Leif Ericson

Leif Erikson (レイフ・エリクソン) is a famous traveler. He was a close friend to Thors Snorresson and later with his son, Thorfinn. He is one of the few to have made it to Vinland.

He joins Thorfinn in his journey to settle in Vinland.

Appearance


In his original appearance, Leif looked rather normal for his age, being 37, however upon his reintroduction in 1014, at age 50, he had gone completely bald on the top of his head, his hair had turned gray, and he had developed major wrinkles on his entire face. His eyebrows also seem to have shrunk.

During 1021 he had aged severely, and supposedly aged even more drastically over the course of the prior summer, especially. He had more wrinkles, and age spots on his head. His mustache had also started to droop down, and his eyebrows also have appeared to get even smaller. After getting shot in the leg with an arrow during the Baltic Sea War, he now also has trouble walking, and requires a walking cane. Even with the cane he is visibly shaking just by standing.

Personality
Back in the past when Thorfinn was a young kid, Leif kept boasting that he’s a great warrior, however, people’s opinions of him say that he’s just a child with a beard and is useless in battle.

After Thors died, Leif blamed himself and made it his mission to find Thorfinn, who went missing and bring him back to his hometown. This continued for over a decade, showing how much Leif would go for a person he cares about and how he doesn't go back on his word, making him a loyal and kind-hearted person.

History
"That’s when I found it. A new world, full of ripe fruit and rippling plains. I built a cottage upon this new land and called it… Vinland."

- Leif Ericson, telling his story

Shortly after Leif moved to Greenland, his ship got trapped in an ice floe in a bay near Brattal for an entire month. After they quickly ran out of food and their ship was crushed by the ice, they decided they had to try to escape via walking on the ice. After walking for two nights, Leif realized he was alone and the other 6 in his crew had died.

He journeyed the seas for many years, and eventually discovered a huge landmass, which he named Vinland. He made friends with the natives, and told stories of his tales to the children in his village, including Thorfinn.

War Arc
In 1002, when Thors was summoned to go to war by the Jomsvikings and Floki, Leif joined him, along with several young men, including Ari. They planned to drop everyone except Thors off once they had landed in Norway, and Leif would bring all the young men back home after doing his trading business in Norway. However, after Askeladd ambushed them and murdered Thors, Thorfinn went missing. Leif then spent the next 12 years searching for Thorfinn, in honour of Thors’ memory and as a close friend to him.

He finally came across Thorfinn in York in 1014, however Thorfinn was still blinded by rage and hatred, and he did not go with Leif, but instead stayed with Askeladd. They parted ways again after Thorfinn was sold into slavery as punishment for attacking Canute, and then Leif continued searching for Thorfinn yet again for several more years, up until he found him on Ketil’s farm in 1018. During those several years he adopted a son, who is also named Thorfinn but more commonly called Bug-Eyes, even by his own father.

After they left Ketil’s farm and journeyed back to Iceland, Leif proposed the idea of selling the Narwhal horns that Halfdan had just given them in Miklagrad, Greece, in order to get gold to be able to make the trip to Vinland. They all agreed, and set sail on their journey. Eventually, Thorfinn is approached by Floki’s men in order to become the next leader of the Jomsvikings, however Thorfinn refuses. They then attempt to leave immediately, however they are quickly followed by Floki’s men. This prompts Thorfinn to propose that they split up, so they do. They agree to meet up in a town named Odense in four days time, however, Thorfinn still hadn’t appeared after seven days. Leif seems mildly worried about that fact.

Trivia

 * Leif the character and his nickname, "Leif The Lucky", were based on the real life viking explorer Leif Erikson. Leif is said to be the first man to set foot in North America, arriving in around 1000 C.E., almost 5 centuries before Christopher Columbus.