The people of the Balmok tribe in Narvik Port are now facing a long day.
They don't know why the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, and the current time freezes when it is close to the horizon. The sun did not set, and the priests claimed that this was Odin's reward for the people. So the long darkness after half a year is a test sent by Odin?
The priests also followed the explanations of the earlier generations and agreed with this "reward and test theory." The priest was so sure that the people of Balmok believed it.
Eternal night or eternal day, these situations are normal according to the local people's perception. The sun never sets all day long, so everyone has time to do more things, such as actively fishing in the fjord for a long time.
But a cold wave from the Arctic came over.
The strong Arctic cold air first brought fog to the Narvik Fjord, and then the sea gradually became violent.
The people of Washoby, whose settlement is on the western edge of the "flare mouth" of the fjord, directly face the Atlantic Ocean. They noticed that the sky became dark and the sea became violent.
The huge waves beat wildly against the coastal rocks, like monsters in the sea. Every time the waves hit, they would kill any exposed person.
The boiling sea will definitely overturn all ships. Those who were still thinking about sailing to Britain a few days ago to find a warm new home are now not only discouraged, but also worried that even the big ships of the Russians will fail in the face of such a violent sea. It will be torn into pieces by the huge waves.
Some rumors spread among the tribe.
"Look at these big waves! The gods must have heard our plan and made the sea boil to stop our voyage."
Some people believe it to be true, while others bluntly refute it. This is a coward's self-comfort and a complete lie.
Of course, the unfavorable rumors have reached the ears of those families who control the power of the tribe. Now, will anyone give up on the future expedition?
First of all, no self-proclaimed noble person is willing to stand up and question. The so-called questioning is undoubtedly the same as shouting that he is a coward.
Secondly, they all believed Rurik's beautiful words about Britain. After the meeting, they all hinted to themselves that after organizing a fleet to fight in Britain, the huge amount of local gold and silver would be easily available.
The desire for wealth dominates their minds, and they will become violent if they selectively ignore the sea.
The strong wind under the haze stirred up huge waves, and all the fishing boats rushed to the deepest part of the fjord. There are more than twenty small fjords in the Narvik Fjord, and nearly 20,000 people rely on these small fjords to settle. The small fjord is simply the most comfortable water hole, the wind is still strong, and everything is normal for the boat fixed by the cable.
The Aurora was firmly anchored in the water, and her sails were tied tightly to the beam. The window leading to the cabin was covered with wooden boards, making the entire ship look like a huge wooden barrel floating near the shore of the bay. With its sturdy body, she became the most stable presence in the fjord.
After the strong wind, the heavy rain came as expected!
Rurik stayed in the house of leader Magnut and was tied indoors by the wind and rain.
It was pouring rain like crazy outside! The crackling sound once frightened him.
Of course Rurik is not afraid of such wind and rain. What he is worried about is whether the Balmok tribe, which relies on the mountains for construction, will be attacked by mudslides.
The only thing he can be thankful for now is that Chief Magnut's house is very stable, and this place is really his temporary home. There were no signs of leaks in the house, and the strong winds apparently couldn't shake it.
But when will this rain end?
Narvik Port has clearly entered the extreme daylight. According to Biyongni, the extreme daylight will last for nearly a month. After countless years of statistics, the priests have accurately calculated the day when the night disappears and how long the endless day will last, thus determining the exact day of the summer solstice.
Daytime? Does this situation still exist today?
Gloom has enveloped the world and people are hiding in dark houses.
This made Chief Magnut very anxious. He was not more worried about the life and death of his tribesmen. Even if some people died in this storm, that was their fate. This is a trial set by Odin, and only the brave can face the new sun.
Magnut is most worried that the heavy rain will last too long and make the sea water turbid, making fishing operations difficult for a period of time.
But what he was most worried about was that wind and rain would interfere with the summer solstice sacrifices.
Because, for the great plan to be implemented this year, he decided to put up a new altar outdoors and perform a grand sacrifice.
Perhaps the only thing that makes him happy is that his son-in-law Rurik can stay with his daughter Noren for a long time despite the bad weather. He has already explained the situation to the priests. Although Nolen is not yet old enough, the priests are not stupid enough to disobey the leader's request.
Leader Magnut did not put any pressure on him, and the priests were very sensible.
The male and female priests of the Balmok tribe have never established a closed organization. They do not engage in production, but they rely on the support of those families for the supplies they need.
It’s a wedding soon!
Rurik felt that this was too magical. He really could not have imagined that his first wedding would take place in the Narvik Fjord. After the wedding, Nolen is his legal wife, and at least nearly 20,000 Balmok people will recognize this marriage.
