In the world of the Vikings, wealth was not gold and silver passively accumulated deep underground or hidden at the bottom of chests, but social standing, allies, and connections.
Lucius Malfoy did not look like a Viking, but he was descended from the Normans who had come to Britain with William the Conqueror, and he always wore a lofty expression.
Draco had been just like him from a young age. After coming to Hogwarts, he had wanted to make Harry his ally, but what Harry wanted were friends.
The Huns had come into contact with Europe long ago. At least before Attila, the Hunnic king had already signed the "Treaty of Margus" with the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire. The treaty stipulated that the Eastern Roman Empire would pay the Hunnic Kingdom 350 pounds of gold each year, open border markets, protect merchants' safety, and so on.
No normal state would have signed such a treaty, but at the time, the Eastern Roman Empire had to deal with the Vandals in North Africa as well as the threat from the Persians. With the aim of gaining an ally, the Eastern Roman Empire signed it. Given that the Eastern Roman Empire's annual income in the fifth century was 270,000 pounds of gold, that sum could at least buy peace from a nomadic people.
The Battle of Cold River took place beside a river valley, near Via Gemina. At the time, the army of the Eastern Roman emperor was advancing along that road.
There were generally two routes leading to the Karst region in the eastern Empire. Running parallel to Via Gemina was Via Flavia, which began in Trieste and stretched along the coast, while Via Gemina did not pass through Trieste and instead wound through the Karst region.
Forests, valleys,