Chapter 557 The Light Ceremony of the Fire Tower and Stone Boat

Sunshine has become extremely luxurious, and the winter solstice without the sun is about to come.

Although people have adapted to the short and young Rumia, who presided over the sacrificial ceremony as the high priest, Logisvilia was still alive in a haggard shape at that time. Now Willy Ya has gone to the sky.

The inevitable end of an old era, just as the longhouse of the priests was destroyed, and a group of lower-level priests were buried for Vilia. In the temple that rose from the ruins, the statues of gods standing indoors have been worshiped by people for nearly a year.

The people of Fort Ross have adapted to the new way of worshiping. They do not find it strange. Instead, they think that the distance between individuals and gods has been shortened.

The only thing that remains unchanged is the stone ship altar that is still located outside the tall wooden wall of Fort Ross.

The small pine forest is a 'land that will never be cut down'. The pine forest with a lot of snow is full of precision. The black soil in the forest is covered with snow, and the rocks of the Stone Ship Altar are covered with snow. And like a monument in the snow.

Its black soil is not natural, but the ashes of bonfires sacrificed year after year.

Rurik is busy supervising the construction of ships these days, and the reality is far better than expected.

The Mercury's hull has not yet been completed. The propeller mechanism it possesses should indeed be able to operate in seawater, but the operating effect should be demonstrated by sea trials.

Rurik did not dare to take the drastic step of installing a set of this on all new ships. He was ambitious. However, the first set of finished products he had more than a month later, the cost price was far more than his expectations. If it doesn't work very well and you build too many of them, it's a waste of money.

But the two large ships with newly installed masts standing on the frozen beach, waiting for the ice to melt and be pushed into the sea, have indeed become a beautiful sight, echoing the other three large ships.

People in Roseburg are getting ready for Hanukkah celebrations.

How to spend this grand festival? They drag their whole family to participate in the sacrifice, and then eat and drink at home, light bonfires everywhere, talk, laugh and dance, and revel until the dawn of the east breaks through the darkness.

It was a cold night, and Rurik had summoned the ten Slavic maids who were actually wives and concubines to his palace.

This time he gathered all his wives and concubines. This arrangement was by no means a private matter, it was a matter of the Hanukkah sacrifice in Roseburg.

What if a sacrifice is held? What are the rituals involved? What ancient songs and mantras are to be sung? Rumia knew it by heart.

Rurik was not worried about this at all, but Rumia's physical condition was the most dangerous now.

Rurik was sitting upright, and all his women were obediently doing their best.

He was too lazy to be polite, looked at Rumia's calm face and said bluntly: "My high priest, even if you are pregnant now, there will be no problem in going to this year's sacrificial event."

Rumia was startled and hurriedly replied: "Yes! I will persevere. I will wear a thick leather coat so that no one can see that I am pregnant."

Rurik He said it with peace of mind, but Rumia and the other women were frightened when they heard it.

"This! Is this true?" In shock, Rumia's face gradually turned into the happy smile of a new mother.

"Of course. Velika is about to be born. Regardless of boy or girl, this is his name, and becoming the high priest is also his destiny."

"That's right." Rumia Sitting quietly on his side, he stroked his belly again, "Although there is a gap between my belly, this year will be the first time this child participates in our sacrifice. He was born for sacrifice and is a servant of Odin."

"As you command, even if I am tired, I will insist on holding on to the wooden stick."

Rurik nodded, Rumia knew what to do, and he no longer wanted to say anything. .

It would be too bad if the sacrifices were the same every year.

In his opinion, the annual Hanukkah Festival of the Russian people is exactly the same as the Spring Festival in the East, and it is even more concrete than the East! In people's minds, the beginning of the year is the first ray of rising sun that breaks through the long night. Everyone should revel in the endless night and wait for the sun to rise again before taking a good rest for a day or two.

This is how the Russians "celebrate the New Year", but the demographic structure of Rossburg has changed a lot, and it must add some Slavic elements, such as worshiping fire more!

Rurik must consider the feelings of those Slavic women who have married over, even though they have given birth to a new generation of mixed-race Rus on a large scale, after all, these are two people with different cultures and even blood. For the sake of national integration and internal stability, this year’s sacrifice to Rurik decided to build a huge torch next to the Stone Ship Altar!

Flame makes people excited, and children playing with fire is also an instinct written in human genes. Only when children's hands are burned by fire do they know the danger.

Wouldn’t it be better to have some accompaniment music, or even drums, by the campfire or at the stone boat altar?

"Nolen, how did you handle your task?" Rurik asked, changing the subject.

"Everything is ready. Now my sisters have learned at least three pieces of music."

Rurik knew the music she was talking about because it was in her hometown in Balmok. Personally arranged, they are distant and ethereal. As long as you close your eyes and listen to the playing of the eagle leg bone flute, you can think of the coldness, eternity and tranquility of the ice and snow world.

Maybe it’s time for HanukkahAn upbeat tune?

No need to.

