Rise of Rurik

The sky is cloudy again, and everyone is worried that the blizzard will come again, but no matter how threatening there is, the return journey cannot be delayed.

Light snow fell from the sky, and people had snow on their leather clothes, including their beards, which were "dyed" white.

Rurik tried his best to cover himself, sharing a large deerskin blanket with Seporava. The girl was completely hidden in the leather, and Rurik only showed a pair of eyes.

Everyone began to keep quiet, only the reindeer continued to breathe in a lot of fog and continued to enter.

The snow seems to be like that, it won't get too severe, and once you get used to the current low temperature, there's nothing to complain about.

They reached the very crucial fork where the two main rivers merged into the wider Elon (Kemi).

Until the taciturn people here finally became restless under the light snow.

"Finally going back." Biyonni shouted as he pulled off his leather jacket, shaking the ice off his beard.

"Then keep going. It's completely safe to get to Fort Fisker as soon as possible." Rurik didn't want to say more, he didn't want to lose precious calories, so he urged the sled driver to continue beating the reindeer.

The team still maintained a steady pace, and they literally walked a marathon a day. Rurik has been silently counting the time. They have traveled for fifteen days since they set off from Murmansk!

So far, the wheat has been used up to feed the deer, and the reindeer have to nibble on the hay under the snow while the team rests, and there is not much meat left in the people's reserves.

Fortunately, Biyonni was followed by the best Balmerk hunters, and Rurik's men were also fat and strong. Everyone is strong and has enough physical strength to resist for a while.

At this fork in the road, it was like seeing the first rays of dawn at the end of the polar night.

Everyone proceeded step by step, and after another three days, the lake finally arrived.

The whip began to lash the reindeer, and the loaded sleigh began to accelerate.

The light snow has stopped, the north wind has blown away the haze, and the sky is suddenly clear. Everyone breathes extremely transparent air, and the sun shines in the sky!

People with good eyesight can see the houses and walls from a distance, although they are covered by pine forests, they are still very obvious.

Rurik finally lifted the leather blanket and stood on the galloping sleigh, holding Yevlo's arm and shouting, "Go on, brothers! Wheat porridge! Barbecue! Let the brothers over there see how good we are!"

It must be ceremoniously announced to the people that Lord Rurik has reached the northernmost coast and is determined to establish a permanent settlement.

But now, everyone who is hungry just wants to nibble on a roasted animal leg, or eat a pot of cooked oatmeal.

There is a group of dark shadows on the ice lake, that is a group of fishermen. The winter hunting work is basically over, and many people are dragging their feet and returning with a small number of prey. The Ross hunters evacuated as the blizzard began to appear. It is fortunate to be able to save their lives under the natural disaster. After returning early, they endured the wind and snow at Fort Fisker, and turned into fishermen to fish ice. Not to mention that there are really many fish in this lake area.

People have to live first, and they have been living on fish and meat for some time in this extremely cold place.

A few still managed to catch a fleet of ferrets and foxes, and the perch fished from the frozen lake piled up into hills. When Rurik and his party were triumphant, they met with him.

Ross fishermen are shocked!

Because they're not just here to fish? Each hunter is also given a key mission.

The sled that appeared on the ice caught the attention of all the fishermen? They all stood up and moved to the sled spontaneously.

Rurik no doubt saw this. "Haha brothers? The other brothers have come to visit us."

Rurik was in a good mood? The sled stopped, and a dozen or so fishermen gathered on the ice.

"Haha? Are you here to welcome me? How's the hunt? I see you... fishing?"

A fisherman with a quivering mouth, no salute? Vulgar and discreet reporting of very serious matters.

"Lord Rurik? Something has happened in Rosberg! Very serious."

"A major event? What a major event!" Rurik's smile was lost in an instant, and his mind buzzed again, "It can't be Otto... he drank too much alcohol and... died?!"

Rurik's words were also rough, and the fisherman hurriedly explained? "His lord the duke has always been good. But the high priest? She...she's dying! Even now she's dead."

"Vilia?! High Priest?"

"right!"

"Okay, I get it..." Rurik didn't talk nonsense anymore, he hooked his head and panted, "My people need to get supplies quickly, and I want to meet Rosberg in the starry night."

"Sir? Come with us."

Is High Priest Veria really going to end his life? Or is it that the news has been passed on long ago, and I don’t even know that I am in the polar region? After learning this, Willa has already made his will as scheduled? Has it turned to ashes?

Villa was too old, and it was a miracle that the old woman who had seen so many survived until the end of the polar night.

