Chapter 1,334 Blackbird Is Already a True Priest

In the Aachen Palace, the more noble the female nobles are, the more they are bound by a large number of rules.

You can't do this or that, especially after your sister was kidnapped, the constraints on yourself became even deeper - you completely became a bird in a cage.

However, the bird broke free from its cage and was free.

The more he thought about it, the more Gisla liked his new name of "Blackbird".

Life became organized, and he was placed next to Verika as a sister.

What does Archdeacon mean? Is it really equivalent to the cardinal next to the Pope?

Blackbird doesn't understand, but she is clearly aware that she must quickly adapt to a new life, and she may have to live here for the next few years.

It has been a week since arriving at New Rossburg, the capital of Ross.

Seven days is enough time for her to make a good observation.

Here, the Russian clergy are all women. They are young and beautiful, speak Norse, and know a lot of Latin. They are all girls from wealthy local families and come to work in the Grand Temple for a better life in the future. The lower-level priests will change every year, but only the high priest will last forever, and the so-called "purity" has nothing to do with the high priest.

In the great temple, only the high priest has the right to marry, but the purpose of marriage is only to give birth to the next generation of high priest. This sacred position is also held by the first daughter.

Then, the lively Verika is the future high priest of the Rus. It is really a good thing that I maintain a very close relationship with such a person.

In the Great Temple, the food of Blackbird is not much different from that of other priests. Even the noble high priest eats the same food as everyone else.

It's just that the food and treatment here really overturned Blackbird's imagination. She originally thought that all Normans drank raw meat and drank blood. Even the nobles among them often ate raw meat and drank blood. After all, the great Frankish nobles knew something about the Danish world, and ordinary people knew nothing about it.

Everything she knew about the north originally came from the accounts of the slain palace steward, and the atrocities committed by the Rus' army after they captured Aachen confirmed these accounts.

but now……

The tableware for eating is made of glass. Because the daylight hours are too short in winter, there are two meals a day, and in summer the number increases to three meals a day.

These two meals are not only rich in variety, but also very rich.

The porridge is made with milk and butter, and honey and salt are added for seasoning, so it is deliberately made into extremely thick porridge.

The fluffy bread is sliced ​​and served with a thick vegetable soup.

There was also a kind of strange strip-shaped pasta. Blackbird was surprised to see the low-level priests, and even his sister and master Verica, skillfully controlling two wooden sticks with their dexterous right hands to remove the pasta with sauce. Gag in mouth.

Braised noodles made with extremely greasy salted venison sauce is the weirdest staple food that Blackbird has ever seen in her life. Her clumsy manipulation of the wooden stick made Verika laugh. In order to avoid continuing the embarrassment, Blackbird continued He took the wooden fork that was handed to him and started eating.

"Learn well. Here in Ross, the more noble you are, the more you should avoid grabbing food directly with your hands. It is indecent. You must quickly learn to use wooden sticks to hold food, like me." Verica said. Speaking, I also personally teach as a teacher.

There are seven days in a week, and the meals are different on each of the seven days.

What surprised the blackbird even more was that there was meat to eat here every day, either fish or venison.

All of this was an experience she had never had in the Aachen Palace. It was completely different from the palace's strict diet. The Russian priests had such rich meals as if everyone was participating in banquets every day.

Because the priest group of the Kingdom of Rus, due to the "money box offering" worship model, it is a profit-making organization affiliated with the royal family. Most of the profits were paid into the treasury called the "big money box", and the cash was moved upstairs to the attic-style palace next door.

The expenses that Rumia controls as the high priest are the festival sacrifices and the daily food and drink expenses of the priests. She is directly responsible to Rurik himself. At present, the priesthood is completely financially self-sufficient, and the surplus every autumn is transferred to the university.

The cash box, as for the surplus, it all depends on Rumia's attitude.

The financial issues are all normal, so Lumia naturally has to raise her standards in daily meals.

Another important reason is that during major festivals, all priests have to face heavy physical labor and even perform some extreme actions.

Those thin girls who are chosen as lower priests will soon become stronger. Eating high-fat and high-calorie foods every day will not make girls obese. Living in the long and cold north, they must eat more to hedge against the cold.

