059

All the winter months have been extremely busy in Kattegat. Apart from training four times a week, the inhabitants and slaves were also preparing supplies of materials for the spring, I wanted to start work as soon as possible when better weather would come. Large tracts of forest were cleared, we started to stockpile stone to build the wall ... and in my spare time I made toys for my daughter.

Mainly they were some rattles, dogs and cats on wheels that could be led out on a string. I also made checkers, dominoes and a few other games, although at the moment my daughter was too young for these things, but they will be useful in the future. Thyri, Siggy's daughter, became the first toy tester. Due to her mother's work, she was often at my house. Siggy was distrustful at first, but after some time she saw that I had no bad intentions towards her daughter and stopped paying attention to what we were doing.

New games and toys gained popularity among people, although that was not my goal when I made them... and in a thousand years, people will remember the Vikings not as warriors, but as creators of Lego.

At the end of March, we started preparations for this year's raids. My fleet has grown to twenty-three ships. I was going to send ten of them to Hamburg, thirteen to Antwerp and I was going to take part in this raid as well ... the proximity of Aachen bothered me a bit, less than 200 kilometers to the future capital of the Frankish Empire and one of Charlemagne's favorite places. This raid has to be fast, it has to be brutal and it has to appear like a saxon attack.

I have called a meeting of my hrid. Everyone had arrived, except for Ragnar, who was hunting. The meeting wasn't scheduled so I couldn't blame him.

- Leif, how did people progress in training over the winter?

- At first they were reluctant to this idea, but with time they changed their mind. It's definitely better than it was, but there's plenty of room to improve their skills. Especially with a sword and a bow, One-Eye can certify, with hitting a stationary target, no problem. As the target moves, their accuracy drops significantly.

- I see, we will do the same every year ... Leif, if there are people with great talent in sword and spear, separate them from the group and let them train only with each other. I'm going to create a special team of fighters. I will provide them with weapons and other equipment.

We also talked about ships, Kattegat upgrades and of course raids. The deal hasn't changed, two-thirds for the crew, one-third for me... but before leaving for the raid, there had to be a sowing festival...

At one of the fields ready for sowing, the people of Kattegat gathered and a cow was also brought to be sacrificed to ensure better yields, the animal waited calmly in front of the altar, next to it stood a man with an ax that is supposed to cut off the cow's head at a given sign. Lagertha, dressed in a white gown and accompanied by several women, stepped forward... after a while there was silence and my wife began to give a prayer.

"Freyr, guð allsnægtar, skínandi Freyr, vér áköllum þig. Vér bjóðum þér þessa fórn.

Freyr, sonur Njarðar, þú sem ákveður þegar sólin rís eða þegar rignir, gef oss frjósemi jarðar.

Með blóði þessarar fórnar, nærðu og gjörðu móður jörð gjöfulla. Með reð þínum, fyllt þú móðurlíf hennar með ávinningi jarðar.

Nú er tíminn."

The last words were a sign to the man. With one blow he stripped the head of the animal, blood spurted onto nearby people, sculptures and into previously prepared bowls.

People started clapping, shouting, they were happy that the gods had accepted the sacrifice... or that beef will be at the feast.

One of these bowls was given to Lagertha, she soaked two fingers in blood. Then she made two lines on her face, from the mouth, through the chin and neck, to the breast. The two women standing nearby poured two bowls full of blood on my wife.

Lagertha and the rest of the women took the bowls, went out into the field, and began to splash blood on the ground.

I don't know why ... but my wife was covered in blood, and it had a strange stimulating effect on me ... I guess I discovered a new fetish of mine after so many years?

People started going home or celebrating elsewhere and I took the opportunity...

I grabbed Lagertha's hand, pulled her to me, I leaned her against a tree and pulled her dress up ... neither of us said a word.

I learned something new about myself today...

A few days later I said goodbye to Lagertha and Yrsa ... I said goodbye to Itta too.

I was in command of one part of the fleet, Leif the other. Erik and a few people stayed in Kattegat for protection.

As always, we went first east, then south, to Denmark, and from there along the shoreline to the west ... we already knew the route well and we felt confident, the weather was also favorable for us.

After two weeks, Leif directed his ships towards the mouth of the Elbe River, and I and the rest of the ships sailed west to the mouth of the Scheldt River.

Suddenly the sea went silent and the surface of the water was completely still. The conversation on the boat had died down, and no birds could be seen or even heard.

- Lord Weles, I have no peace even at sea?

- Ulf, aren't you glad to see me?

- You read my mind anyway, so there's no point in lying.

- Ulf, you did well. The first temple of Slavic gods in Scandinavia, although you haven't worked too much.

- Lord Weles, work smart, not hard. Now that the congratulations are over, can I return to my duties?

- Ulf, so you don't want a reward for your efforts?