A major event happened? Rurik quietly ate some grilled sea bass at Fort Fisker? The group only rested for one night? The next morning, after replenishing the reindeer, they began to run towards Elrond again.

A group of people stranded in Fiskler Fort were ordered to find the missing Rurik. Some people had pessimistic thoughts, and many people cheered up, convinced that Odin would not let his human heirs die.

Rurik is back, and those left behind are shocked by the large number of prey they have brought back! The piled up layers of leather made it difficult to identify what prey it came from, but everyone knew the polar bear's hideous head.

Lord Rurik just survived the terrifying cold snap and hunted down countless bears! What a hero this is!

It was only at noon the next day that Rurik, who had no need to cherish animal power, arrived at Elrond Castle, where he also learned of today's definite date.

The time is already February 10 of the Julian calendar, and it actually enters the month of February!

Seporava returned to the arms of her father, Mechasta, and told her father and brother Telavis about her experience in the "sea at the end of the world".

It was a massively legendary experience, and the sea itself was a miracle. The so-called world is obviously the coldest, and it must be the gods of the Rus people who keep the sea from freezing.

But Mechasta had no intention of listening to his daughter's description for the time being. As the "governor" of Elronborg, he had to make it clear to his master Rurik that something big had happened to Roseburg.

The dinner was sumptuous, with oatmeal, wheat cakes, roast meat, fish stew, carrot stew with mushrooms, and a small amount of spirits.

Brothers Biyonne and Floki, who had never seen the High Priest Vilia, could not understand the sacred place of the old woman among the Rus, and they threw themselves into their meals to entertain the feeble bodies.

Rurik really couldn't eat it, he hung his head and ate some oatmeal and some soup to finish it off.

Mechasta said regretfully: "Any mortal, or a saint with a mortal body, will eventually leave this human world. The body of High Priest Ross has reached its limit and can no longer sustain a great soul. I receive The blizzard just ended when the news came, and a whole month has passed now, maybe Veria's soul has left her body like a dead tree, and she has become your Valkyrie."

Mechasta tried to be euphemistic. He knew the relationship between the old screw woman and Rurik. A woman worshipped by the gods already regarded Rurik as her grandson, and he was worried that Rurik would cry. Cry till faint.

Rurik did not cry. Perhaps the greatest sorrow of a man is to remain silent like a piece of wood.

There was a whole bottle of vodka on the table, which was obtained from the second distillation of ordinary ale, and the capacity was only two taels. Rurik grabbed it, pulled the cork, and drank it, and threw the empty glass directly onto the wooden floor.

"Sir! You..."

The spicy taste stimulated Rurik to tremble all over. He slowed down and said in a low voice, "I know, I want to go back immediately, and leave tomorrow."

Rurik's pain was fully manifested in the suffocation of the strong drink, and Mechasta felt very uncomfortable. He hoped that Rurik would cheer up a little and report something else.

There was also the production of ore, the production of iron, and the fact that the two giant spruce trees were preliminarily processed and hoisted onto sleds, and the trunks used as masts must have arrived at Roseburg.

Including the supervision of the old Eric family, a Danish traveler who stayed here as a guest (a kind of residential surveillance).

Rurik nodded: "I'm glad these things are working properly. Do you have anything else to report?"

"I..." Mechasta was stunned for a moment, "I also want to know, where have you been? Many brothers are looking for you, including the deer breeders who were ordered to herd."

"Let your daughter talk about it. We went along the glacier to the northernmost sea and saw many miracles. I am tired and I will go to rest immediately."

There is indeed a difference between Rurik and Otto. He is very easy to get drunk, but he sobers up faster than ordinary people.

He soon fell into a state of drunkenness, and without taking a bath, he lay in the warm mansion, forgetting all his troubles and falling asleep.

At night, he sweated profusely and returned to normal, and Rurik, who changed clothes the next day, continued to run with his subordinates regardless of whether they had rested or not.

Rurik had more deer pulling the sled, and the sled was so powerful that it was not a problem to run 100 kilometers a day on the offshore ice.

He took all the prey, as well as Kawi, Kamne, who were constantly stationed there, and the Danish travelers who realized that the Rus people were strong enough to stay in Elrond for a few months. They spent three days rushing back to Rosburg.

A wooden pole was set up on the sleigh, with a small Rus flag on it.

The hunters, who had dug holes in the sea to keep the seals waiting for the seals, were the first to welcome their Lord Rurik.

Rurik asked everyone, "Is Willia all right?"

