The Sunstone Will Lead Home

Part I: Leaving Home

“This is the crystal our fathers gave us,” my grey-haired grandfather whispered as he handed me a small pink-colored crystal. “Whenever you feel lost, use this stone to guide you back to us again.”

Grandfather heaved a deep breath, his blue eyes locked on mine. I watched as he slowly slipped away into the realm of Nephelhim. He gave my hand one last squeeze before his eyes slid shut into eternal sleep.

The priest and priestess grabbed a blanket and covered his face. I glanced down at my hand as his now dead hand slipped out from my own. A small pink and red crystal remained in my hand.

The mourning ceremony and burial were a blur to me. I watched as the elders of the village and the members of the community gathered around his corpse late that evening. Everyone wept and cried out at the sight of the powerful man now brought low in the funeral pyre.

My mind was clouded as I saw everything occurring around me. Grandfather, the hero of our village in the north, was dead. He was wearing his armor with his sword resting over his stomach. I remember seeing Ultha and Helfring, two of the younger priestesses, gazing at me with dark eyes as they chanted the last rites.

I gazed down at my feet to avoid the judgemental glances of my village. I dressed grandfather in his armor so that Odin would recognize him and bring him into Valhalla as one of the victorious heroes. I swallowed hard as I prayed for his soul.

Surely, grandfather, they know you. Surely, the gods will know how many you’ve slain to the glory of the Aesir! Do not allow your soul to go out into the dark abyss of Nephelhim!

I grasped the bow and arrow to set my grandfather’s pyre alight, but someone grabbed my arm. It was Helfring, her black eye makeup causing her to appear even more deadly than she usually did. I swallowed hard as I waited for her to speak.

She never did, though.

She only grabbed my arm, took the bow from my hand, and shoved me to the back of the crowd. My heart sank as I watched the priestesses prepare to fire the burning arrows into the pyre of my grandfather.

I felt a tear slip down my cheek as the night became alight with the flames of my grandfather. The first tear was soon met by a second and third, but no more.

As the sky filled with the orange flames of the pyre, I turned away and slunk into the darkness.

My name is Hodur.

Everyone in my village knew what this name meant. It was the name of the dark, the blind, and the murderous son of Odin.

And it was the name my mother screamed out as she pushed me from her womb and passed on.

No one knew who my father was. I was a bastard child. Because of my mother and hidden father’s sins, the village cast me out. No one wanted to be responsible or take on the curse of adopting a bastard child.

Except for Grandfather.

He wasn’t actually my grandfather. In fact, I have no idea who he really was except he was the eldest in the village, perhaps even the founder. He always called himself “grandfather”, which is what everyone called him.

But he was unafraid to adopt me. He was a Berserker, the bravest of the brave. The greatest of all in the land. He left me with only two things: the sunstone and a boat.

“As you are, my child, the village will never receive you,” he had said to me the day he gifted the mighty vessel to me. “You must allow yourself to be the Sea King.”

I stayed in the village for as long as I could. I wished to be near the only man who felt like home to me. So long as Grandfather was alive, the village had to permit me to stay. Now that he was gone, they would likely banish me under penalty of death if I ever returned.

I know the priests and priestesses suspect the mighty man died because of me. I am an evil offspring. A cursed child. I can have no home here because they fear my cursed presence. I know they believe that I am the reason Grandfather is dead.

I would make my Grandfather proud. I will be the most feared name on the seas and will meet the Berserker in the halls of the slain.

I returned to our small hut, gathered a few provisions, and set out a dish of food. The dead commonly return to their homes one last time before taking their path to the afterlife. I wanted to make sure Grandfather had something to eat.

I grabbed the sword on Grandfather’s wall as well as his shield. But I left his Berserker helm. The bear’s pelt must stay here so he can bring it to Odin. I will find my own beast to wear into battle.

Last, I burned the herbs on the doorstep to protect the space and left. Grandfather left my ship tied to the lake near our home, which leads out into the vast oceans. I will take my journey tonight.

I brought enough food and water to last me two weeks. I had only three garments and an animal’s pelt to wear for warmth. I pushed the mighty ship onto the surprisingly calm waters of the river.

I sailed in absolute silence down the vast river. Not a creature stirred in the waters below, in the forests beside me, nor in the sky above. All of the universe was silent as my Grandfather’s spirit passed on into the realm of the dead.

I did not cry, though.

