The Ice Schooner: Synopsis

Grafton 1988, Jim Burns

1: Konrad Arflane: An unemployed ice ship captain named Konrad Arflane goes out onto the ice with no real objective and comes across a dying man crawling on the ice. He saves the man on a strange whim and learns that he is Pyotr Rorsefne of Friesgalt, a rival trade nation to Arflane’s own people from Brershill.

2: Ulsenn’s Wife: Arflane brings Rorsefne back to Friesgalt and learns that Rorsefne’s expedition had been thought lost. Rorsefne’s daughter Ulrica invites Arflane to stay at their home but Arflane elects to remain at a tavern after sensing tension with her husband Janek Ulsenn.

3: The Ice Spirit: Arflane is invited to tour Rorsefne’s ice clipper The Ice Spirit. There he is disturbed to learn that one of its officers, an old rival named Hinsen, believes that the ice fields will one day melt away to allow land and sea to return. This theory is in opposition to Arflane’s belief and faith in the Ice Mother and endless cold.

4: The Shipsmasher Hostel: Arflane’s old whaler friend Brenn arrives and they head to the Shipsmasher hostel to unwind. The aristocratic Manfred Rorsefne arrives looking for Arflane at his father’s request, but is brutally-teased by the scoffing whalers. The legendary harpooner Urquart (savage in appearance but later revealed to be Rorsefne’s illegitmate son) breaks up the fight with news of whale sightings on the ice. Arflane returns with the sardonic Manfred to the Rorsefne home.

5: The Rorsefne Household: At breakfast, a sly Manfred convinces Arflane to captain a yacht so that they can participate in the morning whale hunt. Ulrica and her husband also decide to come along. Later Arflane meets with the senior Rorsefne who tells him that he wants Arflane to take The Ice Spirit on a journey to New York and determine if the Earth is dying or is beginning to heat up once again.

6: The Whale Hunt: On Manfred’s pleasure hunt, Arflane tries to keep Manfred’s yacht out of the whalers’ way. After a bull whale destroys Brenn’s ship, Manfred foolishly draws the creature’s attention and his own ship is also destroyed. Arflane saves Ulrica’s life.

7: The Funeral on the Ice: The elder Rorsefne suddenly dies and a funeral ritual is held for him on the ice.

8: Rorsefne’s Will: Rorsefne’s will proclaims that Arflane must journey to New York before his proceeds can be distributed to his children. Arflane and Ulrica give in to their passionate but forbidden love.

Harper & Row 1977, Melvyn Grant

9: Ulrica Ulsenn’s Conscience: The next day Ulrica’s husband Ulsenn states that, despite his injuries from the whale hunt, he intends to join Ulrica and Manfred on the journey to New York. In private, Ulrica tells Arflane that their fling was a mistake and pushed him away.

10: Konrad Arflane’s Mood: Ulrica’s rejection puts Arflane in a terrible mood which makes him unduly harsh on his sailors as they prepare for the trip north to New York. Eventually, the Rorsefnes (including the harpoon warrior Urquart) board The Ice Spirit and the ship prepares to set sail.

11: Under Sail: When the ship gets underway, Arflane’s foul mood lifts, much to the relief of the crew. Ulsenn tries to intimidate Arflane but fails.

12: Over the Edge: Arflane becomes unsure of his faith in the Ice Mother and the world’s icy destiny, but Urquart insists that they will find the Ice Mother as she is said to reside in New York. The ship has some trouble navigating down the far side of a great ice slope, but Arflane increases speed to help the ship break through. This act also saves them when a crevasse appears and the ship’s great speed miraculously propels it over the gap. Arflane bonds with Urquart, while his unhappy 1st Mate Petchnyoff becomes closer to Ulsenn.

13: The Harpoon: When the ship is immobilized on the ice with no wind to push its sails, a mutiny begins brewing until Arflane tells the men that they are heading to New York. Ulsenn tries to mock the idea, but Urquart throws his harpoon at him, narrowly missing him. Later, the ship hits an ice break, causing it to lean into the water.

14: The Ice Break: The men manage to use grappling hooks and ice pegs to prevent the ship from falling completely into the water. Arflane learns that his chart has been tampered with, causing the misadventure with the ice break. Ulsenn confesses to the act after he is guaranteed no punishent.

15: Urquart’s Fear: When the ship passes near some active volcanoes, Urquart freezes in terror. The next day he feels that he has offended the Ice Mother with his weakness and offers a blood sacrifice. Arflane sends out a hunting party to look for supplies as they clean the ship of the volcanic ash.

