Jon had been on boats before, just fishing and not ever on the open ocean. The rocking of the boat on the waves sometimes made men sick over the sides of the boats. Jon had no such incidents, as he had a pleasant time listening to the warriors on the boat sharing stories of war. One man had asked Jon about his scar, to which Jon told him it was just a pack of wolves and one had clawed his face from his Spring trial.
"A pack of wolves and you are still here, eh? What makes you so special, child?!" the man exclaimed as his brother was lost long ago to a pack of vicious wolves during his Spring trial almost 10 years ago.
Not liking his attitude, Jon stood on the top deck of the bobbing ship, got right in the man's face, looked him in the eyes and transformed into a bear right in front of him. As soon as the transformation finished, Jon looked down at the tiny man, and roared as loud as he could, strings of foamy saliva flying from his open maw.
The man turned pale upon seeing him turn into a bear and judging by the smell coming from him, he needed a pair of fresh trousers. The man, who was judging Jon almost fainted on the spot. Releasing his transformation, Jon shrunk back down to his normal size, which was still almost half a foot taller than the man. "I am special because I am a Berskaggr, do not ever forget that." Jon said in a dry tone, obviously upset with the man.
As he sat down his father looked at him and smiled. He did not say anything else that day, and the man refused to go anywhere near Jon for fear he would become his lunch. Inwardly, Jon was happy with himself and the reaction of the man. At least this happened in public, as people would now think twice before pushing him around.
It would take a month on the ocean to reach their destination with fair winds and no incidents, but first they needed to make it to the Jarl's fleet. Following the stars, they joined up with the fleet of over 100 ships within a week of leaving home. As they changed directions, they headed West towards what the Northmen call "The Golden Isles".
As the days turned to weeks, Jon was amazed at how vast the beautiful blue ocean actually was. Everywhere he looked, he saw blue crystal water, which gleamed in the sun's light. It was one of the most beautiful sights he had ever witnessed. He was happy to share this time with his father, as he learned so much more about him and the hardships he faced on these raids. Glorious tales of combat made Jon feel anxious, but also excited at the same time. Glory would be his as long as he could survive long enough to grasp it.
As a few more weeks passed by, Jon was beginning to wonder how long he had actually been on the seas, as a new seaman, he did not keep track of the days or direction he was going. Jon was completely lost if he fell overboard he would not even know which way to swim. He hoped to put his feet on solid ground very soon.
Jon's wish would be answered much sooner than he anticipated. The very next day, he heard a loud horn being blown from a ship ahead of his. Very soon, all of the ships were blowing their horns in response as Jon stood up from his seat. Just on the horizon, he saw a small dot appear. Jon was excited as he knew this was probably the land they were searching for.
As the ships got closer, he saw that the land looked similar to his home lands. The land was hilly and green, with a sheer multi colored rock face against the ocean. The view was breathtaking as all the men stood with excitement and grabbed one another by the shoulders, shaking each other and screaming. It was definitely a scene of horror for the people of these lands. For the Northmen, they were ready to make landfall and raid the villages, blood thirst in many of the men's eyes.
Within the hour, all of the ships had made landfall. The men hurriedly got the supplies off of the ships and made camp on the beach preparing a scouting party to go out immediately.