The Visit

A lost world adventure with a twist. The lost world actually existed right in the middle of the United States.Jorunn, a teenage Viking farm girl in Newfoundland, skips out aboard a small Viking trading vessel ahead of her marriage to a Viking warlord. He chases her and her new boyfriend, Einar, deep into Pre-Columbian North America. They manage to get to Cahokia, the major city of the ancient Mississippian Culture. Cahokia was the largest city to exist in North America before colonial Philadelphia. The ruins of the central plaza of Cahokia survive today, just across the river from St. Louis.Eight hundred years ago the Mississippian Culture was a significant force in the upper Mississippi Valley. The Mississippians left no written language. They were a hierarchal society with a powerful aristocracy and a hereditary authoritarian ruler. The central plaza was used for religious events, feasts and raucous festivals that lasted for days. Theatricals that included public human sacrifice were also performed.Many people, including many archaeologists, believe the Mississippians were an offshoot of the Mesoamerican civilizations in Mexico.When the little Viking band arrives in Cahokia the city is being ruled by the Crown Prince. He is handsome, intelligent, charming and utterly ruthless. He is also unpopular and feared and there are aristocrats plotting against him.But the Crown Prince himself is playing hardball behind the scenes, and he has his own plans for the visiting Vikings. Also, the coming theatrical featuring human sacrifice will need a cast.