The Rise of Rurik

Chapter 8: The first winter

After the autumn Sogon voyage, all the acquired wealth was properly distributed.

Undoubtedly, everyone who participated in this voyage, both the living and the dead, and their families, should have received the best part of the wealth.

The tribe has always followed this tradition: men who go on expeditions and gain spoils of war, receive more if they participate.

However, those who did not participate also received a small portion of the wealth.

Times are changing, as are peoples hearts.

Especially this time, as those who participated in the Sogon voyage encountered an attack by Gotland fishermen along the way, forcing the entire tribe to ponder two things.

First, the risk of Sogon voyages is potentially enormous.

Second, those who safely brought back the wealth, should they be entitled to a larger share?

Undoubtedly, the men of the tribe really hoped to participate in the action and gain more wealth. Some even spread the opinion that those who participated in the

Sogon voyage should divide the wealth according to their merits, and those who did not participate had no right to a share.

Indeed, many supported this idea, perhaps just plain human selfishness.

After all, in this Sogon voyage, the tribe deployed a third of its most combat-capable men, led by the chieftain himself!

These 700 men were the elite force of the tribe, the backbone, hence their attitude immediately influenced the distribution of wealth this autumn.

Chief Otto was not a completely selfless man.

Raised with a warriors education all his life, he relished the adoration of others, was fearless in battle, and passionate about acquiring spoils of war. Of course, he also sought the approval of the gods!

Especially this time, when holding his dying brother Ogier, who claimed to have seen a Valkyrie beckoning, his belief in Valhalla was reinforced.

Otto certainly agreed with the warriors views.

The brave and skilled warriors were proud and had a great desire for wealth.

But they also had strong self-respect.

For once, the tribes brothers had to fight to bring back the wealth, and it was unthinkable to accept rewards without contributing.

After some negotiation, the men of the tribe finally reached a consensus on the distribution of wealth and established clear rules for future distributions. As the tribe had no written language, the rules were established with the elders as witnesses.

In future Sogon voyages, the acquired wealth would be divided into two parts: half for the participants and their families, and half for the other men of the tribe and their families.

In any future battles, all participants are entitled to all spoils of war, and in case of death, their share goes to their family, especially their sons.

Before the first snowfall, the distribution of wealth was completely finished.

Up until now, the Ros tribes external actions also came to an end.

Their presence suddenly vanished in the almost frozen vastness of the Baltic Sea, with Rossburg hidden in the northernmost part of the Gulf of Bothnia, as if disappeared.

The tribes traditional fishing industry came to a halt, and even hunting in the forests outside their settlements stopped.

The key reason everyone had to face was the night.

In the Northern Hemispheres winter, especially in high latitude areas, nights are exceedingly long.

Rossburgs location is not within the Arctic Circle, but it has almost endless nights in winter, just as it has almost endless days in summer.

Winter is the most daunting, not knowing that the cold outside can reach minus twenty degrees, but what they do know is that the fish caught in bulk before winter, if left outside the wooden houses, would freeze as hard as stone.

People build wooden houses with animal fur and hemp cloth for insulation, and some poorer families even pile mud outside their houses for warmth.

Every house has an opening at the top, a vent for the smoke from the indoor bonfire.

In autumn, they chop and store a large amount of wood for heating in winter.

At the same time, they always wear thick fur coats.

In principle, the Ros tribe is the northernmost of all the Scandian tribes, speaking a language not much different from their southern brothers.

But their location is too far north.

Near Rossburg, the nearby sea is not abundant with fish but sufficient to support four or five thousand people through the winter.

For survival, they are willing to take risks in the dangerous forests.

Sometimes, Otto leads the men of the tribe into the forest before winter to hunt deer. Upon finding them, a Viking-style hunt unfolds.

They also often encounter black and polar bears, and if someone is alone, even with a large Nordic forest axe, its hard to fight back.

Bear fur is the thickest, and the Ros tribe knows well that a bear skin can be traded with their southern brothers for valuable treasures and can be used to make extremely warm coats and hats for their women.

After all, those bears endure extreme cold just with their fur, comfortably surviving the entire winter!

As chief, Otto received a substantial share of the wealth.

He even got honey, a highly prized commodity, and five sheepskins.

Perhaps in modern eyes, these dont seem valuable, but in Europe 1200 years ago, they were.

Ogier died, and his only son Arik inherited all his estate, including the wealth distributed this time.

Arik was also recognized as Ottos son under the witness of the tribes elders.

Thus, Arik naturally moved to Ottos house, temporarily taking on the task of helping Niya care for his younger brother.

The long night enveloped all of Scandinavia, and continuous snowfall plunged the forests around Rossburg into silence. In such low temperatures, few wild animals dared to leave their hiding caves, only a small number of reindeer, with their thick fur, pushed aside the snow with their strong mouths to graze on the grass roots beneath.

If they could hunt a strong reindeer, its meat would be enough to sustain Ottos family through the winter! Its fur could even be tailored by Niya into enough coats for a family of four to withstand the cold.

But winter hunting is very dangerous, so the strong Ros tribe preferred to hide in this bay, quietly waiting for the long night to pass.

They mostly stood outdoors, watching the stars and the bright moon reflecting off the wavy sea surface.

The sky often shimmered with the Aurora Borealis, believed by the people to be Brynhildrs Parade. Whenever it appeared, all sleeping people were willing to stand in the cold outdoors, wide-eyed, hoping to see the Valkyrie herself.

Another cold, quiet night.

Arik, wrapped in a whole bear skin, was awakened by the noise outside.

Otto and Niya also woke up, including our protagonist Liu Li, or Rurik.

Arik, go see whats happening, Otto instructed impatiently.

Yes!

Arik quickly put on his sheepskin coat and hat, then carefully opened the leather door curtain, only to see thousands of green ribbons freely swaying in the sky.

Its the Aurora! Arik excitedly returned to the cabin.

Its them! After Otto got up, he patted Ariks shoulder, Lets go have a good look. You know what that is!

Its my father!

Arik firmly believed in the legends, especially after his uncle clearly said that his father was recognized by the gods and taken away by a Valkyrie.

Thus, Ottos family, regardless of the cold, moved with the entire tribe tonight to witness the magnificent Aurora.

We cannot guess the ignorance of the Norse Viking tribes 1200 years ago with modern eyes.

Seeing the Northern Lights, they eagerly needed a beautiful explanation.

Its the trajectory of the Valkyrie driving her chariot, active only in winter, inspecting people on the ground to find potential lucky ones who could go to Valhalla in the future.

Rurik, born just a hundred days ago, curled up in a sheepskin swaddle, held by his birth mother Niya, witnessing the celestial spectacle for the first time.

Ah! This is the Aurora! This is indeed Scandinavia.

The scene confirmed Ruriks location, but that was all.

Rurik could not determine the exact era, and he had many concerns, limited by being just a baby, unable to communicate with others.

All Rurik could do now was quietly observe.

He saw a young boy shouting at the Northern Lights with a crying voice, and

heard his mother comforting the boy with many words.

Unfortunately, his mind was always in chaos, this body truly was that of a baby, and fatigue always came unexpectedly, with sleep being the most important thing of his day.

In a short time, Rurik couldnt understand the language spoken by others, even the most frequently used words were only guesses.

Although the language was very similar to English, the numerous click sounds were strange.

The baby is growing, winter will pass, and the situation is changing.

Until the arrival of spring.

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