The Rise of Rurik

In the early morning, the sea was covered with thick salt fog, causing fear among the people.

“Otto, maybe it’s not suitable to set sail now, wait until the fog disperses…”

“No!” Otto denied his brother’s suggestion, “Are you afraid of this fog in addition to the Goths?”

Faced with his brother’s question, Ogier immediately denied it: “I’m not afraid of those threats, nor the fog. I am very worried about the things beneath the sea.”

“Sea monsters? Are you worried they will destroy our fleet?”

“They do exist, we must be on guard.” Watching his brother’s anxious eyes, Otto felt a twinge in his heart. His brother was indeed not wrong. This vast sea area is both abundant and dangerous, and the huge warships could easily be destroyed by monster attacks.

Besides monsters, the fleet needed to be wary of the fishermen on those islands. Because today, the fleet was about to pass by Gotland Island! Should they continue to linger here? No!

Because Otto knew, the beach they were currently on could also be discovered by other tribes. They are another group of people, speaking a different language, weak in combat, but numerous in number! Otto thought for a moment, then made a decisive decision:

“Even with the fog, we must set sail! Be careful, we might be attacked by people on shore.”

In fact, what the chief of the Ros tribe, Otto, was worried about was the people of Polaris.

Nowadays, the inhabitants of the eastern part of the Baltic Sea are just like a scattered tribe. Attack them for more wealth? No!

Otto didn’t want to do that, simply because those tribes of Polaris were too poor. Besides, his main task now was to bring all the wealth back home. Because, there were not only his tribespeople but also his pregnant wife waiting for him. However, his brother Ogier mentioned the fear within the team, which needed to be reversed.

Otto put on his steel helmet, and held aloft his long sword “Destroyer” with a ruby-encrusted hilt, gathering his subordinates around him.

“Brothers! Are you afraid of the fog? Or the sea monsters? Don’t be afraid, I will lead you as always, we will leave here quietly, not attracting any attention.”

Otto’s long sword “Destroyer”, a legacy from his grandfather, is also a symbol of the tribal leader.

“Don’t worry about anything, we are invincible in battle! We will fight any enemies we encounter! Brothers! If you suddenly find yourself sitting in a chariot, seeing a white-robed fairy driving the horses. Don’t worry! Because you are already dead! You will go to Valhalla and fight alongside the gods!”

As soon as these words were spoken, a cheer erupted from the crowd. Even Otto’s brother Ogier felt much less worried. The people revered this long sword, as well as their leader. Seeing that the tension had eased among everyone, Otto did not say more.

He continued to wave his sword: “Brothers, follow me home. Now, let us return to the ship and leave here!”

The people pushed the stranded warship back into the sea, they retracted the sails, and started rowing hard towards the north. At least, they thought it was north… Otto, always in armor, stood at the bow of the ship, unafraid of the fog, but he did not expect the fog to bring a special result—they had deviated from their course.

Otto could not accurately determine his position and course in the sea fog, but he himself was a good navigator. According to his judgment, the fleet was indeed heading north.

But the fleet had already deviated significantly, and they were closer to the west. When the fog completely dissipated, those with good eyesight on the ship saw islands in the distance.

“Leader, what’s happening? What are the islands ahead?!” one of Otto’s subordinates reported anxiously. At this moment, Otto’s face was like iron.

Fight? Fighting is certainly possible, that is the way of life for all tribes in this bay, as necessary as eating and sleeping. And Ogier had already realized everything, he nervously approached his brother: “Brother, that’s the island of the Goths. Weren’t we supposed to head north?

Instead, we have been heading west.” “It’s already happened, we must turn immediately. We must avoid a battle with them.” The dragon-headed warship, low in the water and fast in speed, quickly changed course. This time, they finally found the true north.

Otto again ordered: “Brothers, stay alert, beware of attackers.”

Through the order, ten warships gathered together, those carrying the most treasures were placed in the middle, and Otto’s ship, as the flagship, was now at the front.

They maintained this formation and continued to sail, rowing continuously until night fell. The fleet finally found a deserted small island, like many uninhabited islands in the bay, similar in appearance with only barren rocks.

People secured the ships with ropes, then, scattered lights flickered on the desolate island. After a day of rowing, even the strongest warriors showed signs of fatigue, but no one privately took the transported goods, even though they included precious honey. “Today we almost encountered those people, fortunately, we discovered the deviation in time.”

Otto, still in armor and lying on the rocks, shared his thoughts with his brother, “The fog came at the wrong time, but from tomorrow, our voyage will be smooth.” “Yes! We almost encountered the Goths. I… I don’t want to fight them.”

“If we had encountered them, they might not have attacked us! After all, we are numerous and powerful. Sleep peacefully, my brother.” Otto finally patted his brother’s helmet, and then fell into a deep sleep.

That night, everyone rested very peacefully, because they all truly believed that the road ahead would be safe. Even in just two more days of sailing, everyone could return to the tribe, where their eagerly awaiting fathers, brothers, and wives, and all the tribespeople expecting a victorious return, were waiting.

But will the road ahead really be smooth? This era was not short of people with excellent vision. Otto and his warriors lit many bonfires on the desolate island, exposing themselves. Although the Goths had left the island in large numbers hundreds of years ago, their development in the mysterious south was unimaginable to the people of the bay. But indeed, many bay people had gone to the south, and many wonderful messages had reached the bay, even the most remote icy lands of the north.

In fact, Otto’s ancestors were pursuing this wonderful legend, but they did not explore the unknown world towards the western exit of the bay like others, but went straight to the east and finally found another group of people living on endlessly mild land. They were a wealthy but weakly combative group, and now, they had submitted to the Ros tribe.

The fishermen of Gotland Island noticed the flickering bonfires on the island in the night, and this important intelligence was immediately sent back to the island.

Who were those lighting the bonfires? Allies? Or enemies? The islanders almost instantly concluded—they were enemies!

The Sviya people. The Sviya people, that is, hundreds of years later, would form one of the most powerful tribes among the many Swedish tribes.