Rise of Rurik

Because of the announcement in advance, when the grand sacrifice came, the majority of Rus people were not surprised at all. On the contrary, they sang, danced, and often shouted loudly.

Just because everyone is looking forward to a huge war!

Although it is easy to start a war, if you want to end it, perhaps only by completely defeating the hostile side can it end.

Over the past few decades, every household in the Rus has been attacked by the Gotlanders while fishing at sea. Although it was just a special form of people coming and going at sea at the beginning, the situation gradually expanded, and the fierce battles between the two groups who were good at marine fishing became more and more frequent.

At that time, everyone at least still belonged to the "Svealan Tribal Alliance" and did not openly tear their faces.

With the big families on the Gotland Island having their meeting over, the withdrawal from the alliance was only a moment.

The Gotlanders quit, should the Rus quit too?

A long time ago, the Rus people who were also excluded by the tribal alliance moved north, and the connection between the tribe and the alliance almost only existed in mutual private trade.

Until the official alliance and a king's war in 831, the Rus people were pulled back.

In fact, in the hearts of Rurik and Otto, the two were never grateful for the title of duke awarded by Olegin, who established himself as the king. Everyone was a businessman, some wanted face, some wanted leeway, that's all.

At least the Rus did not withdraw from the alliance, and there was no real isolation from the southern world.

This time, to conquer Gotland, completely conquer and annex those guys, the Rus people are excited! Before Rurik announced his mobilization for war at the altar, the men returning from fishing had been carefully polishing their harpoons and axes in their homes, and the women had stepped up to smoke dried fish.

Have the Rus ever had a full-scale war with an adversary? It seems that there is something written on those wooden boards with ancient stories inscribed.

War is in August, and everything has to give way to war.

Old fathers encourage young children to fight for the glory of their ancestors, take out family heirloom weapons,

The old mother kissed the child's face, encouraged him to fight for the Rus, and even hung an amber pendant engraved with a villain (lucky elf) around his neck.

In some families with three or four children, the old father didn't even think that he might lose all his sons in the war, because this was a full-scale war against the Gotlanders, and the whole family, such as the whole tribe, did their best.

The warriors Rurik planned to recruit were no less than sixteen years old,

In fact, this is very scientific. As a true Nordic man, sixteen-year-old men generally have thick beards, and at first glance they are strong and powerful.

Otto before the sacrifice was not at all leisurely. As the Duke of Ross, with his own appeal, he easily gathered the elite and secondary combat power of the Ross tribe.

He counted, and there were as many as 650 men from sixteen to fifty years old who lived in Roseburg with pure Rose tribal blood.

Of course, the Ross tribe still has a large male population, but they are generally too young to really fight. How useful are young warriors? Otto doesn't want cubs who don't even have beards to fight the enemy, at least they have to grow beards first.

He took this opportunity to actually complete the statistics of the males of the pure blood Rus tribe, adding the five hundred people assembled on Tombstone Island, and the thirty adult fishermen who settled in Elronborg in the north, and settled in New Rus in the east. There are about two hundred adult men in the fort.

There are as many as 1,400 Rus men, and this is also the result of losing a group of soldiers in the past few wars.

If the range of statistics starts from the age of twelve, including those who are old enough to pick up an axe as warriors, Ross should have 2,000 males.

The elite men of the Russ were always only 700 people.

From the point of view of military strength alone, Otto clearly realized that he did have a very obvious weakness in the face of the Melalen tribe. However, if those servant tribes could be trained to form an army only under the command of Duke Ross, The situation is vastly different.

Completely trust outsiders? Otto's most trusted outsiders are those mercenaries like Yevro, who have proved their loyalty with the blood of their enemies on multiple battlefields.

Finally, the others are always suspicious, unless they kill the enemy in order to pay the name.

The son asked to recruit at least 1,000 elites of the Rus army. Well, this work has been completed. However, the other clansmen were really eager to fight, and it was difficult to give in, so Rurik had to accept their applications and simply arrange them all into the team.

Just out of tradition, in any expedition, the expedition should spontaneously and actively prepare food. Of course, the Duke will also prepare the food himself, but no soldier can count on the Duke's alms during the march.

Just when Rurik had no time to take care of it, Otto forced a team of up to 700 people. There are actually a lot of children between the ages of 14 and 15. They worship the legendary hero Aric very much, and they also worship the holy Rurik. They use this war as a major opportunity to prove that they are men. It can be said that this opportunity will not be available for many years next time.

At any time, how did the Rus pull out an army of three thousand people?

Otto really never dreamed that his son would plan to incorporate those ten-year-old boys and girls into the team to fight the enemy.

The build-up of the military remains one of the top priorities for the future, but not now.

The grand sacrifice is tonight!

Oh, the sun will not set tonight, but is very fantastically frozen on the sea level in the west. The afterglow of the setting sun will last forever, until at a certain moment it will rise slightly lazily.