16: The Attack: Ulrica informs Arflane that Ulsenn is planning to assassinate him on his next watch. While Ulrica stays in his cabin, Arflane goes up to the deck to face Ulsenn but the ship is suddenly attacked by white-furred barbarians firing flame arrows (drawn back to the ship by the returning hunting party). Despite casualties (including Petchnyoff) the barbarians are repelled. Afterwards Arflane confronts Ulsenn and has him confined to his quarters.

17: The Pain: Ulrica feels remorse at what her illicit relationship with Arflane has done to Ulsenn. Arflane treats an injury sustained in the barbarian attack. Urquart disapproves of Arflane’s now open relationship with Ulrica.

Dell 1978, Boris Vallejo

18: The Fog: In the following weeks, Arflane becomes withdrawn, although he and Ulrica continue their relationship, at times miserably. A fog causes the entire crew to become listless and depressed.

19: The Light: Manfred confronts Arflane about his lack of leadership, and as the fog lifts Arflane attempts to restore confidence in the crew. A suspicious Urquart believes that Arflane has become of puppet of Manfred and Ulrica.

20: The Green Birds: The crew come across a herd of whales. Urquart leads the attack and several whales are killed and harvested. Green albatrosses pick at the skeletal whale remains and eye Arflane warily.

21: The Wreck: When the ship is temporarily halted for repairs barbarians attack again. They are repelled but Hinsen is killed. As Arflane recklessly navigates through a glacier canyon, the crew panics and beg Arflane to slow down. When Arflane defies them a mutiny breaks out. After the mutiny is quelled Arflane realizes that the ship will not make it through the last crevasse. Despite dropping anchor the ship is destroyed by falling ice.

22: The Trek: Arflane becomes defensive about the wreck, but insists that the survivors continue on to New York on skis salvaged from the wreckage of the ship. A few days later more white-fur clad barbarians on bears attack and Arflane is knocked unconscious.

23: The Rites of the Ice Mother: While the rest of The Ice Spirit survivors are held prisoner, Urquart makes a deal with the barbarians to sacrifice two of “noble blood” in order to satisfy the Ice Mother in order to halt the melting of the ice (the barbarians explain that the melting of the southern region has driven them north). Urquart reveals that because the elder Rorsefne had abandoned him on the ice to die as a baby, he has sworn vengeance on Rorsefne and his children. He offers Manfred and Ulrica to the barbarians. Manfred is castrated and eventually dies, but before Ulrica is harmed Ulsenn rushes the guards, and Arflane is able to kill Urquart with his own harpoon. The barbarians are satisfied with the sacrifices of Manfred and Urquart (also of noble blood).

24: New York: Arflane, Ulrica, Ulsenn and the barbarians (led by a youth named Donal and a fat priest) continue north to New York. When they arrive they find that that the city is strangely heated. A descending platform brings them down to an underground level which is lit by the light coming through its transparent plastic “ice roof” (initially mistaken by Arflane to be a continuation of the ice landscape). Ulsenn and the barbarians panic at this apparent offence against the Ice Mother. When Arflane realizes that they blame him for this terror, he and Ulrica flee into the city. When Ulsenn catches up to them, Arflane is forced to kill his newfound-but-brief ally. A red-masked stranger appears and welcomes Arflane to New York.

Sphere 1972, Eddie Jones

25: The Truth: The stranger introduces himself as Peter Ballantine. He explains that after a nuclear war the Earth had returned to an ice age in order to heal itself. Human survivors from research bases in the Arctic and Antarctic had survived and formed new communities. The ones in the south had developed a culture embracing the cold in the Eight Cities and learned to hunt genetically-modified sea whales. The Arctic society had defied the cold with technology and eventually created a heated, underground city in New York. Arflane is stricken with this revelation and feels that in some way his “false” behavior over the last few months (including adultery and the murder of his spiritual companion Urquart) has been a betrayal of the Ice Mother, leading to this alien, unacceptable reality. Ballantine tells Arflane that the barbarians will not understand this truth and so will need to be “adjusted” by hypnomats (from “The Deep Fix”).

26: North: Ballantine hopes that Ulrica and Arflane will return to the Eight Cities and help the people adjust to the warming Earth, and prevent them from panicking. Ulrica is excited by this idea, but Arflane states that he condemns their immoral relationship, and that he plans to give himself to the Ice Mother.

Epilogue: As Ulrica boards a helicopter to take her back to Friesgalt (and the barbarians head south to spread their new gospel to their people), Arflane heads north alone on his skis to seek the Ice Mother.

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