Anxiety spread among the tribe. 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 understood this.
Due to changes in circumstances, Rurik estimates that today’s training will either be put on hold or postponed. Because those children must be led by their family members who were left behind just like him, the vast majority of the left-behind people in the tribe will gather at the priest.
One gloomy morning, the tribe’s most prestigious priest, Vilia, wore a deer-antler helmet and a deerskin over her thick cotton coat.
Today, she did not need anyone's support. 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 steeple-roofed wooden house, and it was really overcrowded for a while. There are still a large number of people gathering here. Some people don't know what is going on. People are seen walking towards the priest. Maybe there is a grand sacrifice today?
Villa 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. The women standing at the front looked at the oldest old 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 The woman wearing animal skins asked very boldly: "The great priest, my husband and my son have followed the leader on the voyage. Thirty-five days have passed! According to past management, they should have come back long ago! This Once again, 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 people asking questions gradually increased, the crowd began to make noise 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 is in the tribe enjoys a higher status.
Holding their son’s hand, Niya and Rurik walked forward, and the people around them gave way.
Niya finally stood in the front row. She turned around, stretched out her hands to ask everyone to be quiet, and then asked Wei Liya 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 his ear.
Niya has a certain appeal. She asked the wives and children of the men who sailed to stay, and the rest of them left. All those who remained participated in the divination and sacrifice.
After some simple preparations, nearly a thousand people gathered at the tribe’s altar——The sanctuary made of stones piled into a boat shape.
Even if it is daybreak, the oil lamp is lit again, and the salted fish as a sacrifice is also placed.
In order to make the tribe more confident in the accuracy of divination, Villa urgently ordered the women onlookers to take out tokens related to their husbands.
As a result, the women took off their amber necklaces one after another. In the end, Vilia only got five pairs.
The most important one is undoubtedly Niya's pair, which is a priceless necklace strung together 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 Siweyan 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 plate and placed on the altar.
Villa signaled all the lower-level priests and all the 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 divination gems 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 happened before, and it could happen again.
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 do not appear to be strong enough. Will this make the Svig people in Novgorod feel that the Ross tribe is no longer strong?
No matter what, Otto must have encountered something, whether it was 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 life, and she estimates that it will snow soon. As long as it snows, the days ahead will become colder.
The sea will be frozen, and if they do not return, the results will be catastrophic.
Wilia thought of many things as she knelt on the ground, 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 also here today. But Rurik was only seven years old. He showed many extraordinary talents, but after all, he was 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? Wei Liya felt that his people simply lacked intelligence and could participate in the fight.Among the thousands of warriors of all ages, there are only six to seven hundred who are truly elite. Now Otto has taken 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 is only good at fighting. Villa especially remembered that when he was young, the tribal leaders at that time were quite wise, otherwise they would not be able to capture Fort Ross from the Ural people.
The following dozen leaders were all very good at fighting, but as a result, they always died in various fights.
Compared to those people, Otto is obviously smarter. Now, Otto is no longer young and strong, but the Rus tribe under his rule has been living peacefully for more than ten years. Although the relationship with the "Danish" people in Gotland is bad, the tribe and the Siyan people in the south have become brothers. .
Think about the future of the tribe with the worst possible ideas. Once Otto encounters something unexpected, the stable tribe will become restless again. The young and strong among the tribe will fight desperately for the position of leader, while those who lose are also unruly and will most likely take their families away. In that case, the stability of the Ross tribe would be gone.
I'm afraid there is only one way.
Vilia was glad that Otto's only son Rurik came to the altar, and compared to Otto, Rurik was wiser.
If I could live another ten years, I would be able to witness Rurik grow from a child into a young warrior of the tribe. And by that time, the seventeen-year-old Rurik was full of wisdom, and the fighting talent he showed early could be better utilized.
After a long prayer, Villa felt that her knees were hurting from kneeling, while others were already kneeling on their bodies 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 the two low-level priests, and they quickly helped Villa, whose legs were weak, up.
"The result is very clear now!"
Villa was supported by someone, her legs were weak, and she still held the ruby high, "This is Odin's revelation, Odin Ding told us that the fleet will return safely. We must believe that this is the correct revelation, so we only need to do one thing now, just wait quietly! They must be sailing back! The Veg people gave us more treasures as tribute, which delayed the fleet for a lot of time. Don't worry about me.We will have a happy winter. ”