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'm thankful for chistmas music! I know it's only Thanksgiving today, but I love Christmas music.

People still sell real trees for christmas and everyone hasn't transitioned to artificial yet. I love real trees!

I am thankful for my soon to be hubby who was so dissapointed he couldn't buy me the wedding ring I wanted as its sold out so he went above and beyond to try and find it elsewhere

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

I am thankful for bacon. I mean. Bacon is pretty great.

I'm thankful to have my grandmother's green jello salad recipe so we can have it for thanksgiving dinner every year even now that she's passed. She's still with us at thanksgiving even though she's not with us.

Something that brings me contentment is when other people enjoy the food I make. I otherwise hate cooking, but the end result is nice, haha!

To have a fireplace with a woodstove insert in my house. I love fires so I love being able to have fires in the winter. Fire heat is so much warmer than furnace heat.

I am grateful to be warm and inside on such a cold evening when I know others arent as lucky as me

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

Something that makes me happy is rain! Ever since moving out here the lack of it has me struggling. Whenever we do end up getting a little shower which has been months apart I turn into a kid in a candy store happy!

I am thankful for snuggling, especially on a cold, dreary day.

I am grateful for my hubby to be who has gone out to get takeaway so I can concentrate on my essay without the stress of day to day life

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

I am thankful for my warm pair of slippers. Nothing is cozier than slipping into them when I come home.

I am thankful for my dog walker agreeing to take Indie over Christmas so I know he is warm and safe while I visit family who are sadly allergic to dogs

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

I am thankful for technology, that allows us to communicate with family (and friends) who are far away from us on holidays like this!

For my bed! I'm staying the night at my father's for thanksgiving and I dont sleep well here at all because the spare bed here is so hard it's not funny.

I am thankful for being a stay at home mom. It is the hardest job I have ever done, but I wouldn't have it any other way.

My hamster and my parakeet. I'd much rather have a dog but my husband is really not a dog person (or an animal person in general for that matter). So I'll take what I can get.

Something I am thankful for is the ability to help others. Might not be able to help with finances, but am able to use my strength for lifting thousands of pounds of food goods weekly for our food bank.

My teaching education so I have the qualifications to homeschool my own child.

Something that brings me contentment is spending time in the saddle. Enjoying the moments shared with whichever horse I am working with at the time.