Anxiety spread among the tribe, and when the crowd gathered together and chatted, the anxiety became more serious.
They need to go to the priest to get a good answer. Of course, the wily Vilia has already figured this out.
Due to the change in circumstances, Rurik estimated that today's training would either be put on hold or postponed. Because those children must be led by their family members who were left behind like him, and the vast majority of the left-behind members of the tribe would gather at the priest.
.
One gloomy morning, the tribe's most prestigious priest, Vilia, wore a deer-antlered helmet and a deerskin over her thick cotton coat.
Today, she didn't need anyone's help. She appeared in front of the crowd holding a wooden crutch with a string of amber hanging on it.
More than a thousand people gathered in the empty space in front of the priest's large wooden house with a steeple. It was really overcrowded for a while. There were also a large number of people gathering here. Some people didn't know what was going on. People were seen walking towards the priest.
Maybe there will be a grand sacrifice today?
Vilia put on a serious face. She held the crutch in both hands and held it high, signaling everyone to be quiet.
The chattering crowd gradually quieted down, and the women standing at the front looked at the oldest man in the tribe with a responsible expression.
Villa put down his crutches slightly and said in a slightly hoarse voice: "I know why you came. It's about the fleet!"
"Exactly!" A woman wearing an animal skin asked very boldly: "The great priest, my husband and my son all followed the leader on the voyage. Thirty-five days have passed! According to past management,
They should have come back long ago! This time, will they..."
Another woman expressed the same sentiment: "Will they be attacked by those Gotlanders again when they return? We are really worried."
As the number of inquiries gradually increased, the crowd began to become noisy again.
At this time, someone in the crowd suddenly shouted: "Niya is here! Let her go to the front!"
Niya is the wife of the leader Otto, so she enjoys a higher status in the tribe.
Holding their son's hand, Niya and Rurik walked forward, and people around them gave way to them.
Niya finally stood in the front row. She turned around, stretched out her hands to ask everyone to be quiet, and then asked Villa again on behalf of everyone.
"Great Priest, we all want to know when the men will return. I think we need a divination."
Vilia nodded: "Then let's do it!" After that, she asked Niya to come over and whisper a few words in her ear.
Niya had a certain degree of appeal. She ordered the wives and children of the men who were sailing to stay, and the rest of the people left. All those who stayed participated in the divination and sacrifice.
After some simple preparations, nearly a thousand people gathered at the tribe’s altar—the sacred area made of stones piled into a boat shape.
Even after daybreak, the oil lamp was lit again, and the salted fish as a sacrifice was put on the table.
In order to make the tribe more confident in the accuracy of the divination, Welia hurriedly ordered the women who were watching to take out tokens related to their husbands.
As a result, the women took off their amber necklaces one after another, and in the end Vilia only got five pairs.
The most important one is undoubtedly Niya's, which is a priceless necklace strung with amber, sapphires and pearls.
According to the tradition of the Ross tribe, parents will make necklaces for their children. As the children grow older, there will be more decorations on the necklaces.
Not only the Rus tribe, but also the Siyan tribes living in the Svealan Plain in the south, have this tradition.
When boys and girls grow up to the age of marriage, young couples will exchange necklaces, so for them, necklaces are precious things.
Five pairs of necklaces are placed on a wooden tray and placed on the altar.
Vilia signaled all the lower-level priests and onlookers to kneel down. She herself also knelt down beside the altar with her aging body.
She closed her eyes and muttered something. On her right side was the clay pot that reflected Otto's opinion, and the gems for divination had been placed.
So, can Otto and his men return safely?
In fact, for Vilia, she was not worried that Otto and his party would encounter trouble, especially when they encountered a sneak attack from a hostile tribe. After all, it had happened before, and it might happen again now.
Another thing that worries her is that during this voyage, Otto took away many young people from the tribe, so-called taking them to see the world.
After all, they are young people, and their bodies are not strong enough. Will this make the Svego people in Novgorod feel that the Ross tribe is no longer strong?
In any case, Otto must have encountered something, whether it is good or bad, if time continues to drag on, it will inevitably turn into something bad.
Why?
Look at this bad weather! Vilia has lived a long time, and she estimates that it will snow soon. As long as it snows, the days ahead will become colder and colder.
The sea will be frozen, and if they don't return, the results will be catastrophic.
Villa, who was kneeling on the ground, thought of many things, and she had to recite some more prayers to allow her mind to think for a while.
When it comes to relationships, Vilia is really optimistic about "Odin's Blessing" Rurik, and this child is here today. But Rurik is only seven years old, and he has shown many extraordinary talents. After all, he is too young.
If something happens to Otto and his party outside, the tribe will have to elect a new leader.
So who can be as good as Otto? Villa feels that his people simply lack smart people. Among the two thousand warriors of all ages who can participate in the fight, there are only six or seven hundred who are truly elite. Now Otto
Take away 300 elites and more than 200 inexperienced young people to participate in the voyage.
If Otto and his party were lost in the cold winter, the remaining 1,500 warriors would have to choose from the last 300 elites.
Through traditional competitions, it is indeed possible to select a leader who convinces everyone.
However, this leader was only good at fighting. Villa especially remembered that when he was young, the tribal leaders at that time were quite wise, otherwise he would not be able to capture Fort Ross from the Ural people.
The subsequent dozen or so leaders were all very good at fighting, but as a result, they always died in various fights.
Compared with those people, Otto is obviously smarter. Now, Otto is no longer young and strong, but the Rus tribe under his rule has been living smoothly for more than ten years, although it has a relationship with the "Danish" people in Gotland.
Oops, but the tribe and the Siiya people to the south are already brothers.
Think about the future of the tribe with the worst ideas. Once Otto encounters something unexpected, the stable tribe will become restless again. The young and strong among the tribe will desperately compete for the position of leader, and those who lose will also be unruly and extremely dangerous.
He might take his family and fly away. In that case, the stability of the Ross tribe would be gone.
I'm afraid there is only one way.
Villa was glad that Otto's only son Rurik came to the altar, and compared to Otto, Rurik was wiser.
If I can live another ten years, I can witness Rurik grow from a child to a young warrior of the tribe. And by that time, the seventeen-year-old Rurik is full of wisdom, and the fighting talent he showed early will be even better.
of performance.
After a long prayer, Villa felt that his knees were hurting from kneeling, while others had already knelt on him to make themselves feel better.
Finally, after anxious waiting, people saw Villa picking up the clay pot, and the exciting moment finally arrived.
Finally, a red gem was taken out.
In fact, everything has been settled for a long time. For the stability of the tribe, Villa must calm everyone down.
She naturally took out the ruby from the clay pot. Today, this ruby represents "the fleet will return safely as always."
Villa signaled to the two low-level priests, and they quickly helped Villa, whose legs were weak, up.
"Now the results are very clear!"
Vilia was supported by someone, her legs were weak, and she still held up the ruby. "This is Odin's revelation. Odin told us that the fleet will return safely. We must believe that this is the correct revelation, so now we only need to
Do one thing, go and wait quietly! They must be sailing on their way back! I believe that it is probably those Sweg people who paid tribute to us with more treasures, which delayed the fleet for a lot of time. Don't worry.