The fishing boats operating in the Gulf of Bothnia have returned to the port one after another, and even many people who settled in Elrond have long returned to the sea in order to catch up with this sacrifice.

Originally, the sacrificial ceremony on the summer solstice was not so grand, but the leader was going to fight, and the news had spread throughout the bay as soon as possible. Everyone is looking forward to war, everyone is looking forward to grand sacrifices to pray to God Odin that the Rus will win, and everyone is looking forward to the leader to say a few words of excitement.

Rosberg is crowded with people. Compared with the past, although there are only a few foreign merchants here (the male merchants came in large numbers after the autumn harvest), a large number of Slavic women who married and their children gave birth, as well as servants, slaves, and a large number of people. mercenary.

All kinds of people have increased the population of Roseburg to more than 5,000 people, and these 5,000 people can be dispatched by the chief family. The traditions of the previous tribes have inadvertently faded to the edge, and the power of the Duchy of Ross has been largely concentrated in the hands of Otto and Rurik.

Some of the Slavic women who were the first to marry had already given birth to a second child, and even more extreme, some not only gave birth to a second one, but also filled their belly with a new baby. Parents who dare to kill infants today are a serious crime, and people's living standards have been greatly improved, and it is no longer necessary to do such a thing.

In the past, Rose's parents did not deliberately kill their daughters, but only provided extremely limited resources to support one or two boys in order to grow up to a certain age to do heavy work. At present, ordinary families cherish all labor.

The problem of food shortages was greatly improved as the clan as a whole became richer, more days to eat, and with more wealth, a large number of mixed Russ-Slavic descendants fell to the ground. Their father is a Rus, so they are also "pure Rus". Otto doesn't worry about this. He only hopes that the descendants of his tribe will prosper. Obviously, this hope has been quickly realized.

No, the population of married Slavic women has reached 400, and now new women are brought here every year. The marriage problems of Russian men have long been solved by the married Novgorod women and the women captured by previous battles, and even a few have multiple wives and more children.

The baby boomers in Roseburg have arrived, and while some children have died unexpectedly, miracles are real, and the death rate is incredibly low (soap has contributed to improved hygiene).

Now the entire tribe has more than 200 children who have just turned one year old. Whether the mothers of the children are willing or not, they come from different manors in Novgorod. Now they are all Rus women. Smart women know that they need to give birth to Rus. People prove their worth, and more children consolidate their family status as mothers in the future.

The whole world was bright, and when the sun was fixed in the sky, the Russ wore comfortable clothes and walked to the altar on a large scale. Those Slavic women also followed their husbands closely. They wore their own dowries, so-called exquisite cloth shirts, and covered their heads with colorful headscarves to cover their braids. They hugged their children tightly. belly.

At this moment, Rurik had already put on a plain white gown that looked plain but was actually covered with gold and lakes.

The priests are all here, and they are also gorgeously dressed, and some blue accents are deliberately added to the white plain robes.

They wore flower crowns, only Rumia wore the crown of antlers.

The real high priest, Veria, sat on a small dumpling, and she was carried by the lower priestess to the scene of the sacrifice. She had already done what she had to explain, and Rumia was in charge of the rest.

It's her again! A little girl appears to have officially taken over the job of the high priest.

At this moment, some people still questioned that Rumia's identity as a deer breeder was also worthy of being Ross's high priest, but more people refuted this view. She is indeed a deer breeder, that is all in the past, and now she wears the antler helmet, which is Odin's gift and command.

People whispered, and the whole venue was like ten thousand buzzing bees flying non-stop.

The sun, which had not risen, set slightly until it came to a complete standstill.

A large number of stars appeared in the sky, and their starlight was extremely dim.

look! Some pale green streamers flickered in the sky.

The time for the sacrifice has come. Rumia, standing in the altar of the stone boat with a circle of oil lamps lit, holds a calf horn and alerts the noisy crowd with the melodious sound of the horn, also announcing the beginning of the sacrifice.

All the priestesses began to sing the ancient prayers in their songs, and they prayed that the gods who guarded the tribe would continue to send grace, that the sea would be calm, and that the people would be safe.

Every year at the summer solstice sacrifices, they sing the same prayers in traditional tunes. Only this year, those who kept quiet and listened to the ethereal singing heard strange lyrics.

They are reporting a war to the great god Odin by singing and asking for the support of the gods.

At this moment, Rurik was half-kneeling, his right fist was against his chest and his head was hooked. Posing a pious and somewhat strange pose with a strong sense of ritual.

The war itself is a man-made matter, and the biggest function of sacrifice is to stabilize and unite people's hearts. In this way, Rurik doesn't mind adding a touch of sanctity to it.

