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 come 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 conjured up a wonderful picture of the future for most people.
If anyone is worried about the future, it's the extremely small number of tribal priests.
Because the Ross tribe, like other Vikings, their great god 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 of everything in the world.
Therefore, mountains and rivers are given a mysterious coat, as if they have their own protector.
Two different ethnic groups have different creator gods in their legends, but in this regard, the Vikings' beliefs are probably more legendary. In fact, their belief in Odin, Thor and Loki, the three major beliefs of Valhalla, is the core of their "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 believed in Valhalla. The environment was like this. Even if some people had doubts, they could not 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 that Rurik is now beginning to show, she becomes more and more determined to Valhalla.
But she did have her doubts, especially that Odin would not go out of his way to interfere in mortal affairs. Even Odin's envoys, the Valkyries, will only inspect and patrol Tianyu 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 Novgorod women 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 Siya tribes in the south, where the leader might be on an expedition for many days, and the backyard might catch on fire.
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.
Villa could feel the collective psychological changes among the tribesmen after this autumn. I am afraid that the power of the group cannot be changed by herself, and it is impossible for Vilia to issue any instructions to prohibit intermarriage between her 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 be left with mixed-race offspring, and as mothers of their children, they will teach the mixed-race Rus boys not only the Novgorod language, but also the Novgorod language Germany'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 has integrated 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!
Wei Liya had no choice. Her own tribe did not understand the history of the tribe at all, nor were they willing to understand it. 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 whether the Ross tribe continues to develop or whether it is pure. They only 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, of his hidden worries.
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 question of whether we will be us in the future here. 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 priest's steeple-topped longhouse suddenly started to beat, and the hearts of the people in the house were also being 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. We slowly migrated to where we are now, and since we have migrated before, we can continue to migrate in the future.
There is no question whether we are Russians or not. We name ourselves after paddles, but we can also use other names. The Novgorodians called us and our allies Visitors from the Gulf, the Franks simply called us, and the Danes Northerners.
It is 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. 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 in her heart.
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 complicated emotions, and he 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, and 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 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 it late at night, under Aurora's light. 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 was 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, everything will depend on one year later."
"This...how do you say this?" Otto asked doubtfully?
"It's a simple reason. 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, gain all the knowledge we have. I hope you will encourage him even more when you go back!"
