the kingdoms.

If she be dead, bring me her skull.

[birds chirp]

[twig snaps]

Show yourselves, cowards.

Come out and fight or be damned by Odin himself.

[light, unassuming music]

[Girl] Why would we want to fight you?

Show me your weapons.

If a man's as wise as a snake,

he can afford to be as harmless as a mouse.

We need no weapons.

And if we don't need weapons, you don't either.

You can put down your sword.

Never.

Suit yourself.

Let's be off, you two.

Halt or I will kill you.

[scoffs] Why?

Why would you kill us?

Why would you kill anything, man or beast?

And why do you lie?

Lie? What about?

At the very least, you lie about your weapons.

Where are they?

We have no weapons.

I'm sorry to disappoint you.

Liar. How do you hunt?

Simple. We don't hunt.

You don't hunt.

How do you eat?

You cannot survive without meat.

How do you live?

And yet, here I am.

My father lived 86 years on this earth,

and I plan to live longer still.

How many viking fathers live to such an age?

Would you care to join us for turnips?

I have enough food.

Don't worry.

We'll not be eating the turnips.

[intriguing, mysterious music]

[fire crackles]

- [reveling] - [celebratory music]

Turnips.

[cups clink]

[swallows]

[coughs]

[chuckles]

[reveling]

How long have you been here?

A few months.

But where do you come from?

Everywhere.

We follow the harvest.

Wherever it grows, we go.

North in the summer, south in the winter.

We are the travelers.

And travelers carry no weapons.

Travelers need no weapons.

But who is your king?

And him.

Him, too.

And she's a queen.

And so's she.

You see, we're all kings and queens here.

We're all equal.

You haven't asked me anything.

A song can only be heard when it's sung.

It can wait.

Can I stay?

Tonight.

The first night, you're a friend.

The second?

A sister.

Thank you.

This is yours as much as it's ours.

Stay as long as you like.

Dance?

Oh, no.

- I don't. - Yes, dance.

[old man chuckles]

[warm, peaceful music]

[foreboding music]

[grunting]

[screams]

Shh.

Shh.

Calm yourself.

[muffled whimper]

The more you panic, the quicker the end,

and I have much to tell you before then.

Please, don't be selfish.

Do you know why they call me the half-prince?

We have the same mother, Asmund and I,

but my true father was a Sickling.

When Asmund's father the king was off fighting some war,

my blood father attacked Volsung and raped our mother.

No one knows.

Or at least no one dare talk of it.

[wind blows]

Oh.

Our pleasures are

shallow.

Our sorrows deep.

Our lies.

Yes.

Score years and one I have waited

for greater pleasures than this.

It is easy to cut the tail of a dead wolf,

and our wolf is finally ready to die.

[chopping]

[heavy breathing]

Enough?

[bird chirps]

Not nearly.

We're leaving tomorrow.

The last night of camp means the biggest fire.

And the biggest celebration.

Keep cutting.

[Man] Ugh.

[sighs]

Helle?

I'm so glad you're here.

What's it like?

What?

[chuckles]

Using a blade for more than wood.

Not what I expected.

You think it will be exciting.

An adventure.

And then someone dies.

Someone you love.

[hesitant, reflective music]

And in that moment...

[sighs]

You realize that this is not a game.

This is the end.

And nothing that happens after that

will ever be the same.

You'll never have to fight again, Helle.

You're safe here.

Safe with us.

Safe with me.

[chuckles]

I don't need protecting.

I know.

But maybe you could pretend?

[chuckles]

For me.

Sometimes,

I want to pretend I'm someone else.

When I look at you,

I think I could be.

[footsteps]

[grave music]

Hello, friends.

If it's food you want, we've plenty to share.

Drink, too.

You can join us if you like.

Helle, no!

[sword metal scrapes]

[yells]

- [grunting] - [swords clash]

- [yells] - [grunts]

- [swords clash] - [grunting]

- [grunts] - [whacks]

[grunts]

Let me go!

Don't kill!

Let me go!

You don't understand, they'll be back!

And they'll bring a whole army to slaughter us all.

Let them come back.

We'll be long gone.

And so will you.

[uncertain music]

You're a traveler now.

[upbeat, hopeful music]

[grave music]

Now you shall entertain me.

[laughs]

[laughing]

[grunting]

[slams]

- [crashes] - [laughs]

[laughter]

[whimpering]

- [crushing] - [exclaiming]

You know, the supplies are running low.

There's very little food left.

I do.

Then shouldn't you be off raping and pillaging?

We have livestock, do we not?

No, the pigs are all gone.

Surely you don't expect us to eat the horses.

[scoffs]

King,

of course we won't eat our horses.

What kind of monsters do you take us for?

We will eat your women.

You have enough.

