The elders of the tribe praised Otto's actions, which will bring new development to the tribe.
The young people of the tribe can't wait for spring to arrive early so that the poor young men in the tribe can follow the leader Otto to Novgorod to try to find their mate.
Thirty Sveg women from Novgorod joined the tribe, which made most people think of a wonderful picture of the future.
If anyone is worried about the future, it is the extremely small number of tribal priests.
Because the Ross tribe, like other Vikings, the great god in their minds is Odin.
Those Novgorod people did not believe in Odin, but believed in other lower-level gods, such as river gods, mountain gods, marsh gods, and even sea gods.
In the Eastern European world and extreme Northern Europe where the Frankish Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire had a vacuum, local residents believed that all things had animism.
Whether they are Viking tribes or Slavic tribes, after all, they live in a more difficult environment, so they are naturally full of awe for everything in the world.
Therefore, mountains and rivers are endowed with a mysterious cloak, as if they all have their own protective gods.
Two different ethnic groups have different creation gods in their legends, but in this regard, the Vikings' belief is probably more legendary. In fact, their belief in Odin, Thor and Loki, such as Valhalla
The three major beliefs are the core of its "combat culture".
If they no longer believe in Valhalla, the Viking values that view death in battle as a virtue will inevitably disintegrate.
The men of the Ross tribe all believe in Valhalla. The environment is such that even if some people have doubts, they cannot reveal their doubts.
So does the most convincing old priest Vilia believe all this?
Of course she believes it! Especially with the achievements of leader Otto over the years, and the increasingly different traits Rurik is beginning to show now, she becomes more and more convinced of Valhalla.
But she did have doubts, especially that Odin would not go out of his way to interfere in mortal affairs. Even Odin's envoys, the Valkyries, would only inspect and patrol the sky in winter.
Vilia cannot show any behavior that questions her faith. She must maintain the cultivation of a pious person, because thousands of Rus people need this faith that can unite each other.
Except for those women from Novgorod who came from afar.
Maybe times are really going to change!
In a sense, Priest Vilia is the first realistic female leader of the Ross tribe. If she were not a woman, she would most likely become the true leader of the tribe.
She is very smart. By mastering knowledge, controlling history, and cooperating with the leader, when the leader is away, the tribe still maintains peace and quiet under her supervision. Unlike some Siyaman tribes in the south, the leader goes on an expedition for many days.
, there might be a fire in the backyard.
But those Novgorod women married into the tribe, and the young people admired the beauty of those women, and marveled that they only needed to run to the hillside and spend some effort to search and dig out some amber rough stones, and brought them to Novgorod.
He can easily hold a beautiful woman back.
Vilia can feel the changes in the collective psychology of the people after this autumn. I am afraid that she cannot change the power of the group alone, and it is impossible for Vilia to issue any order to prohibit intermarriage between the tribe and Novgorod.
.Once you say something wrong, you will be opposed by your tribe, or even abandoned.
In the foreseeable future, those Novgorod women will have mixed descendants. As mothers of their children, they will not only teach the mixed-race Rus boys the Novgorod language, but also teach them the Novgorod language.
De's mountain god, water god, etc.
In this way, the result of long-term intermarriage is destined to be two ethnic groups, one among you and one among me.
Originally, the Ross tribe broke away from the Siiya people sixty years ago and went to the northern mountains to expel the locals to occupy the area. The relative isolation of the environment has made the relationship between the Ross tribe and the southern Siiya people increasingly diluted.
Gradually, the Rus tribe merged into the Novgorod bloodline. Perhaps a hundred years later, the Siyan people in the south will no longer recognize the Rus tribe as their relatives.
But that will be a long time ago!
Welia had no choice. Her tribe didn't understand it at all, nor were they willing to understand the tribe's history. Moreover, she was the only one among the tribe members who had witnessed the Ross tribe's northward migration more than sixty years ago.
Today's young boys are eager for wealth, eager to fight, and even more eager for beautiful and virtuous wives.
