The Ice Sea, from the perspective of the Norse Kingdom, can also be called the North Sea. From Wendeng Harbour and head northeast, you'll soon be in the area.

As the name suggests, the Sea of Ice gets its name from the fragmentary ice floes that float. The small ones probably fit less than a barrel, and 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, and there will be no couple on the bow of the ship "you jump, I jump" in this sea area for the time being.

In the most serious case, it is probably a mini iceberg at night, which requires a plank to be repaired in the bilge and scooped out of the water with a wooden bucket.

So, after more than thirty days of smooth sailing, the medieval evangelion Frank successfully set foot on the land of the ice field.

In just over a month, the future priest endured a test that he had never experienced in his previous life. First there was severe seasickness, and then severe diarrhea caused by eating fish caught by the crew. Eventually, as he got closer to the north and the temperature dropped, he found that the clothes he had imagined were not enough to withstand the cold.

Thankfully, William still had a few furs left in his hand, and he sold them to Frank and his retinue for a friendship price, a real friendship price, a Silver Coin for the Three Kingdoms. The price is too honest to say that there is no apology for the suicide of the gift.

These experiences were unfriendly, but soon William realized that he was really underestimating the kid. The delicate-looking missionary miraculously survived, holding on to his tome while his attendants were clinging to the mast and spitting down. You must know that William had already made a plan for him to regret it halfway, and only half of his boat money would be refunded at that time.

If it weren't for the fact that he would spit it out when he opened his mouth, William felt that Frank would have glorified the classic part of the Passion of the Saint, but the messy shape made him look less holy than when he set out.

The moment he set foot on the land of the ice field, the missionary earned the basic respect of all the ship's members, including William, and at least everyone had seen his faith to some extent.

Out of respect for his faith, William decided to try to change his mind again, after all, it was a little psychologically unacceptable to see a decent person die in this unreasonable place. Anyway, the ticket money has already arrived, and for the sake of this huge income, it is not impossible to work overtime, and there will be one more network after going back.

With this in mind, William personally helped Frank, who was a little drifting in his footsteps, to get off the boat and step on the humble dock.

It is not so much a pier as a stone embankment made of rocks along the coastline, in order to mark a docking area along the vast coastline that is not easy to run aground. The large black stones are filled with small stones and sand, and they have some shapes from a distance, but if you look closely, you can say that this is a miracle of nature, and others believe it.

More than a dozen plush figures had been waiting at the dock for a long time. Their faces are painted with patterns that are difficult to distinguish, and the fur suits on their bodies from head to toe are equivalent to a set of plate armor in terms of material, and the sewing process is about equal to nothing, and the practical value can be given full marks locally.

Seeing William and his party disembark, they did not remove the weapons they were carrying. One of them, a taller man who was noticeably taller than his companions, stepped forward and greeted William with a bear hug with the texture of a real bear's fur, and greeted William in a fluent Bundenport Norse language.

"Aha, William, this is a pleasant surprise, two full days ahead of schedule."

"Of course, I don't want my friends to wait long." William beckoned to Frank behind him, motioning for him to come over. The retinue, who was breathless on the boat, followed with his sword in hand, and looked at the big man in front of him warily.

"By way, this one's name is Bjorn, and his name means as strong as a bear. More than a dozen people here have to listen to him. William introduced to Frank, "By the way, have you taught the language of the snowfield?" I gotta tell you, he's a special case. ”

“……”

It's good, the first step was stuck, and William didn't expect Frank to think about this at all. This is also very reasonable, he probably thinks that Norse is the world's lingua franca, or simply thinks that coming to the ice field is not a foreign country.

This is of course very good, and it has a significant effect on dissuasion. So William turned his back to Frank and gave Björn a gesture to the iceman who slammed his fist down, meaning to scare him, and then continued: "This god who wants to come to the icefield to recommend him to you, please explain the rules here." ”

Bjorn understood the gesture: "This is simple, we don't have so many rules here in the ice field, as long as we go through our traditional rituals." We're going to move things back now. He pulled a large sleigh made of the rare timber found in the ice field and began to unload the ship.

……

……

Frank listened to Bjorn's simple words, but when he got to the place, he realized that the simple part of the matter was only to explain the process clearly.

From this settlement, which is close to the port, looking deeper into the ice field, there is a barren land covered with snow and ice, and at the end of the view, abrupt mountains rise from the ground, showing a wave-like posture. This natural dividing line divides the real pristine ice field from the relatively mild area on the mountain side.

The walls are built in a similar way to those of the Norse Kingdom, but the wooden structure is omitted and the vaulted buildings resemble igloos. On the one hand, the vegetation here is only a few low shrubs and mosses, and on the other hand, it is also due to the fact that in places where it is below zero all year round, you really don't need to think about falling apart after sticking the stones with clay, and you don't have to worry about the problem of wet and loose rain - only snowstorms.

Releasing the sled, Bjorn pointed to a large rock next to the settlement that was taller than the house and said, "See that big black rock over there, that's where the ritual begins." ”

In the puzzled gaze of Frank and his entourage, he smiled and explained the religious traditions of the Icefield people: as we all know, survival on the ice fields has been the biggest problem since ancient times, and all religious content revolves around this.

Of course, if you want to show that your god is worthy of faith, then it depends on whether your god can give people a strong ability to survive. The old rule was to march to the distant mountains without clothes, tools, water or food, from the starting point set by the tribe. There are countless caves in the mountains made of black rocks, and in the depths you will find "living stones", just knock one and bring it back as proof.

Depending on the distance from the mountains to the tribes, the process can last anywhere from a few months to a year, with a primitive democratic ballot of people selected by the tribes to follow them as witnesses to the ceremony.

As for the "living stones", according to Björn, they are similar to most of the stones on the ice field. The stones used to build houses, the stones used as starting points, and the stones that make up the mountains are all the same black rock, except that they are known to be "alive" at first glance, and can only be found in the depths of the caves in the mountains.

When you get to the place, choose a cave and get it, and your god will guide you anyway. Everyone didn't follow, because it was not easy to get out after entering.

You ask, how can you survive without clothes, tools, or food? It's not like there are no animals on the ice field, so use the power God has given you to ask them for it.

As long as you are able to complete this ritual and prove that your god can really give people the strength to live, the tribe will build the strongest house for the undoubted god spokesman, and the living stone you bring back will be embedded in the wall as proof of the miracle. Thirty years ago, the old priest was inspired by the god of stone, and the whole tribe converted to the god of stone after being witnessed by a few warriors who everyone trusted.

When he dies, his successor will also perform this ritual. However, considering that inspired people are actually very rare, most of the time the tribe is in a state of non-faith.

……

……

To be honest, it was the first time William had heard of this, and he looked at Bjorn with a puzzled look, indicating if he was making it up too hard.

"Don't look at me, what I said is true, we never joke about it." He gestured at the difference in physique between the two sides and laughed, "Seriously, I didn't think about what it would be like for the Norse people to participate in this ceremony, but as far as I know, although you have a lot of sacrifices, there are few people who can have divine power like our old sacrifices, right?" ”