We start with those too old to still flower

and work backwards.

You dream of all you will do

when you achieve true power,

but that dream is a nightmare.

Because to achieve power,

you have already done all that which you have dreamed of.

[wind blows]

So what is left but emptiness?

What else did you expect?

A little

more.

Is it more you crave?

Or is it her?

[grave music]

You know she is out there.

And you know that you will never be truly powerful

until she is in Valhalla!

[epic, foreboding music]

[Bard] Do we have enough men?

More than enough for one girl.

Faster!

[war drumming music]

We found her.

And she's not alone.

Be ready for a fight!

- [gentle music] - [birds chirp]

We ask the forest for her blessing,

that these two children

should be granted the joy and peace

to live their lives from this day until the end.

As one.

[chuckles]

[chuckles]

[light applause]

[old man laughs]

[maudlin music]

They made a promise to each other as children.

The promise he would have kept happily had he not met you.

It's not fair.

And breaking her heart would be?

Some of us are doomed to love those

who cannot love us back.

If we can survive that, we can survive anything.

When the heart breaks, the soul is strengthened

if we are brave enough to let it.

And you are brave, Helle.

This won't kill you.

It'll make you stronger.

And that strength won't come from another man.

That strength will come from within.

[grave, foreboding music]

Show yourselves.

[footsteps]

Helle!

[hopeful music]

Daughter of Asmund.

One and only true heir to the kingdom of Volsung.

We kneel before you,

and offer our lives in service

as we did your father

and his father before him.

You knew he was my father?

Always.

But I kept his promise.

As is my duty, but I can keep it no longer.

Nor would my king want me to.

And Bard?

It's as if he's been possessed by Loki himself.

Whatever Volsung blood lived within his veins

was surely killed by the Sickling within.

[sighs]

What you see before you is all that is free of Volsung.

We fled.

With one hope in our hearts.

That we would one day find our queen,

and together take back what is rightfully yours.

My Lord Soini,

you flatter me.

Remember I said I would one day ask a favor of you.

This is that favor.

I came here not to flatter my queen.

I came here to fulfill your destiny.

[rising, reverent music]

[wind blows]

The fool is awake all night

thinking only of problems.

When the morning comes, the fool is tired out,

and the trouble is just as it was.

If you try to run from your destiny,

you will find only death.

And if I take this battle will I not find death, too'?

And not just my own but all of theirs?

To not try, to give up,

that will kill these proud men of yours.

It's good here.

It's another way.

It is.

But not for you.

You are a leader.

Leaders give,

not take.

You must take what you have learned back to your people.

Share the wisdom so their lives can be better.

That is your destiny, daughter of Asmund,

the one true heir to the kingdom of Volsung.

Grain by grain, a loaf.

Stone by stone, a castle.

Warrior by warrior, a kingdom.

[gentle, reflective music]

[bird chirps]

Who is she talking to?

[Soini] They say the viking gods

talk to their kings and queens.

She was talking to a god?

[Soini] Let's hope so, for all our sakes.

Lord Soini.

Tell your men your prayers have been answered.

We'll fight.

They're your men, my queen, as am I.

Loyal to the death.

I fear I may have to hold you to that.

We are outnumbered, it is true.

But every Volsung is worth a dozen Sickling,

and as we fight for you, we fight for Volsung.

And the freedom of our wives and children

will make us stronger.

And we will fight with you.

No.

Your enemy is our enemy,

and we will not be safe until they are defeated.

We fight with you, Helle.

I've fought before.

Our children have never seen war,

but we elders have.

I know what awaits on the battlefield.

I have seen those sights.

They cannot be unseen.

They love you.

They won't say it, and neither will you.

Say What?

The forest is not a home.

In your heart, you know that.

They want one.

Every man, every woman needs a home.

To wander, forever lost, it is not right.

I can give you a home.

Together, with my lands and your ways,

we can build a new and greater kingdom.

The greatest the world has ever known.

Is this what you want?

You know the answer.

You need not ask.

We have been free,

we are free because we are one.

If this is what we as one want,

then I will fight for it to my dying breath.

[woman screaming]

Bard.

[grave, foreboding music]

[crow caws]

[reverent music]

We will not all live to see tomorrow.

[yelling]

But know this,

if you die,

you will be spoken of as those in the sky.

[yelling]

Like stars.

[yells]

Because we are

the light.

[cheering]

[yelling]

[rising epic music]

- [grunting] - [weapons clash]

- [Wet slicing] [grunts]

[yelling]

[yelling]

[shouting]

[whacking]

- [slicing] - [screams]

[grunting]

[yelling]

- [grunting] - [stabbing]

[shouting]

- [grunting] - [weapons clash]

[exciting battle music]

[yelling]

[slicing] [yells]

[men whimpering]

[Helle yells]

[screams]

[reverent music]

- [slicing] - [grunting]

[grave determined music]

[yelling]

[grunting]

[grunting]

[reverent music]

Go.

