After this autumn tribute voyage, all the wealth gained was properly distributed.
Undoubtedly, all those who took part in this voyage, living or dead, deserved for themselves or their families the best part of the wealth.
The tribe has always practiced this tradition, that is, men go on expeditions to get spoils, and whoever participates in the expedition gets more.
However, those who do not participate will also gain a small amount of wealth.
Times are changing, and people's hearts are also changing dramatically.
Especially this time, the people who participated in the Sorgon voyage were attacked by fishermen from Gotland Island on the way, which made the entire tribe have to think about two things.
First, whether the risk of the alleged tribute voyage is huge.
Second, do the people who brought the wealth back safely have the right to receive more of it?
Undoubtedly, the men of the tribe really wanted to participate in the action and gain more wealth. What's more, there is even a public opinion that those who participated in the Sorgon voyage will have their wealth equally divided among the participants according to their merits, and men who have not participated have no right to distribute it.
There are indeed many people who support this idea. I'm afraid it's all just selfishness.
After all, on this tribute voyage, the tribe dispatched the most combat-effective third of the men, and they were personally led by the leader!
These seven hundred people are the elite of the tribe, they are the backbone of the tribe, so their attitude immediately affects the distribution of wealth this autumn.
The leader, Otto, is not a selfless person.
This man has received a lifetime of "warrior education". He enjoys the feeling of being admired by everyone. He is not afraid of fighting and has great enthusiasm for obtaining trophies. Of course, I also hope to be recognized by the gods!
Especially this time, when he held his dying brother Ogier and heard the news that Ogier saw the Valkyrie waving, he believed in Valhalla even more.
Of course Otto agreed with the tribal warriors.
Brave and skilled warriors, they are rebellious and have a huge desire for wealth.
But they also all have strong self-esteem.
Only once did the brothers of the tribe get their wealth back after a battle. How could they feel at ease and calm after receiving a reward for nothing?
After some mediation, the men of the tribe finally reached a consensus on the distribution of wealth and made clear provisions on how the future wealth should be distributed. Since the tribe had no written language, the "rules" were established by the elders as witnesses.
That is, the wealth obtained from the future Sorgon voyage will be divided into two parts. Participants and their families get half, and the rest of the tribe's men and their families get the other half.
In any future battles, all the spoils of war shall be shared by all those involved, and in the event of death, their families, especially their sons, shall be divided among them.
Just before the first snow falls, the distribution of wealth is complete.
So far, any external actions of the Ross tribe have come to an end.
Their figures suddenly disappeared in the almost frozen Baltic Sea. Fort Ross was hidden in the Gulf of Bothnia in the northernmost part of the sea, as if missing.
The tribe's traditional fishing industry came to an end, and even hunting in the forests outside the settlement came to a halt.
The reason is that one of the most critical issues that everyone has to face is the dark night.
Winter has entered in the Northern Hemisphere, especially in high latitudes, and the nights are extremely long.
At least Fort Ross is not located in the Arctic Circle. There is almost no night in the summer, and therefore there is almost no daylight in the winter.
Winter is the most terrifying thing. They don't know that the outdoor cold can be as low as minus 20 degrees, but what they know best is that the fish caught before winter can be frozen as hard as stone as long as they are placed outside the wooden house.
People used wood to build the frames of their houses and covered them with large amounts of animal fur and linen to protect them from the cold. Some poor families even pile mud outside their wooden houses to keep them warm.
Any wooden house has an opening at the top, which is an outlet for the smoke from the indoor campfire.
They cut and store large amounts of wood in the fall and use bonfires to keep warm in the winter.
At the same time, they all wear thick leather jackets at all times.
In principle, the Ross tribe is the northernmost of all the tribes that make up the Siyan people, and their language is no different from that of their southern brethren.
But their location is too far north.
The offshore near Roseburg is not a place where fish thrive, but it can still catch enough fish to last four to five thousand people throughout the winter.
In order to survive, they are willing to try their luck in the dangerous forest.
Sometimes, Otto would lead the men of the tribe into the forest to search for traces of deer before winter. Once discovered, a Viking-style hunt would begin immediately.
