Rituals
For a long time, Frijja had neglected her duties as a shaman. She was overwhelmed by her workload and hadn't been able to perform any rituals for months. Her heart longed for the words of the gods, and she decided to initiate a proclamation.
The Germanic people worked together to transport huge megaliths from Mount Semnoz to the outskirts of Auli. With fir trunks under the stones, they rolled the rocks to the stone circle. Most of the time, however, Thorvik carried smaller monoliths on his back, like a backpack. After two days of hauling stones and aligning the stone circle with the sun and moon, they completed the small wonder. A stone circle that was in no way inferior to the Woden stone circle in their old homeland. Two days later, in the morning, most of the Germanic people were at the newly erected Woden stone circle. Anton looked at the beautiful stone circle but felt nothing sacred. It seemed like just a pile of stones.
Around noon, when the sun was at its zenith, the ritual began. Everyone present started consuming half a poisonous mushroom. Anton's instincts sounded the alarm, and his hair stood on end with a sense of danger. Everyone took a bite, and Anton reluctantly took a small bite. Shortly afterward, the shamans began drumming, and the warriors rhythmically struck their round shields. Anton's perception blurred, and the drums consumed his entire awareness. The shamans in the middle of the stone circle began a dance with the drums, moving as one around the megalith that throned in the center of the stone circle. The stones around Anton buzzed as if a force was manifesting within them. Anton didn't notice how quickly time passed as the sun set behind the stone gate.
Anton looked at the setting sun and instinctively walked towards the central megalith. With each step closer to the stone, several patterns, symbols, and runes burned into the stone. The intensity grew stronger as if something was trying to prevent Anton from touching the central stone. It felt to him like trying to push away a truck. Darkness enveloped the ritual, and with each step, Anton lost more and more energy until he finally touched the stone circle. A bright light streamed from the stone circle, and the dark night lit up in the colors of the northern lights as Anton's vision went black.
???: "You're late, Futhark!"
Anton looked at an old man who was missing an eye. He wore a simple brown robe, and his hat looked old and crumpled. Anton called out to the old man and asked, "Who are you?... No, I know who you are!"
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Changes
Two weeks have passed, and Anton is in his office near the Tameio (treasury) on the second floor, his expression empty and pale.
In Anton's eyes, one can see frustration and fatigue, caused by the wax tablets that are tiring for bureaucracy. Parchment is expensive, and the administration suffers from a lack of it. The major parchment and papyrus productions are in Rome and Atfih (Egypt).
Drawing strength from his frustration, Anton designs a paper mill. The complex drawings and technical ideas give Anton the calm and composure that would drive other people mad.
Gerald enters the office and watches Anton as he makes his plans, looking both focused and exhausted. Anton looks up at Gerald, smiles, and presents his plan: "This is a paper mill; it's still in the planning stage."
Gerald looks at Anton in astonishment and asks, "Paper? Is that a type of parchment?" He sits down next to Anton and looks at the wax plans.
Anton looks at him, analyzes his expression, and notices his confusion. He begins to explain: "As you can see, the plans are the first step to making Nyskiria an economic power." He stands up and pulls another wax tablet from the shelf. "This is a preparatory exercise to learn planning." And Anton pulls a second wax tablet from the shelf: "This second one explains the metric system. With it, you can measure the entire world, and it is important for scientific and engineering projects. First, learn the metric system, and then the planning." Anton couldn't fully reconstruct the metric system, but for now, a similar system suffices.
Gerald looks at the drawing and says happily, "Thank you for letting me learn this! I'll be next door practicing."
Anton thinks to himself: 'Such a diligent boy, opportunities like learning "STEM" professions in the fields of Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics are impossible for normal children in this century. Especially the poor have few options. I need to build the school as quickly as possible...'
A knock disturbs Anton's thoughts, and a man in a green wool shirt and gray pants rolls in with his wheelchair.
"Herul, what's up?" Anton takes his chair and sits down.
"Anton, I have a report from the village of Läu. The fields with the rotation technique have been planted with the respective seeds. Everything is going according to plan."
