Finish the Story Contest - WEEK #17

Some years had passed since the Priest of Durham married The Lady of Berwickshire to her Scottish Prince.

The time drifted along peacefully as he’d settled back in his role with the people.

And so, as he had way back when, he rode his horse to the Durham seashore to watch the waves and pray.

Only far off upon the horizon, he could see a ship rowing toward him. As it got closer he could see the danger and rode away back to the village.

Ulfric Red Beard and his Viking army landed on the shore then moved inland.

The Priest of Durham made it back to the village in time to warn the constable. The constable alerted the local militia. The nobles were notified and scrambled knights on horseback.

When Ulfric Red Beard reached the village he met the English forces defending the town. The Vikings outnumbered them 3 to 1 because of the element of surprise.

Ulfric Red Beard stood seven feet tall, a giant in the 1490s, he walked onto the battlefield, raised his battle axe above his head, and yelled foaming at the mouth:

“I’m going to behead the first Englishman that steps within reach!”

Just then the skies opened and an alien spaceship appeared from nowhere, hovering above them.

Source of Image

The Viking horde thought that from the heavens their Gods had lowered the sun, since a powerful and blinding light emitted from the spaceship.

Ulfric Red Beard was bewildered and his men scared. The Englishmen did not understand what was happening and everyone tried to look at the strange object that blinded them. The ship remained for 5 minutes which seemed an eternity for both the Vikings and the English.

Ulfric Red Beard gave the order to withdraw, he thought that this strange object was perhaps a warning from the gods.
For his part the priest of Durham, thought that from heaven God had sent them a miracle to protect them from the Viking attack, they were at a numerical disadvantage and if they had fought many good Christians would have died at the hands of the savage Vikings.

Ulfric Red Beard went with his men to the coast, while they did the ship little by little it was retiring to the sky. The men as they walked did not make sound, everyone did not understand what had happened, but they agreed not to stay to find out that it was that thing that fell on them.

The Vikings reached the coast and mounted their boats and went to the ship. Ulfric Red Beard as good commander spoke to his men and said: "Today the Gods have spoken to protect us and we have heard, it was not the time to attack. They knew we were coming, the surprise factor we had lost. When we return again within several moons, it will be different and we will take over everything that belongs to the English ". The Vikings raised their axes in approval and set sail for home.

The priest of Durham went to the sheriff and the men of the town saying to them: "God all merciful has saved us from the Viking barbarism, we must go to the church and pray for the miracle that has been granted to us". The whole town agreed with the priest and from that day his influence and power in decision-making grew as never before a priest had.

That day there were no deaths or combats, both sides the English and Vikings remained in the distance watching the spacecraft, that day peace prevailed over conquest, greed and war.

In Durham there would be peace for a time ...