This sacred sacrifice requires special music to make people feel the sacredness contained in the music. The more distant and ethereal the better, and the sound of drums will enhance the atmosphere even more.

"Looking at your confidence, you should really know it all."

"How about we find an opportunity to play for you." Nolen said with a timely smile. .

"That's what I meant. Now let's continue talking about the specific details of the sacrifice..."

In the Principality of Rus, Rurik controls the monarchy, military power and divine power. Otto's influence has gradually faded in people's minds, and Rurik is praised as a great hero and great saint who must perform the warrior salute when meeting him.

As such a sacred being, it is natural that it must be fully displayed in sacrificial activities.

Using the blood of slaves, especially the blood of captured enemy warriors, as a blood sacrifice to Odin. This ritual is the consistent practice of powerful Viking tribes in grand sacrifices.

Rurik also learned from the fat man Snoleva who had returned and became more familiar with the situation. The Danish leader Hafgen, who was killed by his own ship, went out of his way to stabilize his power. On this summer solstice, one hundred and eleven slaves will be killed to sacrifice to Odin!

Human sacrifice has reached this point? Are we still heading towards Aztec-style sacrifices?

But the human sacrifice did not bring Hafgen victory, but his simple and crude death, reputation and family destruction.

From a very rational point of view, these sacrificial models are a waste of manpower, are inhumane, and do not even bring any good results.

What is sacrifice? Rurik planned to kill ten large-antlered stags with his own hands and let the blood of the deer dye the stone ship altar red, just like the sacrifices in the past.

When the priest reaches the end and Rumia sings the final hymn to the gods, the final and grandest ceremony will begin.

Thousands of people will see a fire dragon rising into the sky, forming a pillar of fire that can be seen at least twenty nautical miles away. This giant bonfire will continue to burn until people see the rising sun of the New Year.

On this same day, Nolen was on the third floor, leading his sisters to rehearse the music to be performed during the sacrifice to the man they all shared, Liurik.

Ten bone flutes played melodious music, while the maid named Anna held a leather drum and beat it to steady the rhythm, so that the whole band played in an orderly manner.

After Otto had finished chatting and laughing with his friends, he returned to the mansion. Hearing the beautiful music from the upper floors, he held on to the fence and went upstairs. At this moment, Niya had already been climbing in search of the sound, sitting quietly and feeling it with her heart.

Niya has been moved by Nolen, who also has extremely beautiful blond hair and the same blond hair as her son. This girl is a natural musician, she is beautiful and can bring joy. The key is that this girl does not show any initiative to ask for anything.

Niya likes Nolen better than Svetlana who is sitting here and listening quietly., it would be great if this girl became his son’s first wife.

At least in Balmok, she and her son really had a wedding there, and the allies admitted this.

Otto and Nia listened to the performance, and Noren was also very happy to have such a large audience.

“That’s really good!” Rurik applauded as he said that.

Noorun smiled and quietly put the flute under his body.

"I remembered something. We also have a very old harp in Roseburg. Nolen, maybe it can be used by you too."

"I know." Nolen said lightly He slightly pouted his lips and said regretfully: "The harp is broken. Unfortunately, it cannot be used as an instrument for sacrifices."

"Okay. You must continue to rehearse, the sacrifices are not far away." ..."

The entire old priest group was physically wiped out. A few lower-level priests either changed careers long ago or were sent to distant strongholds early. There are no longer any old priests who can threaten the monarchy. .

However, the new group of priests who took orders from the Duke himself was basically a large group of children, and they were responsible for all the ceremonies. Otto was really worried about them.

They sat here and listened to their son's teachings. But in Otto's eyes, these beautiful girls should just lie down and accept Rurik's favor, rather than necessarily participate in performing sacred rituals. Especially Rumia! Otto really did not want the mother of his first grandchild to be exposed to possible dangers.

Everything is no longer up to this old leader who has delegated power. Otto, who has been the leader for many years, is no fool. He clearly knows that even if he intends to take over power now, how much support will his brothers still have? What's more, there is no point and no reason to take back power.

The day of sacrifice is coming!

A batch of pine trees were cut down and stacked in parallel. Next to the stone ship altar, a tower made of pine trees was rising. Although it was more luxurious, Rurik still ordered a spruce tree from the far north to be planted in the pit dug with a shovel, and used it as the center to let the "pine tower" go twenty meters away.

This is already a very high altitude, and the people who built it were very excited to learn that it would eventually turn into a burning pillar of fire.

Because the day of the sacrifice is also the day when the Valkyrie Sperosvilia, who is exclusive to the Ross people, will parade. As long as she sees the huge fire on the earth, she can find the location of Ross Castle in an instant. reach some kind of connection.

People are convinced of this, and the more they think about it, the more they yearn for the era of the old priest Vilia.

Times have changed. Just like in the past, who would have thought of setting up a grand ceremony like Rurik?

It was a cold morning, and the sun luxuriously spread a little light before sinking into the sea level.

No one feels afraid because the festival is finally here!

The world is covered with snow, the sea is frozen, the sun is no longer shining brightly, the world is still bright, surrounded by the high walls of Fort RossThe protected people gathered spontaneously at the Stone Ship Altar with their families under the emerald green aurora.