But Nolen has her own destiny. Her identity is not a real wife at all, but at best a concubine with musical talent.
Due to the wind and rain, Rurik had nothing to do in isolation, except to study new music together with Nolen.
Including but not limited to "Holy War", "Turbulent Youth", "Polovtsian Dances", "Kalinka" and "Katyusha".
Compared to the ethereal, soothing and mysterious Nordic tunes that the girl Nolen was used to, facing the sets of new tunes Rurik hummed, she was shocked that her fiancé was a musical genius. , also under pressure!
Because these songs have a new style that is different from traditional music (Nordic tune), another notable feature is that her fingers must press the sound holes of the bone flute faster to adapt to the brisk rhythm of the new music.
And when she learned that there were more songs in Rurik's mind, she broke out in a cold sweat.
But Nolen is an undoubted genius. Rurik is convinced that this girl has an absolute sense of sound and her control of the bone flute is also at its peak.
For example, in a short period of time, she was able to play the most beautiful excerpt of the beautiful "Polovtsian Dances" (which is also the part Rurik is most familiar with) on the melodious bone flute.
My daughter learned a new song from Rurik! And it’s different from before!
The wind and rain continued outdoors, and the Magnut couple, the Biyongni brothers, and the chief family had the honor to listen to Nolen's playing.
The sound of music blew away any unhappiness in Magnute's heart. When the tune of "Polovtsian Dances" ended, he felt something and couldn't help but sigh.
In the dim light of the oil lamp, he stared at Rurik: "Is this the music of your Russians? It's so beautiful."
"Yes! This is indeed Rose's music."
Rurik did not point out that the new tune Nolen has now learned is actually the music style of the Slavs, which is essentially different from the Nordic people. However, the sense of praise of the vast and majestic northern world contained in the music is the same. . Rurik also did not say that the first wife chosen by his father Otto for him was an extremely beautiful Slavic girl.
Who will be his first wife? Rurik was indeed willing to choose a girl from the Eastern Slavic world.
Because this is the fate of the Russians. Although their homeland in Northern Europe should not give up, Russia must conquer the Eastern European world and rely on the Slavic population to achieve great things. As for the Rus tribe being diluted by the huge Slavs, Rurik himself, far from rejecting it, believed that this was the most correct path. A new nation with a huge population will be born and grow stronger in Northern and Eastern Europe. The father of this nation should be a group of authentic Nordic golden-haired macho men.
Perhaps the gods heard people's prayers. Just as the summer solstice was approaching, the wind and rain finally showed signs of subside.
For many days, people have been relying on the fish they caught before. People are struggling and even forced to starve. But those families who bought wheat were eating wheat porridge.
The powerful family has not encountered many difficulties in their lives, and they have selected expedition warriors and a "great and noble person" from their own family and dependent people.
What is "great and noble"? They believe that if you sacrifice your life to the gods, your soul will directly ascend to Asgard. After being selected by the Valkyrie, if you are not qualified to enter Valhalla, then the "great and noble" soul will also be Can transform into a resident of Asgard.
This group of Balmoks have very different ideas about sacrifice and death than the Mälaren people who live in Lake Mälaren.
Sacrifice slaves to Odin? Pooh! The blood of slaves can only be sacrificed to sea monsters. The so-called sea monster has a gluttonous mouth. The monster creates huge waves just to eat those who fall into the water. If the slaves are sacrificed to satisfy the sea monster in advance, the voyagers will be safe.
However, if you sacrifice your noble soul to Odin, the great god will definitely suppress the sea monster and prevent it from making mistakes.
The people of Balmok are simple, and in their simple world view, they believe that this is the truth of the world. Each family can only choose one person to worship God with his life. Even though they know that he will die, there are still a group of people rushing to sign up.
This situation also happened in Magnut's family. Among the people who relied on his family, a strong man stood out.
He was a strong young man who could be trained into an "iron warrior" if he was well armed and could become an unparalleled killer on the battlefield. It's a pity that he actually wants to sacrifice himself with joy.
This is the culture of the local Balmok people, and Rurik doesn’t want to say anything. After all, it was his own idea to plunder and explore Britain at the same time. If they die as a result of self-sacrifice, they bear a great responsibility.
The storm should have ended. The darkness of the outdoor world was suffocating. Noren meant Rurik to sleep. Her cheeks were really uncomfortable after playing the flute intensively for several days.
Sudden! Everything came without warning!
The earth is shaking!
Rurik grabbed Nolen and jumped up, "Damn it! Is there an earthquake in this place?"
He took Nolen's arm and rushed to the lobby, where Magnute had already woken up.
