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b'The Saga of the People of Vopnafjord picks up where The Saga of Thorstein the White left off. \\xa0It tells the story of two friends,\\xa0Brodd-Helgi Thorgilsson and Geitir\\xa0Lytingsson, and their rise to power. \\xa0The two men share everything in the beginning, including a desire to have that which is not theirs. \\xa0Their friendship only deepens when Brodd-Helgi marries Geitir\'s\\xa0sister, Halla. \\xa0Later, their son Bjarni is given to Geitir\\xa0as foster-son. \\xa0Things really couldn\'t be better between the two leading men of Vopnafjord.\\xa0\\n\\nBut things fall apart, as they do in these stories, after Brodd-Helgi and Geitir\\xa0begin to mistrust one another after a plot to rob a hapless Norwegian merchant crumbles. \\xa0Their\\xa0relationship suffers further when Halla becomes ill and Brodd-Helgi wastes no time arranging another marriage for himself, this time to Thorgerd Silver. \\xa0The resulting animosity between Geitir and Brodd-Helgi proves too much for the district to bear. \\xa0Men from both sides are drawn into the conflict and some even lose their lives. \\xa0Though Geitir is reluctant to act as the aggressor, he is finally put on the offensive after\\xa0some prodding by his thingmen. \\xa0What happens next is lost in the great gap left to us in the manuscript. \\xa0The saga picks things up again with the next generation from each family trying to pick up the pieces. \\xa0Here we find Bjarni, the son of Brodd-Helgi, going head-to-head with Thorkel, Geitir\'s son. \\xa0The two are not only kinsmen, they had also grown up together at Krossavik. \\xa0Though Bjarni attempts to make peace with Thorkel, there\'s little that can be done to assuage the thirst for vengeance. \\xa0Will Bjarni succeed in putting an end to this bloody and unfortunate feud? Or will Thorkel continue the cycle of violence and pass it on to the next generation? \\xa0There\'s only one way to find out. \\xa0\\n\\nThe\\xa0Stone Armor Defense\\nThe above image comes from Hurstwic\'s recreation of Brodd-Helgi\'s clever use of a stone slab to protect himself from Svart in chapter 2 of\\xa0V\\xe1pnfir\\xf0inga saga. \\xa0Read all about this and other creative battle tactics here.\\nFor some more on this saga and its background, check out:\\nChapter 13 of Jesse Byock\'s\\xa0Viking Age Iceland - "Friendship, Blood feud, and Power: The Saga of the People of Weapon\'s Fjord"\\nAlan Berger\'s "Lawyers in the Old Icelandic Family Sagas: Heroes, Villains, and Authors" in Saga Book XX (1978-79): 70-79\\nAnd if you\'re interested in traveling to Vopnafjord and taking in all the sights yourself, maybe take a gander at a waterfall or two and pause for some fishing, then start here at\\xa0https://www.visitvopnafjordur.com/en\\n\\xa0\\nMusic Credits:\\nIntro Music\\xa0-\\xa0"Prelude and Action" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)\\nEpisode Summary\\xa0- "Clash Defiant" by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)\\nOutro Music\\xa0-\\xa0"Stormfront"\\xa0by Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)\\nSelections from music by Kevin MacLeod licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/'