Vinland Saga (2009)

[ヴィンランド・サガ]

Volume 7

Author/Artist: Makoto Yukimura
Publisher: Afternoon KC

Synopsis:
Having forged an alliance with Thorkell, Canute travels to Gainsborough to confront his father.

Story/Characters:
We kick off with King Sweyn being informed of Canute's survival. Floki doesn't buy it, figuring it impossible that someone like Canute could actually put Thorkell to heel, but then Canute shows up with both Thorkell and Askeladd in tow. We cut away briefly to Askeladd giving Bjorn a place to rest, but with his wounds, he doesn't figure he's going to last much longer and asks Askeladd to give him a more fitting end. Back to Canute, he discusses his plans with Thorkell and Askeladd and when passing by a church, he goes on a little rant about his grand scheme to create an earthly paradise. Then they go to meet Sweyn. It's a tense scene where Sweyn keeps Canute and his entourage at a distance while surrounding them with hidden guards. In their exchange, Sweyn speaks of the crown as having a will of its own, driving any who wear it to use the power at their disposal and to expand that power no matter what it takes. He then offers Canute a domain in Cornwall to live out his days in peace or to die then and there. Before Canute can say anything ill-advised, Askeladd steps in to work some diplomatic magic, pointing to the safe return of London as an achievement worth more than effective exile, lest Sweyn's vassals get it their heads that the King repays evil for good. He manages to talk his way out of the pinch, but it was a close shave. Canute's confidence is unshaken, though, asserting that Sweyn is nothing more than a slave to the crown and that he will be the one to master its power.

That evening, Thorfinn devises a rig so that he can still fight with his broken arm while the others are busy feasting. Canute is footing the bill to put folks in a good mood while Thorkell uses his charisma to try to draw in potential allies. Canute discusses with Askeladd the prospects of successfully assassinating Sweyn. Askeladd counsels patience until they can maneuver into a more advantageous position. Next, in comes Ragnar's brother Gunnar, who on first impression at least appears to be a stereotypical bootlicking courtier. He updates the Prince on the progress of the plan to take refuge in Normandy, which Ragnar had been working on, but Ragnar is gone and Canute doesn't intend to turn tail and run. Instead he puts Gunnar to work on the current plan of gathering allies to stand against Sweyn.

Askeladd excuses himself to take a leak and while he's at it, he calculates that Gunnar's going to be a liability. He sees Thorfinn testing out his new rig and then Atli shows up to say his goodbyes. He asks after Bjorn and Askeladd doesn't sugarcoat it. He gives Atli a bracelet as his severance package and warns him never to show his face on the battlefield again. The next morning, Thorfinn and Askeladd prepare to duel, but Bjorn shows up to go first. Before getting sent off, Bjorn states his one regret that he was never able to be Askeladd's friend. Having to mercy kill Bjorn has put Askeladd in a foul mood and he's having none of Thorfinn's nonsense. He tosses aside his sword and proceeds to beat the stuffing out of Thorfinn. Were it not for Canute's intervention, he may have finished the job. Askeladd criticizes Thorfinn for his stubborn stupidity that ensures he'll never win. He then decides to give Thorfinn a little lesson on how to kill someone you hate, using the example of his first kill: his own father. We then get to take a look at his past, a slave boy laboring away for the sake of his ailing mother, sick in mind as well as body. She would dream of the return of King Arthur and one day in a fit of lunacy, she started clinging to her master Olaf, mistaking him for King Arthur. Olaf, that paragon of kindness, sees this poor madwoman and is about to cut her down when young Askeladd flies to her defense. He puts up a decent fight for an untrained kid and Olaf recognizes Askeladd as his bastard. Seeing the boy's promise, Olaf takes him in to train him up and Askeladd plays the dutiful son, earning the affection of his half-brothers, all so he can gain the strength and the opportunity to kill his father, framing his brothers for it so that they get lynched and throwing Olaf's domain into chaos. It wasn't pretty and it wasn't honorable, but it succeeded.

The gang heads to York for the big shindig where Sweyn will be giving out rewards to his vassals. In the slave market we have the surprise return of Leif Erikson, still looking for Thorfinn after all these years. As Canute and company draw near, Askeladd warns the Prince that Sweyn intends to off him. And that's just what happens when an assassin with a crossbow seems to shoot Canute. Thorfinn chases down the assassin and that's when he crosses paths with Leif. It turns out that the Canute who was shot was just a double. Meanwhile, Leif tries to get Thorfinn to go back with him to Iceland, but the boy he knew is gone and all that's left is a mad dog whose only purpose in life is revenge. We then close on Floki reporting the failure of the assassination attempt to Sweyn.

Art:
We get some good shots of the transformed Canute and the confrontation with Sweyn has a lot of moody shadows. Contrast that with clean-shaven Willibald. While not as flashy as the Thorfinn-Thorkell duel, the latest bout between Thorfinn and Askeladd is pretty good. Then there's poor Leif. You really feel his heartbreak when he sees how far Thorfinn has fallen.

Other:
We get the usual travel map and some concept art of Canute.

Conclusion:
The battle for the throne begins in earnest this volume. The interaction between Sweyn and Canute is quite powerful and getting to see Askeladd's backstory sheds further light on his character. We're gearing up for the end of this arc of the story and this volume does an excellent job of setting the stage. As you might imagine, this one is worth adding to your collection.

Rating:
Own It