Leif Erikson

Leif Erikson is a cheerful old sailor from Greenland in Vinland Saga. He is based on the real Norse explorer of the same name, who is believed to have reached North America around the year 1000. In the story, Leif says he has already traveled to Vinland, a distant land far to the west. He loves telling stories about it, and those tales plant a lifelong dream in young Thorfinn.

Leif is warm, hopeful, and very hard to discourage. When young Thorfinn runs off with the mercenary band of Askeladd, hoping for revenge, Leif refuses to give up on him. He spends years searching for the missing boy, and he never loses faith that he will find him one day.

Leif acts like a father to Thorfinn. After he finally tracks him down, he helps bring Thorfinn home. Later, he becomes the young man's supporter and helps his plan to sail west to Vinland and build a peaceful new life there. Along the way, Leif also takes in another orphan, a boy nicknamed Bug-Eyes, whom he rescued from slavery and adopted as his own.