I honored him as a man. In silence. In perfect stillness. In awe of the millions of stars painting the skies above.

Now it is my time to be the Sea King.

Part II: Come Join My League

Eight days have passed since leaving my homeland in the North. Thor has been gracious to me and has not permitted the skies to rage against me. Not a single storm has buffeted my vessel, and the winds power me into the South.

I fished that morning and managed to catch two fish. I cooked them on my vessel and began to eat. But sometime around noon, I felt my vessel become buffeted by something large from the depths of the sea.

Quickly, I extinguished the flames of my fire and peered into the water’s depths. Only the beautiful surface of the pristine seas was visible. I continued to gaze downwards though, into the realm of Hel.

What Beast do you have for me, Mistress of Hel?

My skin began to crawl as a cold breeze blew suddenly on my naked skin. Glancing towards the North, I saw a storm unlike anything I’d seen before.

Just as I set my sail to catch the powerful breeze blowing to the south, the beast buffeted my ship once again. I braced myself but did not wait.

Grasping my mighty javelin, I tied a rope to my foot so I would not lose the ship and dove into the waters.

The cold waves began to grow in power as the storm grew closer and closer. I dove under the waves to catch sight of the monster attacking my ship. I saw only the blackness of the never-ending mouth of hell.

Eager to summon the monster to me, I began to beat upon my chest. Surely this brute knows the summoning call of the brave. They can smell our blood and desire it for themselves.

Little does this brute know, it is I who shall be drinking his blood tonight.

Just then, a massive thud struck my left arm. I felt something sharp and found myself spiraling deeper toward Hel’s hungry jaws. I managed to keep my eyes on the thin beam of the sun pulsing into the waters and steadied myself once again. I felt my lungs holding the air and I studied the blackness around me for any sign of the ocean beast.

Come to me, beast from Hel. I have nothing to live for and everything to die for.

Nothing appeared. I waited, willing my lungs to hold the air just a little longer. Just as I was about to return to the surface for air, I spotted the beast. His white and silver skin shimmered in the only remaining beam of the sun.

I did not wait for him to come. I pushed myself forwards, grabbed onto his fin, and plunged my spear into his side. Blood gushed out in a torrent, and I kept plunging it into his flesh again and again.

Something came over me. It was as if I became the beast who was hunting me and knew exactly what he feared the most and mastered his mind. The creature began to shake himself violently in hopes of escaping, but I would not allow that to happen.

Tonight I drink your blood. Tomorrow I wear your flesh. You are my Berserker animal!

Finally, his body rose to the surface, and I took a mighty gulp of air. The beast was dead, but the storm was now upon me. My ship was quite far, just visible over the monstrous waves and blackened air as the storm fell upon me with a vengeance.

I would not release the beast, though. I held onto his carcass as I swam towards my ship. Twice I was brought smacking into the face of the sea by a wave as high as a mountain.

But I did not quit. Nor did my ship. There she was, riding the ocean like a mistress upon her master. At last, after an hour of struggle, I caught up to her and clamored aboard. I hauled the mighty sea beast onto my ship and gazed greedily over it’s carcass.

I know not what this creature was, but I shall try to describe it to you.

A leathery, coarse grey and white skin covered its body. It was over 8 feet long and weighed several hundred pounds. Its mouth was agape, revealing row after row of sharp teeth. The small eyes peered off into nothingness.

I tied the beast to my ship and lowered my sails. The storm was so ferocious that I knew I could not navigate her. I must allow her to buffet me and wait until she passes to steer my ship onward.

The following morning I awoke to a calm sea. After cleaning up the mess the storm left behind across my deck, I decided to try to find out where I was headed.

For my people, the sunstone is far more than a pretty trinket. I held the crystal to the cloudy skies until the sun’s ray burned through. I used this position to figure out that I was on a course drifting south.

If I continued on this route, I’d likely end up in the land of the Gauls. These people weren’t easy to subdue. Born killers and warriors, they’d fight me viciously, but what if I could show them I’m a leader worth fighting for rather than against?

I approached the beast's corpse.

I cut off its fins and tail and tore off its flesh. I ate his meat, but the skins and fins I fashioned into a cap. I took his teeth and made myself a chain to hang around my neck.

I found my Berserker beast from the depths of the ocean. After allowing the cap to dry in the sun for a few days, I stored it away in the wooden chest where I kept my valuables. I would wait until reaching land and wear this beast’s flesh as my own.

