The Rise of Rurik

When the weather becomes cold enough and the clear night sky, the northern lights tend to shine throughout the night.

It didn't take long for the first snow to fall in winter, but after the snow fell, it didn't melt anymore. In the foreseeable future, there will be more snow waiting for the Ross people in the fjord, and winter has begun.

This winter is no longer tedious, and everyone is full of hope for the future.

Now, the people of the tribe are looking forward to the mass wedding on Frigday.

Before that day arrives, the vast number of newcomers are already making preparations.

For Arik, the marriage with Peravina represents a new beginning!

Since his father's death in the war, Arik moved to his uncle's house, but the old wooden house where he lived for many years is still maintained. The wooden house has been used as a warehouse for a long time, and now it will be full of popularity again.

In a sense, the houses of the various tribes of the Vikings have great similarities. The house is a place to sleep, it is also a kitchen, and it is also a warehouse for storing messy daily necessities. Every family, especially women, make a lot of smoked fish and bacon, and pickle various foods. All the food is piled up in their parents' house. Therefore, don't expect the fresh air in a house.

They can accept the smell of food, but they can't stand the smell of feces.

They are a group of people who love cleanliness more than Western Europeans, so when the "big cities" developed by the active Germanic people such as London and Paris in this time and space, when the residents were still drowning, the Vikings were already growing up. Build a separate toilet next to the house!

The Ross people, who belong to the same branch of the Viking branch, also follow this hygienic tradition.

They are better at maintaining hygiene, but they never realize that human and animal manure, and even rotting fish, can nourish crops and make fertilizer.

Apart from making farmyard manure, the Danes who control the richest land in Northern Europe do not know how to use fertilizers or water conservancy irrigation techniques.

But they still built a family toilet. The origin is still their warrior culture.

A warrior, if he is dirty, sloppy and stinking, he is brave and cannot be selected by the parade Valkyrie in winter.

Arik quickly took care of his hometown, returned to Roseburg's first night, and spent the first night of self reliance with his wife.

Arik lit the fuel lamp, then used a lot of buckskin to hit the floor, and waved his hand to his dazed wife: "Come on, we will sleep here tonight."

Peravina did not resist, she naturally slumped her hands, watching all the actions of her husband"Am I going to sleep on the ground like a beast? Can't it be like my hometown?" Peravina asked boldly.

"Sleeping on those boards?" Arik asked strangely.

"Why not?"

Arik shrugged, then sat on the deerskin, smiled and patted the furry animal skins hard: "Sit down, like me. You will get used to it! If you don't like it, after a while, we can be like Just like your hometown, make some boards."

People from the tribe are accustomed to sleeping on the ground. They have lived like this since ancient times. They didn't realize until they met the people of Novgorod in a distant place that some people actually slept on wooden boards.

Arik's current mentality has changed drastically. He has left his uncle to stand on his own, and he will need to work hard in the future. Fortunately, there is also a newlywed wife by her side. Faced with such a situation, a wise man will of course follow his wife's advice and meet his wife's reasonable requirements.

According to the rules of the Ross tribe, there is no possibility of divorce here, and the lightest punishment for marriage betrayal is exile. People simply think that these situations are incredible, so it is also part of the rule that women take care of their husbands' wealth. But women also have a major obligation, and they must take good care of the family's wealth, especially the family's food. The husband is responsible for fishing, hunting, and even running the long boat to rob other tribes. Women must properly process and store the food obtained by all means, so that the whole family will not be hungry.

It was cold, and my old house was still leaking. In order to be more warm, Arik lit some charcoal fires.

Charcoal fire may bring about carbon monoxide poisoning, but people nowadays do not have this concept, and very few people in the Rus tribe die mysteriously in their sleep. Because there are really very few longhouses nowadays that can be sealed as much as possible. They are houses made up of piles of wooden stakes, boards and animal skins, and at most some mud straw mats are attached.

The fighting power of the Russ' warriors is exploding, but in terms of the quality of the houses, they are not as good as the Novgorods who gave them tributes.

Even if there is a charcoal fire, the room is still cooler. Peravina wore her own cloth and put on a leather coat made of whole animal skins, which kept her warm enough.

Tonight's Peravina has made mental preparations, and she understands her responsibilities after marriage.

But, everything is calm tonight!

Maybe the newlywed husband is too tired? Or another reason.

She can't feel the cold at all, and because the animal skin is very thick, it feels very comfortable to sleep on the ground. This is an experience she has never had in her hometown of Novgorod.

The foundation of the city of Novgorod is the small families of various family estates. The small family is also a family living in a very cold wooden house, but in the wooden house there is only a piece of wooden bed, and the whole family sleeps. it's here.

The wooden boards are hard, and at most some thatch is added to the top. Some people with assets will buy another linen cloth to use as a mattress.

But they only have wealthy households like the clan chiefs who have the money to use animal skins for mattresses.

"They are not savages! They are very good at Varanga..."

For the first time, Peravina has a new understanding of "barbarians".

The entire Roseburg fell into silence. Even those tribal lads who returned with the Svig girls from Novgorod had great urgency to become fathers of children, but the rules of the tribes were very good here. Constraints.

Because before the wedding ceremony, the female priest Veria, and her female assistants, will check the purity of the bride. If it is verified that the bride's fiance did something in advance, it will be regarded as shameless and blasphemous by all the people, and will even be exiled.

Arik's heart is itchy. He knows that what he wants to do will only be compliant after Frieger Day.

It's dawn, and what makes Arik incredible is that it was Peravina who asked the question.

"Arik, why? I thought I was going to be a woman."

Her expression did not change, but Arik became quite embarrassed.

Eric held back for a while before asking: "Don't you want to be a mother so much?"

"Isn't this supposed to be?"

Arik was choked for a while, he really did not expect that he was longing for marriage, but now after finishing the local wedding ceremony in his wife's natal family, he suddenly felt that marriage brought happiness and a huge test. For the first time, he felt the pressure of being an adult of the tribe.

I never thought that my wife, who was far from the hometown of Novgorod, had accepted her new life for the first time.

Arik was hesitating, tears burst into his eyes.

"You... are you crying?"

Peravina asked, Arik could no longer control his emotions. What made a young strong man cry? Is moved!

Arik wiped away his tears with his sleeves, first explained to his wife, then stood up: "I'll cut some bacon and cook it. After we finish eating, we will go to my father's grave."

"Is it a sacrificial sweep?"

"It's a ritual that must be done." As he said, he pulled his wife up and solemnly ordered: "You and we are already the same. Next, we have to follow the ritual of the Ross people. After I get to my father's grave, I will Dig a hole, put my saber in it, and cover it with soil. After I finish this, you will dig out the sword yourself."

"Okay. I...may I ask why?"

"My father is your father. It symbolizes his blessing to you. At the wedding, you also know that I will give the saber you dug out to your hands, which means that only you give birth His son will inherit this saber from his grandfather."

Hearing all this, Peravina took a deep breath: "You Varangians, really cherish your sword."

"Hey." Arik took his wife's hand, "It's us! You are already Varanga."