Chapter Text
Ragnar looked down at Kattegat from up in Valhalla. He could see his sons, his priest, his wives and some of his friends feasting below, in celebration of Bjorn's first son. Floki sat down next to him, chuckling as he looked at the people below. "It won't be too long until the priest joins us now Ragnar. He's taking too many risks in battle."
Ragnar nodded, looking at Athelstan fondly. "Aye, I can't wait to show him Valhalla. It will be a pleasure to have him by our side at the feasts again."
"And not only that." Floki answered him with a knowing grin. He clapped Ragnar on the shoulder and stood up, walking inside again with an unsteady walk, already quite drunk from the feast. "Come and drink some more with us Ragnar, your priest will be here soon."
It took a while before Ragnar managed to look away and follow him inside.
****
Athelstan sat by the shore, deep in thought while he drew meaningless patterns in the sand. He only noticed Bjorn when he sat down next to him.
"Good morning" He said kindly.
"A good morning, yes. What are you doing?" Bjorn asked, picking up some stones to toss in the water.
"I was...praying." Athelstan said hesitatingly.
Bjorn raised an eyebrow "To which god?"
For a while they sat in silence and Athelstan seemed deep in thought. Suddenly he replied. "To- To Odin. I asked him to give Ragnar a good place at his table. Tell me Bjorn, how is everyone her so sure that it all exists? That Valhalla is real and that Odin and Frey and Thor are the real gods? How can I be sure that we will see Ragnar and Rollo and Floki and our other friends again?"
Bjorn smiled and shrugged. "Why did you become a priest for he other god? Because you had faith, because the people around you believed, because you knew in your heart that it was the right thing to believe. That's how I know I will go to Valhalla. I can feel it in my bones and blood."
Athelstan gave him an uncertain smile . "I hope you are right."
****
Lagertha watched the boat go up in flames in the distance together with the rest in the village. Every last person had come out to say goodbye. She had her arm around Bjorn who was wrapped up in bandages.
"The last thing he said to me was that he would see father tonight. I told him to give him our greetings. In the end he found his faith." Bjorn mused. Lagertha nodded
"He died a worthy death. He fought till his last breath and defended our home with honour. Bringing him to us was one of the best things Ragnar ever did. Now tonight, they will feast again together, and Ragnar can get his priest drunk as he used to do. You gave him a good burial"
Bjorn smiled "He deserved it. It will be a merry evening in Valhalla indeed."
***
Ragnar ran to the doors of Valhalla, grabbing Floki by his neck on the way.
"He's comming Floki! He's arriving today!" He shouted, dragging Floki along enthousiastically. They stopped at the doors and caught their breath, watching the Valkyries letting the warriors in. Ragnar paced around, full of impatience and excitement while Floki watched him with an amused smirk.
"Calm down, you lovesick fool." He giggled. Ragnar tried to punch him in a playful way but then his eyes lit up as he saw a familiar figure approaching in the distance. He took two steps to the very border of the halls and grinned at Athelstan who was comning closer.
Floki whispered in his ear "He only sees a blinding light, you know." but Ragnar pushed him away "I know, shh."
Meanwhile a Valkyrie approached Athelstan. "Are you a viking? Do you believe the Asgardians are your gods? Will you serve Odin as an Einherjar until Ragnarok?"
Athelstan nodded and Ragnar's chest filled with pride. Soon he would be able to hug his priest again. The Valkyrie grabbed Athelstan's arm and turned around to lead him into Valhalla. When they nearly reached the border, another bright light appeared. A stern woman in white robes came out and put her hand on Athelstan's shoulder. From her back four white wings were visible. Ragnar recognized what Athelstan had described as an angel when he had told him of his old religion. He stopped breathing, already sensing what was going to happen.
"This man is baptized and a priest of god and his son Jesus. He belongs in heaven, purgatory or hell and he should be judged by our god." The beautiful angel said without a hint of emotion.
Everyone went silent and the other Valkyries turned to watch. It was a moment of complete silence. Athelstan's face had gone completly white, and Ragnar tried to get to him, screaming in soundless fury, but he could not pass trough the doors. Then the moment was over and the Valkyrie shrugged and handed Athelstan to the angel. He threw one more sad but resigned look at the doors of Valhalla, and then they were gone, no sign of their presence left.
Ragnar screamed in rage and slammed into the doors, beating them with his fists. The Valkyries went back to work an ignored him. After a couple of hours of raging at the nothingness, he finally got exhausted. He slid down onto his knees and looked at Floki with a devastated expression. Floki answered it with a sad sigh.
"You knew this was a possibility Ragnar. I always said he couldn't get rid of his old religion completely." He whispered.
"But Rollo got in without any problem and he was baptized too." Ragnar spat out trough gritted teeth.
"Rollo was viking first-"
"I WILL NOT HAVE PEACE WITH THIS!"
Floki sighed again "Ragnar, there is nothing you can-"
"We'll see about that, Floki. This evening, gather anyone who is loyal to me or who wants a real fight. I will speak to them. We will see about this." Ragnar walked of with the expression of a man who had made up his mind, more determined than Floki had ever seen him. The trickster whistled, knowing that history would be written soon. Then he got on his way to find Rollo and their other friends, already looking foreward to seeing it unfold.
***