I am the Sea King! I’ve slain the Devil from the Abyss, and he will now be my source of power. After several days, I was able to make out the coastline of the Gauls. Misty, hazy and slumbering in the distance, it was time for me to show them who they should fight for!’

Part III: Fight With Me, Children of the River!

My foot made a slurping noise as I jumped from my long boat. The world was misty, and I could just make out pine forests lining the ocean along a rocky coast. This was the country of the Gauls.

Just as I grabbed my weapons and Berserker helm out from my chest, I felt a sharp pain strike my ankle I cried out and swung about. Someone had shot me with an arrow.

I could see no one, however. Suddenly a black hood was cast over my face, and I was struck unconscious.

I awoke, face down on the dirt, with several people standing around me. I felt blood dripping from my head, and my hands and feet were bound.

I saw dozens of people wearing woolen clothes, their red and blond hair tied up in knotted designs. Their faces were pale like mine, but they spoke a strange language. They were pointing to a tree and arguing.

A woman stood before me, arms stretched out, staring at her fellow men angrily. I didn’t know what they were saying, but it seemed like the men wanted to kill me while the lady did not. After some heated exchanges, the men relented and tossed her a large knife.

I gulped, wondering if this would be the end of me. But, instead, the lady cut my bounds and forced to stand upright. She then took a rope and hung it around my neck. She left it a little loose, so it didn’t hurt but then tugged on it for me to follow her.

“Peata,” she ordered me, tugging harder. I groaned, but being unable to resist, I followed her. I followed this astonishingly fit and tall woman back to a mud hut in the middle of the forest. She gestured for me to enter, and I ducked under the low entrance into the hut.

There was a fire in the center, a goat in the corner tied to a wooden post, and a bed made of furs in the other corner. It seemed like one of the simplest huts I’ve ever seen, and I knew my people aren’t fancy individuals.

“Peata,” she said again, gesturing towards the goat. I stared blankly at her and then toward the goat. Unsure what else to do, I gestured to myself and said, “Hodur.”

“Aisling,” she told me, gesturing towards her breast. I nodded and smiled, trying to signify it was a pleasure to meet her.

She took me by the rope, led me to where the goat was and tied me to the wooden stake. Confused, I stood to protest but was pulled back down again by the wooden stake pulling on the rope.

As I sat there, I watched as she started fumbling through my chest. There wasn’t much there, but she was intrigued by the Berserker helm and neck chain of teeth.

“Berserker?” she said, glancing toward me. Excited that she finally said a word I understood, I nodded.

Amazement filled her eyes. She folded it once again and placed it inside the chest. She then took several herbs from where they hung from her seeling and started to scatter them over the floor. Taking a torch, she gazed over the illuminated pile of leaves and twigs as she chanted in her strange language.

After what felt like several hours, she came out of her trance and grabbed me by the wrist. Unsure what was happening, I ran with her through the forest to a large circle clearing. She placed me in the center and let out several loud calls with her voice.

She threw me my sword and the skin and neck chain of the water monster. By this point, a few people must have heard her cries and come to the circle. They all sat around the circle on the ground or in the trees watching intently.

To my utter horror and amazement, Aisling took off her shirt and stood to face me, bear-breasted. One of her nipples was cut off, and I gulped in stunned silence. Blue tattoos cascaded over her body’s surface, contrasting with the paleness of her skin. Her muscles were toned and visible.

She then took off her skirt and was now only wearing her belt and neck torque. She gestured for me to remove my clothing. Blinking, I started to take off my tunic and leggings.

Once I was naked, she leaped at me with her javelin. Gasping at her sudden movements, I stumbled backward as my sword absorbed the force of her blow. Her eyes seemed to be glowing red, and the amused crowd continued to grow to watch us.

She was testing me.

I returned her blow for blow, and we went back and forth for a very long time. Then, she moved to grab my Berserker skins off the ground. In a panic, I flipped under her, swooped it up, and placed the cap and chain upon my body.

Her eyes locked on mine. I could tell she was waiting for my transformation. She wanted to see me transform into the beast.

“I will kill you and all those who come against me!” I screamed, feeling the blood rising in my neck. I raised my sword as I said it and made a move to chop her.

Just in the nick of time, she rolled out of my way. I continued to rain blow upon blow upon her. She raised her javelin in defense, but my sword broke it down the middle in a single blow.

