Krafft's Notes on Anomalies

The Ice Sea, from the perspective of the North Kingdom, can also be called the North Sea. Starting from Wendeng Port and heading northeast, you will soon enter this sea area.

As the name suggests, the Ice Sea gets its name from the fragments of floating ice floes. Among these broken ices, the small ones may not be able to fill a wine barrel, while the large ones can barely be called icebergs. At the same time, because the speed of ships in this era is not optimistic, it is a blessing in disguise that there will not be a couple saying "you jump, I jump" on the bow of the ship for the time being.

The most serious situation is probably to hit a mini iceberg at night. You need to take a wooden board to the bottom cabin to repair it, and then use a wooden bucket to scoop out the water.

Therefore, after more than thirty days of smooth sailing, Frank, the medieval Evangelion, successfully set foot on the ice field.

In just over a month, the future priest experienced a test he had never experienced before in his life. First, severe seasickness, and then severe diarrhea caused by eating sea fish caught by the crew. Finally, as he got closer and closer to the north, the temperature dropped all the way, and he found that the clothes he had originally imagined were completely insufficient to withstand the severe cold.

Fortunately, William still had a few furs left in his hand, and he sold them to Frank and his entourage at a friendly price, a real friendly price—one silver coin from the Three Kingdoms. This price is too honest, and it is difficult to say that there is no apology for sending people to their own death.

These experiences were indeed not friendly, but William soon discovered that he really underestimated this kid. The somewhat delicate-looking missionary miraculously managed to survive. While his entourage was holding onto the mast and vomiting and diarrhea, Frank was still holding on to his holy book. You know, William had already made a plan to regret it halfway, and only refunded him half of the ship's price.

If it hadn't been for spitting out when he opened his mouth, William felt that Frank would have chanted the classic part of the saint's crucifixion, but the messy shape made him look less holy than when he started.

The moment he set foot on the ice sheet, the missionary won the basic respect of all members of the ship, including William. At least everyone had a glimpse of his faith.

Out of respect for his faith, William decided to try to change his mind again. After all, it was psychologically unacceptable to see a good person die in such an unreasonable place. Anyway, I have already received the money for the ferry ticket. Considering this generous income, it is not impossible to work overtime, and I will have more connections when I return.

With this idea in mind, William personally helped Frank, who was a little wandering on his feet, off the boat and stepped on the simple pier.

Rather than a pier, it is more like a stone embankment made of rocks along the coastline, just to mark a docking area on the vast coastline that is less likely to be stranded. The large black stones are filled with small stones and sand. From a distance, they still have some shape. If you look closely, you may say that this is the miraculous work of nature, but others will believe it.

A dozen plush figures had already been waiting at the pier. Their faces are painted with patterns that are difficult to discern, and the fur suits they wear from head to toe are equivalent to a set of plate armor in terms of material. The sewing technology is almost non-existent, and the practical value can be given full marks in the local area.

When William and his party disembarked, they did not take off the weapons they carried. Among them, the big man who was obviously taller than his companions came forward, greeted William with a bear hug that had the texture of real bear fur, and greeted William in Norse, a language that was quite fluent in Wenden Port accent.

"Ah ha, William, this is such a surprise. It's two full days earlier than expected."

"Of course, I don't want my friends to wait too long." William waved to Frank behind him, motioning for him to come over. The entourage, who was out of breath on the boat, followed up with his sword in his hands and looked at the big man in front of him warily.

"Let me introduce, this is Bjorn. His name means as strong as a bear. All the dozen or so people here have to listen to him." William introduced to Frank, "By the way, you came to preach and teach in the snowy field." Is it the language of the other side? I have to tell you that he is a special case."

"..."

Very good, he got stuck at the first step, and William didn't expect that Frank hadn't considered this at all. This is also very reasonable. He probably thinks that Norse is a universal language, or simply thinks that coming to the ice field does not count as going abroad.

This is of course very good and has a significant dissuasive effect. So William turned his back to Frank and gave Bjorn the Iceman gesture of clenching his fist and smashing it down, which meant to scare him, and then continued: "This god who wants to come to the Icefield to recommend him to you, please excuse me. Tell him the rules here."

Bjorn understood this gesture: "This is simple. We don't have so many rules here in the ice field. We just need to go through our traditional ceremony. We will move the things back now." He pulled a machine with a rare weapon in the ice field. A large sled made of wood began to unload cargo from the ship.

…

…

Frank listened to what Bjorn said was simple, but when he got there, he realized that the simple part of the matter was to explain the process clearly.

From this settlement near the port, looking deeper into the ice field, we can see the barren land covered by ice and snow. At the end of the field of vision, abrupt mountains rise from the ground, presenting a wave-like posture. This natural dividing line divides the true primitive ice sheet and the relatively mild area on the mountain side.

The method of building walls here is similar to that of the North Kingdom, but the wooden structure is omitted and a vault-style building similar to an igloo is used. On the one hand, this is because the vegetation here only consists of low shrubs and moss. On the other hand, in a place where temperatures are below freezing all year round, you really don’t need to worry about whether the stones will fall apart after being glued together with clay, let alone worry about rain. The problem with getting wet and loose - only snowstorms.

After letting go of the human-powered sled, Bjorn pointed to a large stone next to the settlement that was higher than the house and said, "See that big black stone over there, that's where the ceremony begins."

Under the puzzled looks of Frank and his entourage, he suppressed a smile and explained the religious traditions of the ice people: As we all know, survival on the ice has been the biggest problem since ancient times, and all religious content revolves around this point.

Of course, if you want to show that your god is worthy of belief, then it depends on whether your god can bestow people with strong survivability. The old rule is to start from the starting point specified by the tribe and head for the distant mountains without wearing clothes, tools, water or food. There are countless caves in the mountains made of black rocks. In the depths, you will find "living rocks". Just knock a piece and bring it back as proof.

The entire process will probably vary depending on the distance between each tribe and the mountains, and lasts from a few months to a year. The tribe will use a primitive democratic voting method to select a few people to follow them from a distance as witnesses of the ceremony. .

As for the "living rocks", according to Bjorn's description, they are similar to most of the rocks on this ice sheet. The stones used to build houses, the stones that mark the starting point, and the stones that make up mountains are all the same kind of black rock. The only difference is that you can tell at a glance that it is "alive" and can only be found in mountains. Found deep in the cave, the small pieces that were knocked off would die within a few days, and could only be verified by witnesses on the spot.

After arriving at the place, you can choose a cave to go in and get it. Your god will guide you anyway. Everyone stopped following because it was not easy to get out after entering.

How can you survive without clothes, tools, or food? It’s not like there are no animals on the ice sheet. Use the power God has given you to ask for them.

As long as you can complete this ritual and prove that your god can really give people the power to live, the tribe will build the strongest house for the undoubted spokesman of the gods. The living stone you brought back, It will be embedded in the wall as proof of the miracle. The old priest was inspired by the Stone God thirty years ago and completed this feat under the witness of several warriors whom everyone trusted, so the entire tribe converted to the Stone God.

After he dies, his successor must also perform this ritual. However, considering that people who are inspired by the gods are actually very rare, most of the time the tribe is in a state of no belief.

…

…

To be honest, this was also the first time William heard this. He looked at Bjorn with doubtful eyes, indicating whether he had made it up too hard.

"Don't look at me. Everything I said is true. We never joke about this." He gestured to the physical difference between the two sides and laughed. "To be honest, I have never thought about what it would be like for the Norse people to participate in this ceremony. So, but as far as I know, although you have many priests, there are only a few who can possess the power of our old priests, right?"