Their thoughts are very simple. They don't care too much about whether the Ross tribe continues to develop or whether it is pure. They just hope to pursue their own happiness with the great leader.
At the meeting between Otto and the elder priests, Villa told the leader Otto, who claimed to have made great achievements, exactly what he was worried about.
What she got was Otto's outright disapproval.
"Let's not talk about ourselves. I see that some people in Novgorod have new intentions. They are eager to cooperate with us for a longer period of time. There is no problem here at all whether we will be us in the future or not. We
We don’t know much about our past, so why worry about the future? Our children always long for a happier life.”
The oil lamps in the long room with the priest's steeple suddenly started to beat, and the hearts of the people in the room were also touched.
Villa was silent for a moment.
She paused for a while and then said: "Otto, you have seen those records. They are the records of our tribe. They represent our clear past."
Otto shook his head: "It only means that we are from the south and have the same ancestor as our allies. But what about the older ones? We don't know. Even..."
Otto calmed down and said something very bold: "Since we came here from the south to build Fort Ross, do we have to stay here forever? In fact, you and I both understand that it is too cold here and we cannot leave for the time being.
But our children, they may leave. Maybe our ancestors were further south, and so were our allies. Everyone slowly migrated to where we are now. Since we have migrated before, we can continue to migrate in the future.
There is no question whether we are Rus' or not. We name ourselves after our oars, or something else. The Novgorodians call us and our allies Visitors from the Gulf, the Franks call us plainly, and the Danes.
He's from the north.
It’s already very difficult for us to simply survive here, so why bother with something?”
Some of the elders of the tribe are just older. In fact, Otto was also very old. He lived to be fifty years old and made many achievements as leader.
Here, the two most powerful "old men" in the tribe questioned each other, but the others really didn't have the courage to speak, so they had to continue to wait and see.
Vilia was silent and thought for a moment, feeling very uneasy inside.
Otto's words seem to be saying that the Ross tribe only needs to survive. As long as the tribe can live proudly, everything is fine.
"But our faith! Maybe... the only thing that can prove that we are who we are is the Valhalla we believe in." Villa's eyes were full of complex emotions, and she looked directly at Otto.
"Hehe." Otto smiled softly: "Perhaps, the only thing that can prove us is that we are favored by Valhalla. No matter where we are, the Valkyrie will select the best people from our tribe.
After his death, he entered Valhalla as a heroic spirit. This will never change. Even if our young people and those Novgorod women give birth to new warriors, the Valkyrie will also choose the brave ones among them impartially.
Doing the same things as always.”
These words made Vilia very fond of hearing: "If so, it is the best. My dear leader, your son Rurik, you understand what he has done these days. You and I are already old.
, the future belongs to these children. Rurik will become the new leader when he grows up. I hope that our children will always worship Valhalla. Only in this way, the Valkyrie will not leave us. Next...
…”
Vilya paused again: "Those women are from Novgorod and are tributes to us. They are not our Rus! We must hold a wedding for all the new couples on Frige Day, and we must
Do this late at night, under the light of Aurora. Believe me, only by doing this can those women be noticed by the wandering Valkyries, and the children they give birth to may be recognized."
Otto nodded with satisfaction: "I am worried about this matter, but you are so considerate, great priest."
"That's right. You don't have to worry about the rest. What you have to do is inform all the newcomers about the steps of the ceremony. You know this very well. Regarding the sacrifice, this is a big ceremony. I have prepared five deer.
If you worship Odin in this way, you will definitely see it. As for whether Odin will bring happiness or disaster, it will all depend on one year later."
"This...how do you say this?" Otto asked doubtfully?
"It's a simple truth. Those women can give birth to children safely, which means Valhalla recognizes us."
"Ah! I understand. I hope our measures will be recognized by them."
"There is nothing else." Villa said slowly: "After the wedding, I will personally educate Rurik. He is destined to be our future leader. He must be educated when we are still young.
While both are still alive, we will gain all the knowledge we have. I hope you will encourage him even more when you go back!"