In the temple inside Rossburg, Rumia wore a deer-antlered helmet, Rurik and other Ross elites knelt in front of the statues of many gods and worshiped.

Since the statue was erected, it should be enshrined, so it is not strange to worship Rurik in the statue. He set the rules, and this will also be the necessary procedure for large-scale sacrifices in the future.

More importantly, a statue standing here represents the dead high priest Vilia. She has been canonized as a god. Worshiping her is like worshiping ancestors in Rurik's heart.

"The gods bless us! The gods give us glory! The gods bless us and prosper..."

Kneeling Rumia held a wooden board recording ancient hymns and recited aloud , rosin smoke filled the entire temple, and there were still some onlookers standing outside. When they saw that the distinguished people had knelt down, they also knelt down to pray.

This is just the beginning of a grand ceremony.

Of course, when the position of the stars reaches the agreed point, especially a few special stars, they can only appear in the "sunless day". They are considered to have mysterious power and are symbols of the gods.

After most of the day, the magnificent streamers of the emerald green aurora kept swaying under the clear night sky, and as many as 4,000 people had gathered in the forest of the Stone Ship Altar!

This grand opportunity attracted the people and even more attracted the foreign businessmen who stayed in Russia.

A temple fair suddenly formed next to the altar, with merchants selling strange products, mostly wooden crafts.

Wood carvings of elves and big elves, wooden carvings of gods, and even boxes and boxes.

A large bonfire has been lit, and hundreds of people are standing under the wooden tower next to the stone ship, discussing the huge torch of the future, and discussing what new tricks Lord Rurik will come up with.

Finally, the stars are about to reach the promised position.

There are pure girls playing leather drums, and ten girls playing flutes while playing.

In front of them, Rumia was wearing a deer-antlered helmet and holding a tinkling wooden staff, and she was held by Rurik's arm and ran towards the altar.

Rurik organized a traveling team! This is not only to participate in the performance of sacrifices, but also to assemble the Duke's elite soldiers to display their illustrious martial arts!

Everyone was dressed very thickly, except for the pure white robes on the outside.

The girl playing the flute and drum is Rurik's concubine and a lower-level priest.

The accompanying warriors were all dressed in military uniforms, uniformly wearing white robes with blue stripes sewn on them. They held shields and spears, and the spearheads were also tied with blue and white cloth strips.

The uniformity further highlights the majesty of the sacrifice, and the hanging colored glass beads and amber further highlight the magnificence.

In the complex emotions of encouragement, praise, shock and envy, people listened to the melodious music and witnessed the team arriving at the altar.

The warriors gathered around the altar, then half-knelt down with their wooden shields placed beside them.

A bear head (a dismantled house decoration) is placed on each stone pillar of the altar, and the girls who serve as lower priests still play melodious tunes.

Nearly eight thousand people gathered here, whispering to each other and accompanied by a large number of children crying, wearing their best clothes and laughing.

Until Rumia looked up at the aurora in the sky, the girls playing the flute paused, and the crowd was silent for a short time.

People are listening to the chants of the priest headed by Rumia, praising the greatness of Odin, the greatness of Sora and the greatness of the gods.

There are also new tricks. People heard them singing about the greatness of Lord Rurik, the glory of the Russian heroes and the victory of the war

People also saw that the ten-headed heroes The deer was led into the altar.

Rurik killed the deer one by one while the priests were singing.

The altar was soaked with deer blood, the livers of the deer were cut out one by one, and Rumia also smeared Rurik's face with deer blood.

Rumia, she finally held up the cut deer liver and shouted: "Odin grant us prosperity! Grant Rurik glory! Odin said! Light the fire!"

Everything is ready. The wooden tower has been piled with a large amount of oil-rich rosin, and a lot of solidified whale oil and seal oil have also been thrown in.

The strong man on standby approached the wooden tower holding a torch. The wooden tower gradually burned and eventually turned into a fire that reached the sky.

Look at this flame! Drive away all the coldness!

This is not over yet. All the deer carcasses were thrown into the fire and turned into ashes in the fierce fire.

People were dancing carnivally under the giant flame tower, and the married Slavic women were also screaming with happiness. Because the god Peron they believe in is the Slavic god of fire and war. Now the flames are burning their faces, as well as the children in their arms. They feel that their children have been blessed by the two supreme gods and will have a safe future.

In this lively atmosphere, although John Ingvar had a cross hanging on his chest, he prayed to God and was immersed in this lively atmosphere.

The young female serf who had regained her freedom by serving this young man grabbed John's hand and shook it from side to side, falling into a strange kind of madness.

Everything was happy until that moment!

Hundreds of people stood on the solid wooden wall, looking at the rising sun in the distance, while the flames of the wooden tower were still burning...

The sun reappeared, although it only briefly cut across the sky.

People were finally exhausted in the last cheers, and the happy period finally came to an end. People returned to their homes and looked forward to the melting of the ice and snow in 833.