Be sure to read the previous chapters!
Chapter I
Chapter II
Chapter III
Chapter IV
Chapter V
Chapter VI
Chapter VII

The night is dark and still.

The endless expanse of space stretches far and wide beyond the deck of your ship. A sea of stars washes around the fleet, swathes of flickering light amidst an eternal night so deep and cold. The silence of the void has pressed through the shields, blanketing the ship and its crew. As you sit on the prow, eyes sightlessly peering through the shadows ahead, you know this same stillness has overcome the entirety of the fleet.

Everything is set. All the preparations made, the new mechanics tested as thoroughly as possible. The jump coordinates have been entered; all that remains is the signal from the Sleipnir.

The massive command ship sits quiet in the midst of the fleet.

For now, in these precious moments before launching into the unknown, it is the time for peace and reflection. Now is the time to pause and consider your life, your choices, your path. To determine the depths of your resolve, to make the choice of whether or not to continue. Each soul aboard must look inside themselves and pursue the calling of their own path.

Ahead lies the ultimate uncertainty - a nigh impossible journey through the unexplored dangers of a black hole. What awaits you, you could never begin to guess. Even the Snake Clan Vikings have no idea what awaits on the other side, if it exists, or what the journey entails.

And so each of you sits in silence, lost in the seas of your mind.

The risk is great, but the reward… is Valhalla.

Welcome back to Chapter VIII of the Epic Quest - Valhalla!

Here’s how the Epic Quest works: I will host an activity each month that plays into the story being told. You’ll earn small prizes for each activity you complete - like points, HPD, or cash shop items. You’ll also earn XP points, and the player with the most XP points at the end of the year - December 2021 - will win the grand prize:
1. This fully coded layout (currently a WIP) and
2. Matching animal CSS and
3. A 1-year upgrade!

Participate in the Epic Quest activity every month of the year, and you’ll earn a special prize:
1. An official HP achievement and
2. A store pair with 100k points.

If you haven't joined yet but would like to, check out Chapter I to figure out how to create your Viking! You need to message me with a clan, a specialty, and a name - then you can join one of the crews below!

If you have any questions about the quest, prizes, or how it works, don’t hesitate to message me!

CONTEMPLATION

Before you begin your journey into the unknown, you must take the time to settle your thoughts and motives, to make peace with the path you’ve chosen to walk. This is something that can only be done alone - there will be no collective crew rewards for this Chapter.

Your task? Reply to this forum thread with something you are thankful for, something that makes you happy, something that brings you contentment. You can reply in character or as yourself, and you can reply up to 10 times a day.

Each reply will earn you 1 XP point.

The catch is that you cannot double post - you must wait until another Viking has posted their contemplative thought before posting another of yours. Also, you cannot post the same thing twice.

You may post your thoughts until 11:59 pm HP time on Sunday, Nov. 28th.

REMINISCENCE

Message me up to two choices you’ve made or events that have happened to you that were very important to you. Make sure these are HP appropriate events/choices that you are ok with other HPers knowing about. 

You can choose events that happened here on HP or in real life. You can also choose to make up these choices or events as things that have happened to your character, rather than real things that happened to you.

For each event/choice you message me, you will earn 5 XP points.

You have until 11:59 pm HP time on Sunday, Nov. 28th to message me.

PRIZES:
Each contemplative reply to this forum thread - 1 XP point.
Each event/choice messaged to me - 5 XP points.
BONUS: Message me the HP animal you are proudest of training for 10k points (that can go on any animal you want, not limited to the one you send me).

FIND YOUR CALM BEFORE THE STORM, VIKINGS

I am thankful for Prynne. So much fun to talk to, and a genuinely nice person. You are amazing.

I am thankful for my friends. While I have very few, the ones that I do have have stood by me and held me up when I wasn't strong enough to hold myself up. They never pushed, poked, or proded for information / details I wasn't ready to give up just yet - they were just there for me when no one else was and they waited for me to be ready.

I am thankful for my two littlest kitties (who are going to be 2 soon, so... not very little), Dill and Relish. They came home with me during the summer, and fit right in. They are such cuddle bugs, and I lvoe them so much.

I am thankful for my little family. While things are a lot different this year than I thought they would be, I am so glad that I have the little family that I have.

I am thankful for my little brother. He joined the army last year, so I've only seen him once in two years (and he hasn't met his youngest nephew yet, who is 9 months already!), but he's such an awesome person. I miss him!

I am so thankful for Nekkers and all she does for me

Rosa is awesome, Rosa is fine, Rosa didn't write this...

Something that brings me contentment is being able to listen to Josh Groban and all of the amazing songs he's sung over the years. (I know you were waiting on me to say something about Josh Jaya! :p)

Just sitting in nature. I haven't been able to go alone for a while, but I plan on doing that more in 2022. The silence of all things humans while being surround by all the sounds of nature. -drools-

For amberellie being willing to buy as many paint images as I feel like making. It's giving me something to do this week. I'm having a very stressful week and this is giving me a calming activity to focus on and maybe forget the stressful stuff (at least temporarily).

Something that makes me happy is putting up the Christmas lights and letting the room glow with all its pretty colors!

Food! Because inflation is getting insane!

Something I'm thankful for is my eyesight and what I have left of it. Been a lifelong struggle but at least I can see some and am super thankful for that!

Contentment in being able to return to a warm home after a day out in the cold taking care of horses 💚

My son! He keeps me busy. But I'm a stay home mom so I get bored with nothing to do. I would be extremely bored all day every day if I didn't have him while my husband was working. He so cute! Spitting image of his Daddy in more ways than one. He makes me laugh!

I am thankful for the new blanket I got as an early Christmas gift last night. It's king-sized, and SO FUZZY and warm. Love.

That my father and his girlfriend are willing to give me their extra run in shed and buy the electric fencing for me for Christmas. We're looking at possibly moving my horse to our property and this helps a lot with the cost of the setup.

I am thankful that tomorrow is Thanksgiving, and my husband gets 4 days off of work.

This morning, I am thankful for the LONG weekend I am about to have. I just have to make it through today and then I'm off until Monday 

I am thankful for the bread that I have baking in the oven right now. My house smells divine!

Blitz! For taking over HP and keeping it up and running so smoothly (with the help of her amazing team of course)