Need ideas to reinforce a theme

With the caveat that I have never played your game before, here is some off-the-cuff feedback, after following the link that you provided, and after clicking on various other links that I found on the Board Game Geek website that deal with your game.

1. Comparing the black and white map of your game in an early phase, to the colored map that it presently uses, I certainly concede that the color map is a much better choice to go with than the black and white map. That said, you might want to consider revamping the map, or even making a new map for it, altogether. Even in color form, the map lacks pizzazz. It doesn't grab my eye. It doesn't retain my attention. It doesn't even rise to the level of a standard fare Risk map. It's just big chunks of landmass that are the visual equivalent of "blah." It is largely green with brown coastlines, and strikes me as rather stale and uninteresting.

2. A minor point, to be certain, but why not move the copyright info from the center of the map, if you re-do the board?

3. Stackable chits can be annoying, but they may be integral to your game. I don't know what they represent (Armies? Individual warriors?), so replacing them may be inappropriate. They are not visually tempting nor visually inspiring, however. Perhaps they are functional, but they don't strike me as adding a lot of visual flavor.

4. There are no viking figures or longship figures that I see. There needs to be. I see the ships on the board, itself, but that's not the same thing, from my perspective as a prospective player.

5. Vikings sailed far and wide. Your map doesn't give that impression to the casual looker.

6. I associate conquests with loot. Neither are immediately evident, from browsing the images.

7. Because the map is so generic in nature, I don't associate it with any specific viking conquests of old. If you are after enhancing the historical aspect, then do the grunt work to obtain the historical details. If, however, you are after imbuing the game with more viking-esque flavor, then the historical aspect can be less detail-specific. Do you want the player to relive history, or do you want them to feel more like a viking?

8. What are the consequences of viking conquest? Maybe the game takes that into account and deals with it. Just looking at the selection of photos posted, however, I just don't think "viking empire" by looking at them.

Vikings made excursions as far as Iceland, Greenland and Vinland (Newfoundland, in Canada), and probably dropped in on some African and Mediterranean coastal settlements as well. Including these sites in your game--perhaps at the fringes, literally or figuratively--would add greater diversity to the content and possibly open new play avenues as well.

Also, I vaguely recall once stumbling upon a website with a collection of dictionaries of "dead" and ancient languages--including Norse. My stupid: I can't remember how I found it now. Good luck with that.

But, not just generic - It is also very bland.

Not to be difficult, but why can't it be semi-historical viking themed?

You don't need characters within the game to use their names.
For instance, you could have a city named "Odin's Castle" or a village named "Tribes of Thor", etc.

I say use the rich and vast history and mythology that already exists for vikings.