A lovers' tale

In a windswept valley where the Mell River mingles fresh water with the sea’s brine, a modest stone house stands beside fertile mudflats. Inside, Dalla, a blind widow, tends to her two grown sons—Thorgils, steady and reserved, and Cormac, dark‑haired, quick‑tempered, and habitually humming verses about the world around him. Their lives are rooted in the rhythms of the land, yet each brother bears a different echo of their Viking father: one in quiet labor, the other in restless observation.

When a massive whale washes ashore at nearby Watersness, the brothers are thrust into a sudden, practical crisis. Thorgils is eager to lead the effort, while Dalla doubts Cormac’s willingness to get his hands dirty, fearing the poet’s aversion to “fouling” himself. Cormac, however, arrives humming, his fierce grey eyes already turning the strange event into another stanza of his inner musings, hinting at the restless thoughts on love and destiny that will soon shape his path.