They don't travel well. All attempts to get them to grow in Norway have failed.
[Ivar's gotten to taste so many new foods since coming here and it has been glorious.
He taps the left one.]
It belonged to my father. He gave it to me just before he died. Arm rings are important to Vikings. You receive one when you're twelve years old as a symbol that you're now officially a man. [It may have seemed comical from a modern-day perspective to consider a boy that hadn't even gone through puberty as a full-fledged member of society, but lives were much shorter back then. Getting to your fifties was considered pretty old.] They're also used for oath-making. If you break a vow you swore on your arm ring, you'll be cursed by the gods.
[He perks up at the mention of jewelry.]
I would like that. [And if the mushroom kicks in when he's looking at something shiny, so much the better for it.]
no subject
[Ivar's gotten to taste so many new foods since coming here and it has been glorious.
He taps the left one.]
It belonged to my father. He gave it to me just before he died. Arm rings are important to Vikings. You receive one when you're twelve years old as a symbol that you're now officially a man. [It may have seemed comical from a modern-day perspective to consider a boy that hadn't even gone through puberty as a full-fledged member of society, but lives were much shorter back then. Getting to your fifties was considered pretty old.] They're also used for oath-making. If you break a vow you swore on your arm ring, you'll be cursed by the gods.
[He perks up at the mention of jewelry.]
I would like that. [And if the mushroom kicks in when he's looking at something shiny, so much the better for it.]