When we raid we are Viking

This is the story of the first Viking raids upon the shores of Saxon England and the shock that these raids caused throughout the land.
The story follows two men. One a Viking Jarl, the other a Saxon Ealdorman. One raids, plunders, and murders, whilst the other seeks to find a way of countering these raids. But the abbeys and churches that have been built upon isolated sites along the eastern coastline of Saxon England are numerous and undefended, and so these religeous sites prove to be easy targets for the Viking raiders who arrive from across th esea and plunder and kill at will the only defence against these raiders is the unshakable belief in the Christian god interfering and defending the chiristian sites as well as striking down these sea raiders.

But this belief would prove false as these christians fell before the Norse men who wielded their Axes, swords, and spears and seem to kill without a qualm again and again.
The story opens in 793 AD and the first raid on the island of Lindisfarne off of the north coast of the Kingdom of Northumbria, and this one raid shook the christian world in its savagery and wanton destruction. The king of Northumbria was convinced that these raiders had stumbled upon the holy island after being blown off course during a storm. As no seaman could cross the stormy sea west. The all powerful church was in agreement with the king and they convinced everybody that this raid was a one off raid and was a punishment from god for the sin that was present within the land and that showing the peasants the errosr of their ways and activly seeking out the sinners God would once more surly protect them.
They were wrong!
The following year these raiders returned in greater numbers and raided seemingly at will and the Saxons had no answers and could not stop these lightning raids upon their churches, villages and farmsteads as these raiders sailed all around the coast with impunity and they had also started to raid the land of the Irish.
Could the Saxons bring these raiders to a decisive battle? Or were they forever to chase these ghosts up and down their coasts? As for the past two years they had always appeared to be one step behind the raiders and their Thanes only arrived at the raided site in time to bury the bodies.
This is book one, and the second book will deal with further raids and culminate in the first small scale invasions of Saxon England which would be for the taking and holding of swaths of land rather than just plunder.

I have tried to keep the story as accurate to the time period as possible. But apart from the 'Sagas' and 'Anglo Saxon Chronicle,' as well as a few church writings (Bede etc.) little is known of this time as it was before Alfred Became King of Wessex and records were then kept by the scribes of Wessex.
I have attached a glossary however rather than call the Vikings by the myriad of ranks that their warriors attained I have tried to keep it simple by calling all of their warriors Thegns whilst the Anglo Saxon warriors are Thanes. Berserkers and Wolfskins are included only briefly in this story and they will come to the fore in book two.