I was about to finish her off when I recalled how she had saved me. As I saw her green eyes gazing at me in terror, I backed away, took off the skin, and placed my sword on the ground.

She stood in reverence as everyone around us looked on in stunned silence. At the time, I did not understand the words she told me and the others, but I remember them taking me deeper into the forest.

It was dark, night has fallen by this point. Aisling sang a chant as individuals began to gather wood and start a large fire. Once it was burning bright and hot, Aisling placed several herbs into a cauldron along with a red mushroom.

They began to stir it in water over the fire. I recall it smelling very badly, but they still poured the liquid into a bowl, and Aisling sang softly as she raised it to her lips to drink. I watched as she swallowed two large droughts of the bowl before handling it to me and gesturing for me to drink.

Unsure what else to do, I raised it to my lips and drank two droughts as she did. She nodded and motioned for me to prop my body against a tree beside her. She placed a woven blanket over us and sang softly. Everyone around us chanted quietly.

I felt uncomfortable at first, but soon my mind slipped off into a startling dream. It was a dream unlike any I’ve ever had before. And Aisling was there the whole time, clad in blue and staring at me with her bright green eyes.

Part IV: Three Years Later

The dream changed me.

The morning after, I awoke to learn that Aisling had copulated with me. She gazed at me fondly and said only, “Caelan.”

I had no idea what that meant back then, but the village people treated me differently after. They held me in high honor, and Aisling walked beside me as she led me through the forests rather than leading me with a rope.

I’ve been with these people for three years now, and I’ve come to understand things better. Aisling is the Wise Woman of the village, known as the Druidess. She communes with the gods and spirits and leads the people.

They’ve been awaiting a new “Caelan” or “Hero.” When she first saw me getting off of my ship, she assumed I was an invader. Unwilling to shed a foreigner’s blood and displease her gods, she spared me.

She told her people she would keep me as her “Peata,” or “pet.” That was why she placed me with the goat. But when she found my Berserker suite, she thought I might be the new hero she saw in her visions.

Finally, she tested me in combat. Since I was losing, she doubted my supernatural abilities, but when I put on the beast's skin, she saw my transformation.

“The thing which really surprised me, though,” she said to me a long after, and after I was able to understand the language, “was your ability to control the beast. You remembered that I gave you mercy, and so you returned my goodwill. This showed me that you knew how to handle the beast.”

She guided me in the ceremony where she gave me the mushrooms that commune with the dead. She showed me how the Earth is filled with Spirits, and we must learn how to move among them.

Now, she was my wife, I suppose. I live with her, and we make love every night. She is angelic, like a Valkyrie but also frightening. I saw that in my dream. She is a creature of magic. With magic, she can heal but also destroy.

“I cannot bare us a son,” she told me one night after we finished. “I lost my abilities several years ago in a fight to defend my people. The king of the South stole me and asked for me to marry him. But I would not. So they tortured me and took that away from me. But they did not take away my or my people’s liberty.”

“I am glad,” I told her with a smile. “We will find a son to take over us one day.”

She smiled and said, “I know we will. I saw it in my visions. You will go to the South, take the King’s son, and bring him back. This way, we will take away his heir as our own. This is what the gods have told me.”

It was at this moment that I realized what she meant. I had to go to the Southern lands, find the king’s son, and bring him back here. Something within me grew afraid.

“I fear that I will not come back,” I confessed to her. I told her everything.

“The Sunstone will always take you back home,” she whispered. I had never mentioned my Grandfather’s stone. She knew of it, somehow. I felt a sense of marvel and dread fill my heart.

That night I dreamed about a land full of sand and sun. A young woman with jet-black hair stared at me from across the desert sands. She said, “Ankh,” and was then swept away in the desert sands.

I sat up in bed, breathless and sweating as I struggled to overcome the vision.

“You have been summoned?” Aisling asked, placing her hand on my chest. I held her hand and kissed it. I couldn’t respond but nodded.

I saw a tear roll down her cheek, but she nodded and stood up.

“My lord, you have been summoned to the South the avenge our son who can never be,” she announced. “I will prepare for you to leave. Seven strong men you shall take with you.”

Without another word, she prepared biscuits and other food for our journey. When the sun rose, she made the announcement and guided us to my ship. I glanced over and saw seven young men, well-built and tall, walking with us to the ship.

Aisling sang a chant as she blessed our vessel. Once this was finished she wrapped her arms around me and whispered, “go now. Find our son. Find our future king. I love you, and the Sunstone will bring you back to us.”