Many people joined the chorus, especially a group of girls raised by Rurik. They were bound to take part in the next battle, but for now, all dressed in plain clothes and with garlands on their heads, they stood by the altar and joined the chorus.

If it's just chanting uninspired prayers, is there any benefit other than causing calluses to the ears of the people who have spontaneously half-kneeled?

They began to sing new catchy songs with strange rhythms. This is the melody that Rurik taught them, and the lyrics naturally have to be revised to keep pace with the times.

No matter what the song is, there is only one song that a Roth must learn.

"Holy War", this song must always be the battle song of the Rus! In the beginning, Rurik did have a bit of bad taste, forcing his subordinates to quickly learn this song, but in the current scene, this song really fits the situation.

Well, here are the lyrics that these priestesses and girls sang:

Rise up, glorious Ross. Do the fight to the death! To destroy the Gotland traitors. To defeat all enemies.

We are completely different from the enemy, we want to defeat them, we want light and victory, and the enemy just wants to suppress us.

Foolish enemies, watch your little ones. We are going to beat you! Get the coffin ready!

All take up arms and fight the enemy for the glory of our ancestors, for the sake of wives and children.

We support the "War Chief" Rurik, and contribute all our strengths to defend our Rus. Victory belongs to Rus!

The girls from the Valkyrie army, who were guest priests, sang the song publicly for the first time.

The tribesmen patronized and listened to their ethereal singing, and were soon caught up in the very exciting lyrics.

Otto's eyes widened, and what he noticed was that the brothers around him were praising the song, and they were gearing up for it, as if infected by the song.

He had to admit the appeal of this song in a moving way, that is, this song clearly means that it belongs to his Otto era, and I am afraid that it will end with this war.

"Oh, to establish your power with the help of songs? Maybe that's good too. You must grow up early. If you win this war, you will definitely gain the highest power that no one doubts."

The old Otto gave all his love to Rurik. Fortunately, his son is really amazing, and the future is promising.

When the singing quieted down, the catchy rhythm had "brainwashed" the Ross people present in the girls' repeated cycles, and even when the girls sang, some people hummed along with them.

With as many as five thousand people gathered in the woods where the altar is located, the girl's singing couldn't have traveled too far in an era without loudspeakers.

The tribesmen can hear the melody, and the exciting lyrics are only heard by a few people for the time being. Even so, the tribesmen have cheered and danced with their hands raised. A large number of people who don’t know what to do are infected by this intense emotion, and they are scrambling to send out Viking battle roars. .

Looking at their enthusiasm, Rurik's face was also very exaggerated.

"It seems that mine was almost in vain. I knew that I would have taught them a few more songs sooner or later. It's not too late to talk about this after the war."

As the ten reindeer sacrificed were brought into the altar, Rurik, holding a short sword, stabbed all the deer to death in public. His decisiveness also amazed the onlookers nearby.

Rumia took out the heart of the most sturdy stag herself, held it high to show the clansmen, and then used her blood-stained fingers to write marks on Rurik's face.

That's not all, Rurik endured the stench and drank a bowl of deer blood in public from a small bowl made of sterling silver.

Rumia cut open the deer's liver again, held up the severed liver, and announced the good omen in public.

"Odin has made a statement, he supports our war, he supports Rurik as our war chief, and he will grant us victory. All Rus who participate in this war, whether they die in battle, or stay at home in old age Passing away peacefully, his soul will be chosen by the Valkyrie. Odin is watching his warriors, the gods will not ignore any brave man, the brave will enter Valhalla!"

She is already a high priest, who can not support the high priest?

Rumia now speaks the Norse language quite well. She is actually over thirteen years old, and in addition to having the beauty that a woman should have, she also has some necessary physical foundations for being a mother.

Of course, any deer breeder must have a good voice to call for deer or cattle and sheep that run far away in the open.

Her high-pitched voice was quite penetrating, and the good news of "God conferred blessings" really stimulated the eardrums of the Rus, and for this reason, the sacrifice also reached its boiling peak.

When the excitement of the people gradually became exhausted from the constant shouting, Rurik stood on some logs that had been moved into the altar, and once again publicized his great promise to those who supported the war.

He understands very well that spiritual encouragement is very necessary, but it is even more important to give clear material rewards.

He wants to mobilize all the men, women, children of the tribe, and all who are willing to serve the Ross tribe. All participants will enjoy the "war bonus", of course, this war division is famous. The protracted friction and fierce battle must have an end, because its existential threat affects the development of the Rus.

This battle is to end the war in the Gotland.

As for the way to end, it is to subdue the enemy and destroy the living force of the Gotlanders.

Rurik has no sympathy and kindness in this matter. His mind is full of mobilizing the power of the tribe, making the best weapons and armor, and being a madman for his tribe.

The majority of the clansmen are even more enthusiastic!

They celebrated wildly on nights without nights, and ushered in tense and ambitious preparations.