After the death of his father, Svyatoslav I, ruler of Kievan Rus, the young Viking prince Vladimir is forced into exile across the frozen sea in Sweden to escape his treacherous half-
brother Yaropolk, who has murdered his other brother Oleg and conquered the Viking territory of Kievan Rus. The old warrior Sveneld convinces Vladimir to assemble a Varangian armada(naval fleet), hoping to reconquer Kiev from Yaropolk and ultimately face the mighty Byzantine forces.
