The wind carried with it the salt of the sea and the memory of the storm as Thorstein stood on the drakkar's railing and looked out over the open, ice-bound fjords. Behind him, huddled in their furs, sat his companions - the amber-eyed Eirik, the taciturn Astrid and Bjorn, who could tell jokes even on a night like this. The drakkar 'Wolf's Claw' carved from oak, with a carved wolf's head, sailed slowly across the ice, crackling under the pressure. It was supposed to be a simple expedition for wood and honey - the prolonged winter meant that the village's resources were running low. But there was no room for fear in the eyes of Thorstein and his friends. They were young, just beginning to gain experience, but each of them felt that something would happen that night that they would remember for the rest of their lives. When they first noticed the fire in the distance, they thought it was another crew setting up camp. But the flame was twitching unnaturally, as if it was not touching snow but ice. Bjorn was already opening his mouth to say something when suddenly a deep, low sound echoed around them - not as loud as a bull's roar, more like an echo that shouldn't exist. Astrid pointed her finger into the darkness. In the midst of the snow blizzard, a shape emerged - tall, hidden by fur, clutching a long stick in its hand. But what frightened Thorstein the most was not the shadow. Just behind the stranger, a strange mist began to rise from the depths of the fjord. Amidst the swirling tufts of snow, as if to the rhythm of an ancient drum, the silhouette of... emerged for a moment. A dragon? The drakkar suddenly froze, stopped by the thick ice. The crew huddled in silence, listening to the noise growing around them. Thorstein felt that everything he had learned so far had not prepared him for this moment. Something was approaching from the depths of the icy waters. Something that seemed out of this world.... And then the mist thickened, the roaring sound grew louder - and the stick-bearing figure dashed towards them, shouting words neither of them understood.