It is for this reason that the lower-level priests passively grow up in an extremely healthy food environment. They are all of northern ancestry. Compared to their parents whose height was reduced due to poor food, a fifteen-year-old girl is already extremely tall. They are neither thin nor bloated. Their arms are well-proportioned and strong, and their chests can also show off the proud charm of women.

Those who can successfully send their daughters to the big temple feel that they have taken advantage of it, and their daughters are trained to become excellent fairies. The only ones who can marry them are probably the high-ranking nobles of the Kingdom of Ross.

This is why the ten-year-old Velika has already reached the height of her mother, even though she is younger, she is half a head taller than the twelve-year-old Blackbird.

If the two girls hadn't asked about their ages, we would have known who was the elder sister and who was the younger sister.

The food was excellent and going to the bathroom was a magical experience.

There are no toilets in the Aachen Palace, or the Frankish nobles have never installed toilet facilities. Going to the toilet is done in a wooden basin, and the city's filth is thrown directly into the drainage ditch every day, and is directly carried to the river outside the city by the hot spring system that runs through the city.

Of course, there are also people who specialize in transporting filth and garbage, so there is a small mound outside Aachen, which has been covered with grass. The place is always filled with stench, and no one wants to stay here.

At that time, the blackbird did not have the corresponding awareness of using the toilet. Now she has completely adapted to the new clean and hygienic life, and she even asks herself - was I a bug living in the soil in the past? So dirty.

In the past, taking a bath was a luxury, but now I take a bath once a week.

The winter in New Roseburg is harsh and dry. Even if there are sufficient conditions in such an environment, frequent bathing will be very harmful to the skin. If it is exposed to the cold again, the situation will be even worse.

Now, it’s another “hygiene day” of the week.

Even High Priest Rumia is willing to soak in hot water. She is actually only twenty-seven years old. Although her body is short, her face does not look old at all. She awaits her big day - the annual winter meeting with King Rurik.

As expected, the king will arrive in the capital soon, and may bring back his son Oleg who is stranded in Novgorod.

However, she is not the queen. Only during the winter meeting can Rurik belong to herself.

She soaked her head in the hot water and curled up in thought.

"It's time to prepare for this year's Hanukkah! Just like in previous years, do it step by step. Well, I should organize a group of men to cut wood and build a tower..."

Rumia was quietly alone, and through the door she heard the playfulness of the lower-level priestesses. The time is coming, and these girls have to discuss this year's Hanukkah, whether they are looking forward to it, complaining about it, or whatever.

In another room, two girls were soaking in a huge wooden barrel.

"It's been a week, you should get used to it. Well, you must be used to it." After that, Verica lowered her mouth to the surface of the water and blew bubbles playfully.

"I'm used to it. Looking back on the past, I have never been so comfortable."

"Freedom?" Velika hurriedly put her head out and pouted, "Are you still free? It's really uncomfortable to be locked up by the high priest. I'm not as good as my younger brothers. They are really free in Novgorod." .”

"How free?" Blackbird asked casually.

"You can do whatever you want. There is even my brother Asgard who participated in the expedition. Oh, by the way, have you ever met him?"

"This..." These words can make people choke to death. The blackbird immediately puffed up his mouth and gritted his teeth from the bottom of his heart: "He? He even beat me."

"There is such a thing

? I do not believe. "

"Forget it, I don't want to remember it anymore." After saying that, the blackbird sunk his whole head under the water to show his resistance.

Blackbird has regarded Verika as a real sister, but they have no blood relationship with them. When the name "Askard" was mentioned, Blackbird realized that the enemy and the girl in front of him were related.

She got her head out of the water again and faced Verika's face: "Don't mention these things again. I am no longer Gisla, I am Blackbird Telesia."

"Then let's not mention it. Hehe." Verica changed the topic: "Now we face a problem."

"What?"

"It's almost Hanukkah. It's the biggest festival in Rus, and we will be very tired by then. Especially me, as the deputy priest, I have important performances."

"Um."

"You are my assistant. When the time comes, you and I will have to work together. Do you...dare you?"

"Dare you." Blackbird said without even thinking.

"How dare you? You don't even ask me what I should do then?"

"What is it?"

"Kill the deer." As she said that, Verica used her hand as a knife to point at her own neck, and deliberately extended her neck to make a ferocious gesture.

"Ah?!" Blackbird suddenly realized what this meant, his eyes widened suddenly, and he couldn't help but cover his mouth with his hands.