"Don't panic, it's nothing serious." Magnute tried his best to comfort his family and the servants and slaves. It was still drizzling outside, and the dark world was desolate.
The wooden door has been opened, and Magnut finally said: "The earth is trembling, and our house is very strong. Don't worry, if there is a danger of collapse, we will rush out immediately. This must be a new test set by Odin. Don't worry, everything It will all pass.”
Rurik cursed in his mind that this Magnute knew nothing about the risk of earthquakes. They blame everything on God's punishment and testing. Although they explain things simply, this is clearly superstition.
This was indeed the case, and Rurik could only continue to hold Nolen's thin arm. He remained vigilant so that he could take Nolen away as soon as possible before disaster happened.
But this is not an earthquake!
The tremor of the earth is over, it is really daytime, dense dark clouds make the sky dark, and people who breathe a long sigh of relief continue their rest.
But for some people, it’s all over!
The many days of rain are over. Although the sun is still looming, the rain has completely stopped!
The cold wind from the north blew away the warmth of summer, and the temperature seemed to drop to freezing point, so Rurik wrapped himself in a leather coat again.
Magnute stood outdoors in the increasingly dry weather. He looked at the sky and laughed, because the summer solstice sacrifice could be held as scheduled!
But when five longships rowed to the home port of Balmok, the people were shocked to see that the people who came ashore were nothing more than a defeated attack, and they rushed to tell everyone they met.
A shocking and tragic news began to spread in the harbor!
"It's the people of Little Sheep Fjord in the southeast! A landslide occurred in their territory! All the sheep they raised were buried in the dark mudslide! Most of them died! The entire settlement has collapsed!"
Now that the case has been solved, it turns out that the rumbling noise was a horrific mudslide.
The horrifying news attracted a large number of tribesmen to row boats to find out what was going on and try to rescue them.
Rurik, also in extreme shock, took Nolen and all his men onto a long ship. More than a hundred ships rushed towards the so-called "Little Sheep Fjord". People hoped that things were not that bad. However, when they arrived in the turbid waters of the small fjord, they saw a messy scene.
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A settlement of more than 500 people. There were originally as many as 1,000 sheep raised here. The people here had a better life than others, but they encountered a landslide and mudslide, and everything ended!
Rurik's eyes widened, and Nolen Zhihu's arm hurt beside him.
"Rurik, my wrist will be crushed by you!"
"I'm sorry. Look, they're all finished in this settlement." Rurik didn't feel sad, all he felt was pure shock.
His people were on the same longship as the Magnut family, and everyone looked at them in astonishment. Look at this serious situation. The dark rocks have submerged all the houses, and the seaside pastures where sheep are grazed are covered with silt.
In fact, when these dead people settled here, they first took advantage of the excellent pastures here. They never thought that the reason why the land here was more fertile was that its foundation was not reliable! A violent storm brings disaster, and everything is over!
After a while, a long ship approached Magnut.
It's Barda's ship.
"Chief, look! It seems that old Gorm will not be able to participate in our expedition."
Magnut pursed his lips and shook his head: "They are all dead. They did not resist Odin's challenge."
"I discussed it with several other brothers. I want to include those who have fled the disaster."
Magnut nodded: "At any rate, we have a fight with the old Gorm brother. Our brother will absorb his remnants. What a disaster. I feel that Odin is doubting our strength. It seems that we must win with a victory." Prove it to God.”
Barda understood: "Originally, I planned to gather up to seventy brothers in two ships. I changed my mind. I want to organize one hundred brothers in three ships."
"Then I will organize two hundred people. When we organize an army, we must have at least a thousand people." As he said that, Magnut, with a serious look on his face, pulled Rurik beside him: "My son-in-law ( (directly called son in speech) will lead our army to expedition to Britain, and we will definitely win. By then we will build the old temple and get gold and silver to worship Odin. Besides, my son-in-law is the leader of this expedition. Only those who are favored by Odin will lead us to victory."
Staring at Rurik's clean, handsome and meticulous face, Barda saw a lot. Through Rurik's eyes, he determined that this young man's hands must indeed be stained with a large amount of enemy blood. This boy's handsome appearance did indeed hide the soul of a great hero.
Barda nodded and asked Rurik: "My little brother, are you ready to lead our Balmok warriors to victory? You know, we are allies."
"Of course!" Rurik asked bluntly: "Have you formed an army yet?"
"In a few days, a hundred warriors!"
"Very good! Let your warriors prepare more food, more spare weapons, and more sacks."
Barda nodded. He already understood that Rurik, a kid from Rus, was already planning the transportation of a large amount of loot. Such plain words are really encouraging!