I nodded and kissed her before boarding my ship. In the light of the early morning sun, I led my ship and crew off into the sea once again. Aisling watched us for as long as she could, and I felt my heart yearn for her.

Part V: Find Me The Next King in The Nile Valley

We sailed for several weeks along the coast before passing through the Pillars of Hercules. These foreboding rocks were said to have been placed there by the ancient god-man himself.

After our marvel wore off, we continued to navigate our way across the waves. This was foreign waters to me, but the sunstone never failed me. Aisling had told me ton find the port with the massive mountain that was lit ablaze.

Uncertain of what such a thing might be, you can imagine my amazement when my eyes fell upon the very thing she described. There, some dozen yards away, was a massive pillar in the waters with a torch a thousand times brighter than any I’ve ever seen before.

“The locals say this is Alexander’s Light,” Cullen, one of the warriors who accompanied me, told me. “I’ve been to these waters before, but not this far south. I had no idea it was so majestic.”

We docked our ship in the harbor and met with a local official. They spoke a foreign tongue, but when they saw that we didn’t speak their language, one of the men translated for us in the language of the Gauls.

“Welcome to Alexandria,” one of the balding men in a long white robe announced. “Please, we ask only that you allow us to copy your writings.”

“I’m sorry, we don’t have any such things,” I answered honestly. They seemed skeptical at first, so I permitted them to search my ship. When their search revealed nothing of interest, they gave up and welcomed us.

“Please, I must meet the King of the South,” I told them. “I had a vision and must meet with him right away.”

“Egypt?” the man asked me, gazing at me in shock. “Egypt is nothing but a skeleton anymore. There are no kings in Egypt. Only a Queen who insists on sleeping with the Romans! Disgusting!”

“Please, may I see her?” I told him eagerly.

“No,” he told me. “She is in hiding now along with her son and daughter. Zeus only knows what wrath Julius will bring upon her! For tonight, please rest your head at my villa. Our lord Hermes and Zeus insist upon proper care for our guests. Tomorrow, I shall show you the city.”

Unable to think of how to see this Queen of the South right away, my men and I agreed.

“My name is Hodur,” I told the balding man as he led us through the stone streets.

“That’s an odd name for a Gaul,” he said curiously. “My name is Patricus Silvinius. I’m a teacher of Stoicism at the local school of Alexandria. We collect books and writings from all over the world and keep them safe for all prosperity!”

“Glory to you,” I said with a nod. “And my name is not of Gaul. I am a Berserker and Sea King from the North.”

“Oh dear, that is fascinating!” he exclaimed as he gestured us inside his massive stone home. “I’ve heard but little bits of words about your people. Julius is campaigning at this moment in the lands of Germania.”

“My people will not welcome him,” I warned him.

“Yes, Julius has been warned about the untamable nature of the Northmen,” he sighed. “But, alas! He is too stubborn to hear us. Let the blood of Rome cover the Earth.”

That evening he entertained us liberally with food and drink. My men became very drunk, but I remained sober to protect them. I told them that they must indulge and I would stay vigilant.

That evening I watched the massive light of Alexandria illuminate the skies. It was a marvel to behold, unlike anything I’d ever seen.

The next morning my men slept off their hangover while I followed Patricus to the village. It was a bustling place. People all over the stone streets were calling out to one another. People sold all types of food and drink for small metal coins.

The Academy where Patricus taught was marvelous. A massive white building shimmering brightly in the morning light. The images of winged beings and gorgeous women adorned the building.

“These are the goddesses of wisdom and inspiration,” he told me. “They guide us, enlighten us, and give us the power to use our minds.”

I liked the way that sounded. But, these people seemed so soft. They sat all day reading strange markings and copying these markings onto paper. How was I to find a king among these people?

I was left to wander the city alone that afternoon as Patricus taught his pupils. I decided to try to figure out where a hidden Queen might be.

Part VI: Out of The Night I’ve Called My Son

I spent three days combing the streets for the Queen but found no sight of her. Finally, I returned to the Villa to ask Patricus where I should start to look.

“You can’t touch the Queen,” he told me. “She is too fierce to trifle with. It’s rumored that she is hidden away in the City of the Dead, the Necropolis. Her children are with her. But no one can desecrate the City of the Dead!”

“They aren’t my dead,” I shrugged, strapping on my sword and summoning Cullen.