People shouted excitedly that the high priest was still alive but in very bad condition, and then, in extreme astonishment, watched the sleigh team full of hideous bear heads leave.

At this moment, the Fortress of Ross is already very lively. After all, the time has entered February, and there are still fifty days left before the sea thaws.

The climate is still very cold, and life in the Rus is getting busier every day.

In particular, the shipbuilding factory in Hortra, after the arrival of the mast timber they expected, with the help of Duke Otto's order and the police, has used the scaffolding built last year to install two masts on the two large hulls.

Rurik's love saw the two new ships that were about to be launched with huge masts erected. It was not a problem for them to launch smoothly.

The news of Lord Rurik's return was spreading wildly. When the sleigh reached the frozen coast, Rurik jumped off the boat and ran to the priest's house with his mercenaries.

He didn't care about anything, for fear that she would leave without saying a few words to Villa.

The thick leather curtain was violently split open by Rurik, who rushed into the warm longhouse and shouted, "Grandma! How are you?"

Rurik walked straight into Veria's bedroom and ran into Rumia, whose eyes were red from crying.

After the blizzard ended, Rosberg once returned the bad news of Rurik's disappearance. Otto was very worried about Rurik's safety, but on the surface it was pointless to pretend that he would be protected by God.

Niya subconsciously thought of the two sons she had lost, and now that Rurik has also encountered disasters, she has been washing her face in tears for some time.

Rumia regarded Rurik as my own brother, and her only man. As the next high priest, she is also suffering from Willia's death now.

The good news came suddenly! Rurik triumphed with a load of bearheads and skins?

After the messenger finished speaking, Rumia was so excited that she cried, and she wanted to go out to greet him when she collided with Rurik directly indoors.

She jumped straight up and hugged him in her arms.

With such a performance, Rurik was taken aback: "Rumia! Veria she..."

"I'm so worried about you... I'm afraid you've..."

"Get out of the way!" Rurik tried hard, pushed Rumia aside, and then broke into Veria's bedroom.

An old man with white hair and plain clothes was cared for by a group of priestesses.

"Is it... Rurik? My Rurik is back?"

Hearing Veria's hoarse voice, a line of hot tears welled up from the corners of his eyes, and Rurik burst into tears. He rushed over in a hurry, knelt down on the leather pad on which Veria was lying, and held her hand like a dead branch tightly.

"Grandma, I'm back. What's wrong with you."

Villa laughed in front of him, "I'm about to leave, I finally saw you before I left."

"Grandma, don't be silly. Everything will be fine."

"Don't be silly, boy. It's Odin's call, so why don't you grieve."

"I..." Rurik forced a smile, even though the tears were still gushing out.

The priests, including Rumia, were all gathered in the room, tears streaming down their cheeks.

Villa muttered angrily again, "Rurik, where have you been? Why did you come back so late? It's a blizzard..."

"I went to the sea at the end of the world, the most northern sea, where it is sheltered by Odin, and the sea does not freeze."

"Really!" There was a satisfied smile on the face of Veria Withered Tree, "Is it beautiful there?"

"Beautiful! Odin told me that the Rus people will build a fort there, called Fort Murman, and I built a camp according to God's will, and spent the coldest days."

"It's great, I'll go and thank Odin myself." Veria took a long breath and stared at Rurik softly, "I'm letting me see you. Oops, you've lost weight, you need to eat more... …”

Then the gentle cheeks quieted down, spit it out in one breath, everything was calm, everything was over...

Rurik clenched his dead hands, realizing that the great man had left.

She is dead.

The priests were weeping, Rumia cried the most, and the longhouse wailed.

"Quiet!" Rurik roared, sobbing that his sobbing turned into small sobbing. "Rumia! Does the high priest have a last word?"

Lumia Li hurriedly brought a wooden board full of words, "This is her last word, she has been holding on to her last breath, just to see you."

Taking the wooden board, Rurik looked at it, nodded in depression, and suppressed his sorrow and solemnly ordered all the priests: "You can all hear, lying here is only the body of Veria. Her soul has gone to Valha. Ra, she is now the Valkyrie Sperosvillea, a Valkyrie that belongs only to us, a Valkyrie who will only bless us. Her body is cremated according to her will, and the ashes are stuffed into the ocean."

Speaking of excitement, Rurik turned around suddenly with tears in his eyes, pressing his hands firmly on Rumia's shoulders, "You are the high priest. I will hold a grand funeral for Veria, and you will become the real The High Priest! Now, go to the funeral! Tell the people of Veria's funeral."