"You? Are you scared?"

"I'm...afraid..."

"I think you are afraid too." Verica put down her hand, with a weird smile on her lips, "But you have no right to refuse. It doesn't matter, I will take action when the time comes, and you can just watch from the side. Or... you just try it. Cut the deer's neck with a dagger."

Of course the blackbird knew what it was - killing.

The girl in front of her was lively, enthusiastic and agile, but she never imagined that she could be so cruel. I almost forgot that this was the great temple of Ross. I am afraid that Velika, like other Ross nobles, must have a ferocious side?

"Sister." Verica's bare arms suddenly rested on Blackbird's shoulders. She leaned her face closer and pressed her forehead against his: "You can't hide. As my assistant, you must do You don’t have to do it this year, but it will be indispensable next year. And you can’t wait long, you still have to do it when the spring sacrifice comes.”

Of course, there are blackbirds and reindeer. These large animals are seen almost every day. Reindeer are a regular visitor to New Roseburg in winter. Reindeer sleighs roam the streets and there are also huge herds of deer outside the city. ,

Blackbird couldn't even think of killing such an animal. After all, she had never killed any small animals in her life, and such a barbaric ritual was impossible in Aachen.

Blackbird gently pushed Verika away, suppressing the fear in his heart, and asked gently: "Am I not afraid of blood?"

"I was scared at first, but now I'm not scared anymore. When I was seven years old, I killed a deer myself. I know that from that time on, everyone recognized that I would definitely be the next generation of high priest."

"But I'm not." Blackbird resisted instinctively.

"You are my assistant, you can't hide. In this case, you might as well prepare early. Besides, if you marry Uncle Fox in the future, if you don't even dare to kill a deer, how will the Jotalans over there accept you as theirs? Countess?"

These words were still too advanced for Blackbird, especially coming from the mouth of a girl who was only ten years old.

The blackbird didn't refuse any more. He just had to admit it bravely: "Okay! I will do it. In this way, the gods in the north will recognize me..."

She had witnessed the brutal killings in Aachen that scared her out of her mind, and now she was going to be the executor of the killings? Even if it was just a deer that would be put to death.

Blackbird has never seen the so-called "Uncle Fox" these days. Since she made an agreement with Verica, she had to hold the heavy hand the next day while continuing to study the Russian classics written in Latin. Steel sword.

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Rika is a girl, but at the request of her father Rurik, she must try to be a "valkyrie on earth", the same as the deceased but elevated to a god - as her name is inherited from Velya.

Given time, Verika can become an agile female warrior. She is always proud of this and never dares to live up to her father's expectations.

As a result, she dared to stab the unsuspecting reindeer suddenly with a sword and quickly dodge. After the deer continued to struggle until it lost its breath, she walked back with the sword and accurately cut open the deer's belly, holding the bloody deer liver high. Then hand it over to the high priest. By then, all the people watching could see that the little girl in plain clothes was covered in blood.

This is what happened during the Autumn Sacrifice, and Velika was already very skilled at it at such a young age.

For the first time, Blackbird holds the gem-encrusted Ross steel sword.

It was a short sword, and the blackbird who held it had to be trained to thrust and slash. The blade is so sharp that it can easily cut hair, and can easily penetrate thick leather.

In Aachen, Blackbird saw her father's sword. When she touched the weighted ball on the sword's handle out of curiosity, her father slapped her hand harshly.

Girls shouldn't be exposed to such murderous creatures?

"No! I touched it now, and I want to touch it well." Thinking of those past events, Blackbird became furious.

Rumia was silently observing her every move, and she couldn't help but feel worried when she saw her holding the dagger. The daughter has been supervising and giving verbal guidance. Obviously everything was agreed upon by the two daughters.

Although Rumia was worried, she didn't dare to say anything based on the current situation.

"A Frankish princess is preparing to execute a sacrificial reindeer here? She is not qualified. But... this may be her fate." Rumia thought silently and immediately dealt with her own affairs.

Everyone is preparing for Hanukkah this year. It is at this time that winter business groups from Novgorod arrive one after another as the river is frozen enough for sledding.

This was the moment Rumia was looking forward to. She took a bath and changed clothes to prepare for her reunion with Rurik. Unfortunately, she did not receive her man, but received news of war.