Kill him.

[yelling]

[grunting]

[weapons clash]

Togrimm, Ulf!

With your queen.

- [yelling] - [grunts]

[grunting]

[uneasy music]

[crow caws]

[grave music]

[growled breathing]

[yelling]

[slicing]

[yells][chops]

[grunts]

[exciting percussive music]

- [slamming] - [grunting]

[yells]

[grunting]

- [slamming] - [grunting]

[grave music]

- [yelling] - [grunting]

[exciting percussive music]

[weapons clash]

[growls]

[chops]

[screams]

[struggling]

[grunts]

[grunting]

[panting]

- [screams] - [slices]

[exciting percussive music]

- [grunting] - [weapons clash]

[grunting]

[weapons clash]

[grunting]

[doomed orchestrated music]

My brother was paid for your death.

I will kill you in this life

so he can kill you in Valhalla

over and over again.

[grunts]

[yells]

[screams]

[grunting]

[rising heroic music]

- [screams] - [stabs]

[yells]

[distant battle cries]

[grave, foreboding music]

[imminent percussive music]

- [grunts] - [weapons clash]

- [yells] - [weapons clash]

- [grave battle music] - [grunting]

- [whacks] - [grunts]

Hello, my curse.

Do you really think you can kill the man

who raised you as his own?

You have that within you?

You stole me from my true father.

You slaughtered him like the coward you are.

Now fear the reckoning of those you have wronged.

[grunting]

[chain whips]

[worrying, operating music]

[grunts]

[groans and coughs]

[wind blows]

You promised me the kingdom.

I did.

But for how long?

[chuckles]

[coughs]

[gags]

[grunts]

You can't rule.

You follow.

And you will follow Asmund to your death.

[chuckles] Did you dare dream you would defeat me?

Then what?

You would rule as queen?

You, a woman?

The gods would never allow it!

- [exciting percussive music] - [struggling]

[grunting]

[groans]

- [whacks] - [grunting]

[rising heroic music]

[chokes]

- [grunting] - [chokes]

I am Helle.

Daughter of Asmund.

The one and only true heir to the kingdom of Volsung.

[rasps]

Maybe the gods can stop me,

but no

man

will!

[reverent music]

[distant battle cries]

- [grunting] - [weapons clash]

[grave battle music]

- [whacks] - [grunts]

- [weapons clash] - [grunting]

[yelling]

- [whacks] - [grunts]

[reverent operatic music]

We will not all live to see tomorrow.

But know this,

if you die,

you will be spoken of as those in the sky.

Like stars.

No!

[grunts]

[panting]

[worried murmurs]

[labored breathing]

[grunts]

Our queen.

Our queen.

Our queen.

- Our queen. - Our queen.

[Ail] Our queen!

Our queen!

Our queen!

Our queen!

Our queen!

Our queen!

Our queen!

Our queen!

[wind blows]

A worm

should find no joy in a bird's song.

Tell me, sister.

How do you love a queen

who lays down with your husband?

[foreboding music]

[Narrator] Yes, it is a curse

for a child to be born with an absent father.

[epic, heroic music]

["Strong" by Natasha Hardy]

♪ I have wings that take me further than me feet ♪

♪ Further than the road that carried me ♪

♪ Now I'm on my way ♪

♪ Finally, I'm free ♪

♪ Watch me fly through the colors on the breeze ♪

♪ I have fought through the trenches of my mind ♪

♪ I have prevailed through the darkest night ♪

♪ Deep in the forest when the wolf will hear my cry ♪

♪ Down on my knees praying to the midnight sky ♪

♪ Stay ♪

♪ Strong ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ With the blackest tears behind my eyes ♪

♪ I have fought myself so many times ♪

♪ Now it's my turn, now my time to rise ♪

♪ I see the light ♪

♪ Still see the light ♪

♪ Stay ♪

♪ Be strong ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ Stay ♪

♪ Be strong ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ Stay ♪

♪ Be strong ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ In your darkest hour, the truth will be your light ♪

♪ How will we rise or fall ♪

♪ Into the night ♪

♪ Night ♪

♪ Stay ♪

♪ Be strong ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ Stay ♪

♪ Be strong ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ Stay ♪

♪ Strong ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ In the darkest hour, the truth will be your light ♪

♪ How will we rise or fall ♪

♪ Into the night ♪

♪ Night ♪

♪ Stay ♪

♪ Be strong ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ Stay ♪

♪ Be strong ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ Stay ♪

♪ Strong ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ Stay ♪

♪ Strong ♪

♪ Hold on ♪

♪ Hold on ♪