Anton looks at the report, and his smile becomes serious. He stands up and reads the runic report aloud: "Everything is going according to plan, but there have been incidents in the city that could endanger Nyskiria. The Gauls, who form a majority in Läu, believe that Nyskiria has too few warriors and have thus founded a militia. The general attitude of the Gauls is mostly positive towards Nyskiria, and according to surveys of the population in Läu, they are more afraid of being conquered like the north Gauls."
Herul adds: "In general, people like the warm houses and our behavior towards other peoples. This also makes other peoples more loyal to Nyskiria, but a problem is the religious difference between the Skirian Germans, the Celtic Druids and the Christian Pontians."
Anton looks at Herul and then at the empty corner of the ceiling, pondering how to solve this problem. 'The religious problem is serious... Faith has often been a cause of war throughout history. The best example is the Crusaders, who brutally murdered many Muslims because they had a different faith... So much for the hypocritical commandment (thou shalt not kill)...'
"The problem lies in the current version of the Bible, which demonizes foreign religions, while the Druids, Germans, Slavs, Romuva and the Nordic gods have many similarities. For example, all directions have a thunder god. The Druids have Tanaris, the Germans have Dunar, the Slavs have Perun, the Romuva have Perkunas and the Scandinavians have Thor. Because of these similarities, there is less religious tension. While it looks different in Christianity, and due to monotheistic values, there is no other god, and there is no room for tolerance... This could, in the worst case, lead to a civil war..."
"Herul, I'll think of something for this. Please call the shamans, priests and druids to the Thageding."
someone comes into Anton's office, sweaty and full of worry, and shouts: "MY FUTHARK, THE GAULS HAVE GONE MAD!"
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Carnyx
In a large stone circle, various druids gather to perform a war ritual. One of the druids is Crixus Troyix. He is a young druid, and his thoughts revolve around his people and the difficult times ahead for the Gauls. Today is the day when he and two other druids will save Gaul.
Several old druids gather around a stone circle and are absolutely silent. No words are exchanged as the three chief druids raise their staffs. The druids begin to chant a ritual in Gaulish.
"Today we open the Holy Triad! In the name of the high gods Taranis, god of thunder, Toutatis, god of protection, and Esus, god of healing. We sacrifice three loyal druids today. They give their lives to stop the threat from the east."
"BLOOD IS THIRSTED BY THE GODS, RAISE YOUR CARNYX!!"
A circle of monstrous instruments rises into the air. A fearsome bellow of death and war fills the air with heaviness and anger. The Carnyx resound far into the hinterlands of Gaul, the horn of war.
"We sacrifice Tanaris, one of our druids Olvus Mastrix!"
Olvus places a sickle at his neck and cuts his throat open. The blood flows up to one Stone and the blood forms glowing red Celtic runes. Thunder and dark clouds cover Gaul, making it as dark as night. Only the raging lightning and thunder can surpass the Carnyx.
The town of Verdun is attacked by Frankish barbarians, and the noise of battle sweeps over the village. Almost all the villagers in Verdun are slaughtered when suddenly the Carnyx sounds from the west. Darkness spreads and the god of thunder, Tanaris, lowers the morale of the Franks.
The villagers take whatever they can use as weapons, and a blood frenzy seizes every Celt. From women to the elderly, to the last man, they do everything to stop the Germans.
More Carnyx rise, and a wave of tension and hostility drives a fierce battle for Gaul. The Franks are intimidated by the otherworldly sound of the Carnyx, but they still cut down anyone in their path.
In the large stone circle, two young druids have already given themselves to the end.
"Toutatis, protect us from the Germans and take the loyal soul of Fabala Quinna."
Her blood flows up the second stone, and a red ominous glow lights up two of the three stones again. Now it's Crixus Troyix's turn to take the druidic sickle and place it at his neck. An anger erupts throughout Gaul, and even the Gauls in Nyskiria feel a rage that quickly turns into violence.
"We sacrifice Troyx to the god of healing, Esus..."
No words come out as an arrow strikes the druid in the neck. The druids panic and shout "GERMANS," trying to complete the ceremony as several Germans storm the stone circle from the nearby forest. Screams and death fill the stones with so much blood that all the standing stones begin to break.
Crixus Troyx screams in horror as the other druids die one by one, and only one thought fills the young druid's mind: 'RUN'.