Viking raid on Lindisfarne
Viking raiders storm Lindisfarne Priory, looting sacred relics and terrorizing the monks. Prior Eadred attempts to rally the monks to defend their treasures while Brother Wulfstan tries to hide illumi
Setting
Lindisfarne Priory, a wealthy monastic community on the small tidal island off the northeast coast of England. The priory is surrounded by simple wooden huts and stone paths, with the North Sea visible beyond the settlement walls.
Characters
Prior Eadred
primary
An elderly man in his late 60s with a frail but dignified frame. His deeply lined face is framed by thinning white hair in a monastic tonsure, with watery blue eyes that betray both wisdom and fear. His hands are gnarled from years of copying manuscripts, with ink stains still visible beneath his fingernails.
Brother Wulfstan
primary
A slender young man in his early 20s with a pallid complexion from years spent indoors copying manuscripts. His close-cropped brown hair shows signs of tonsure, and his blue eyes are wide with fear. His hands, normally steady for delicate script work, now tremble slightly.
Viking Raider
secondary
A towering Norse warrior in his late 30s, with a muscular build honed by years of raiding. His face is weathered by sea winds, marked by a long scar running from forehead to cheekbone. His braided blonde hair and beard are streaked with grey, and his piercing blue eyes gleam with battle-lust. Armed with a notched broadaxe and round wooden shield painted with serpent motifs.
Monastic Scribe
secondary
A middle-aged monk with a slight, wiry frame, his gaunt face framed by a tonsured head of thinning brown hair. His pale skin is flushed with exertion and fear, and his deep-set blue eyes dart nervously. His hands are ink-stained from years of manuscript work, and his fingers tremble slightly as he gathers scrolls.
Fisherman
background
A wiry, middle-aged man with sun-weathered skin and calloused hands, his frame lean from years of hard labor. His dark hair is streaked with grey and tied back with a simple leather thong. His face bears deep lines from squinting against the sea glare.
Dialog
Prior Eadred
By the Holy Rood, Wulfstan! Gather the Codices and flee to the crypt! God shield us from these heathen wolves!
Brother Wulfstan
Deus in adjutorium meum intende! The Gospel of Saint Cuthbert—I cannot leave it!
Viking Raider
Hah! Your Christ-god cannot stop Jarl Harald's men! That gold cross will feed our wave-steeds for a winter!
Prior Eadred
In nomine Patris... You defile sacred ground, Northman! These relics are sanctified by blood greater than yours!
Brother Wulfstan
Prior—the longship men are at the grain stores! Should we... should we take the holy books to sea?
Viking Raider
Enough priest-talk! The silver or your lives—choose quickly!
Prior Eadred
Then take my life first, heathen, for these treasures belong to God alone!