Sophie Swerts Knudsen

Ulf, a thirteen year old Viking boy, lives in a wealthy Viking village next to a majestic Norwegian fjord, in the year 988 AD. The men of the village regularly raid the coastal villages of England, and Ulf looks forward to the day he can join them. Strong, smart, brave and with his heart in the right place, he outshines all his peers in battle and courage. Legend even has it that Ulf was blessed by the god Odin at his birth, when two ravens flew in the house and perched on his birth bed the night he was born.
When the man Ulf knows as his father dies, he becomes the master of the house, and his mother gives him a sword, which Ulf names Thyrfing. On the night that the priestess Nana blesses the sword, a bolt of lightning burns mysterious rune signs on to Thyrfing’s blade. Although both Ulf’s mother and the priestess can read runes, they are reluctant to tell Ulf what the runes mean. Ulf will only find out the incredible truth of his heritage, when he discovers what the runes say.
In the meantime, Ulf faces the challenge of trying to save his grandfather’s honor. Steinar, who was once a famous and undefeated warrior, is dying in bed, and can never be welcomed to Odin’s Valhalla if he does not die in battle. When Steinar asks Ulf to kill him in a fight, the old warrior unknowingly sets in motion a chain of events which will eventually lead to Ulf meeting Thor, the god of thunder and lightning.
At the same time, the young Viking is haunted by an impossible love interest, as he falls in love with a slave girl. Ulf tries to win the slave girl in the Midsummer games, but to his dismay, he is betrayed by his best friend. This betrayal leads to a surprising and dramatic event which takes place in front of the whole village.