“Why do you wish to see her?” he insisted.

“Her son belongs to my wife,” I told him. “I’ve come to bring him home.”

“What could that mean?” he asked in astonishment. “Surely, he is his mother’s child. Not the child of your wife!”

“It is not your concern,” I told him. “Just tell me where to find them.”

“Let me accompany you,” he insisted, dressing. “I can translate and hopefully prevent a war from breaking out!”

Patricus led us through the dark streets into a valley. There we saw dozens of silent emblems standing in the shadowy night. He told me to remain absolutely silent as he led us to a sarcophagus. He knocked in it several times in a certain rhythm until the lid slid open and a woman sat up.

I felt the hairs on my neck stand on end when I saw her. She was the woman in my dream who said, “Ankh.” I didn’t know what that meant, but I decided to to say it to her.

She was speaking to Patricus in a foreign tongue, when I interjected. She stopped talking and said something to me. Patricus turned to me.

“She said, ‘what?” he told me.

“Ankh,” I said again. Her eyes lit up, and she turned back to Patricus and asked him something.

“She asked me where you heard that,” he translated.

“Tell her I saw it in a vision,” I told him. “I saw her in my vision, and she said this to me.”

Patricus told her this. Her eyes lit up, and she jumped up and ran to the sarcophagus not far from her. She knocked on it several times until it slid open, revealing a young man. He was asleep, and she had to wake him up.

“She is telling her son what you’ve told me,” Patricus told me.

“Who is she?” I asked in astonishment.

“This is the banished Queen, Cleopatra,” Patricus told me. “She tells me that she prayed to the gods to spare her son. It’s been rumored that Julius Ceasar wishes to kill young Helios because his father is Mark Antony.”

“What does the word ‘Ankh’, mean?” I asked him.

“Cleopatra asked the God Hermes to send for a man who knew this word,” Patricus told me. “Whoever greeted her with the word of life will be there to save her child.”

“Ankh means life?” I asked Patricus.

“It is the most ancient of Egyptian words,” he told me reverently. “It’s the word the ancient deities summoned mankind from the Earth with. And it was the code by which Cleopatra would recognize her son’s savior.”

Cleopatra kissed her son before instructing him to come with me. Patricus told the young man that I was to be his father and he would rule my people. Helios, which I came to realize means “Sun,” looked afraid and uncertain. He was only eight years old, but he obeyed his mother.

I placed the young man on my ship and wrapped him in a blanket.

“Hodur,” I told the young man, gesturing to myself. I then gestured to my men and taught Helios their names. He smiled sweetly and said, “Papa?”

I felt my chest swell when he said that word. I hadn’t expected this. I was his father now. My homeland with Aisling would be his home.

“I speak a little of your language,” he said softly. “Patricus was my teacher before we all had to hide. I’m told my father is no longer alive, but then you came. You are my father?”

“I’m your father now, and the Gauls will be your people,” I told him. “I was like you once, without home or people. But, my Sunstone led me home.”

“Sunstone?” he asked, confused.

I handed him the pink stone as my grandfather once did. I folded it in his hand and held it tightly in my own.

“This is a sunstone,” I told him. “No matter where you wander, she will take you home again. She will always reveal the sun.”

“Helios!” he exclaimed happily.

“Yes, Helios,” I smiled.

We set sail from the port of the strange land of Alexander. I’ve never seen a city with so much stone. I’m happy for those people, but they are not my people. My people live in the forests, hidden with the spirits of the forest.

THE END

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I hope you enjoyed this little blending of four cultures! This was an idea I've tossed around for a while and hope it captivated you!

I tried to be as historically accurate as possible. Here are some links to my sources:

The mysterious disappearance of Cleopatra's son, Helios: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Helios#:~:text=Alexander%20Helios%20(Greek%3A%20%E1%BC%88%CE%BB%CE%AD%CE%BE%CE%B1%CE%BD%CE%B4%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82%20%E1%BC%AD%CE%BB%CE%B9%CE%BF%CF%82,sister%20was%20Cleopatra%20Selene%20II.

Use of the Sunstone in Viking navigation: https://www.science.org/content/article/viking-sunstone-revealed#:~:text=The%20Norse%20sagas%20mention%20a,when%20the%20sun%20was%20hidden.

I hope you enjoyed :) I've always loved a good historical mystery, especially regarding the missing son of Cleopatra! :)