In fact, they often encounter black bears and white bears. If a lone person encounters them, it may be difficult to resist them even with a huge Nordic forest ax.
Bears have the thickest fur, and the Ross tribe knows very well that a piece of bear skin can be exchanged with their southern brothers for valuable treasures. It also allows the women of the tribe to tailor extremely warm fur coats and hats.
After all, those bears can survive the entire winter with just their fur!
As the leader, Otto received a considerable amount of wealth.
He even legitimately received honey, which was always very valuable, and five sheepskins.
Perhaps from today's perspective, these are not precious. But throughout Europe 1,200 years ago, they were very precious.
Ogier died, and his only son Arik inherited all his inheritance, including the wealth distributed this time.
Arik was also recognized as the son of leader Otto with the testimony of the tribal elders.
As a result, Arik naturally moved to Otto's home, and temporarily took on the job of helping Niya take care of his younger brother.
A long night has enveloped all of Northern Europe, and the continuous snowfall has plunged the forests around Roseburg into silence. At such a low temperature, few wild animals risked running out of their hiding caves. Only a very small number of reindeer dragged their thick fur and pushed away the snow with their powerful mouths to eat the grass roots.
If a strong reindeer could be hunted, its meat would be enough to feed Otto's family throughout the winter! Its fur can even be tailor-made by Niya into fur coats that are enough for a family of four to keep out the cold.
It's just that hunting in winter is very dangerous, so as powerful as the Ross tribe is, they are willing to hide in this bay and wait quietly for the long night to pass.
Most of them stood outdoors, looking at the starry sky and the bright white moon reflecting on the waves of the sea.
Aurora often flashes in the sky, and people believe it is "Brünnhilde's Parade". As long as it appears, all sleeping people are willing to stand in the cold outdoors and open their eyes wide in order to see the Valkyrie herself.
It's another cold, quiet night.
Arik, who was sleeping soundly wrapped in a bear skin, was awakened by the noise outside.
Otto and Niya also wake up, as does our protagonist Liuli, aka Rurik.
"Arik, go and see what's going on." Otto ordered impatiently.
"yes!"
Arik quickly put on a sheepskin coat and a velvet hat, and then carefully opened the leather door curtain, only to see thousands of green ribbons swaying freely in the sky.
"It's Aurora!" Arik returned to the cabin excitedly.
"It's them!" After Otto got up, he patted Arik on the shoulder, "Let's go take a good look at it. You know what it is!"
"It's my father!"
Arik believed in those legends. After all, his uncle made it clear that his father was recognized by the gods and was taken away by the Valkyrie.
So, the Otto family didn't care about the cold, and the entire tribe took action tonight to watch the spectacular wonders of Aurora.
We cannot speculate on the ignorance of the Viking tribes in Northern Europe 1,200 years ago with today's perspective.
They saw the Northern Lights and desperately needed a beautiful explanation for this phenomenon.
That is the track of the Valkyrie's carriage parade. They only move in winter. They will inspect the people on the ground to find potential lucky ones who can go to Valhalla in the future.
Rurik was only a hundred days old. Now he was curled up in a swaddling blanket made of sheepskin, held by his biological mother Niya, and witnessed the wonders of the sky for the first time.
"Ah! This is the Aurora! This is indeed Northern Europe."
In this situation, Rurik became more certain of his location, but that was all.
Rurik was unable to determine the exact era of the present, and he had more worries, as he was just a baby and could not tell others.
All Rurik could do now was observe quietly.
He saw a young boy crying and shouting at the Northern Lights, and heard his biological mother say many words of comfort to the boy.
It's a pity that my mind is always in chaos. This body is really like a baby. I feel tired all the time. Sleep is the most important thing in my day.
For a short period of time, Rurik could not figure out the language spoken by others, and even some of the most commonly spoken words, he could only make some guesses.
Although these languages are very similar to English, the large number of tongue-licking sounds in them is very strange.
The baby is growing, winter is ending, and things are changing.
Until the arrival of spring.
