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 figured this out.
Due to the change 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-antlered helmet and a deerskin over her thick cotton coat.
Today, she didn't 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 large wooden house with a steeple, 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?
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 have followed the leader on a 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 high status in the tribe.
Holding their son's hand, Niya and Rurik moved 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 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 his ear.
Niya had a certain degree of appeal. She asked the wives and children of the men who were sailing to stay, while 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 sacred area made of stones piled into a boat shape.
Even though it was already dawn, the oil lamp was lit again, and the salted fish as a sacrifice was also placed.
In order to make the tribe more confident in the accuracy of the divination, Villa quickly 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, until Vilia only got five pairs.
The most important of them all was Niya's, a priceless necklace of 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 tray and placed on the altar.
Vilia 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 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 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 are not strong enough. Will this make the Novgorod Svig people feel that the Ross tribe is no longer strong?
In any case, 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 the 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.
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 let her mind think for a while.
When it comes to relationships, Villa 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? Villa felt that his people simply lacked intelligence. Among the two thousand warriors of all ages who could participate in the fight, there were only six to seven hundred who were 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 subsequent dozen or so leaders were all very good at fighting, but as a result, they always died in various fights.
Compared to those people, Otto was 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 the relationship with the "Danish" people in Gotland is bad, the tribe and the Siyan people in the south have become brothers. .
Thinking 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 tribesmen will fight desperately for the position of leader, while those who lose are also unruly and will most likely take their families away and fly 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 he could live another ten years, he 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 his knees were hurting from kneeling, while others were already kneeling 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, everyone , we will have a happy winter."
