Desolate songs, accompanied by low drum beats, sounded along the vast coast, carrying strange and fiery greetings.
"The sacred heaven and earth bless us! It is the flowers of spring, the rain and dew of summer, the fruits of autumn, and the songs of winter!...Thank you, the messenger of the tribe in the lake, for bringing us precious gifts!... .The spirits of nature guide us, allowing the 'people on the river bank' and the 'people on the lake' to meet and share this beautiful day. Come on, messengers of the tribe in the lake, let's dance a festive dance together!... "
Chief Kalan wore white clothes with frogs painted on them, a heavy deer head on his head, grass ornaments similar to those of the Guakili people wrapped around his legs, and two gourd-like wooden bells in his hands. With a warm smile on his face, he stood up in front of the roaring bonfire, came to the leader of the messengers in the lake, and extended an invitation to dance.
"Uh... dance? I have to, I have to... dance, wow!..."
Chihuaco, the veteran militiaman, responded intermittently, quickly using a few newly learned Guaquili words and responding enthusiastically.
The large tribe here call themselves "Yorem" yoreme, that is, the people of the river bank, and are a branch of the coastal Mayo people. Chief Kallan in front of him is the leader of the Yorem tribe, and he controls one or two thousand tribal warriors. The Mayo people are located northwest of the Zacatecas Wilderness, on the coast. The language they use is somewhat similar to the Guakili people in the wilderness, and they also share vocabulary with Mexican. This probably implies some ancient connection.
Chihuaco's eyes flashed and his smile was sincere. He wore gray leather armor, an eagle feather crown symbolizing the leader, and an obsidian dagger at his waist.
"Well, which one of you is going to dance?"
The old militiaman agreed with a smile and looked at Puap beside him. The gray earth warrior lowered his head and pretended not to hear. He looked at the ship's priest Mecat on the other side. Meikat was looking at Chief Callan's clothes curiously with his eyes wide open, guessing at the religious meaning, but never looking at Captain Chihuaco. Finally, he looked at Pave, the Guakili guide who was accompanying the boat.
"Captain, this is a dance of friendship between leaders. It can only be danced by you or the vice-captain!"
"Dancing...good! Wow!..."
Chihuaco smiled and looked at the more than a hundred personal guards holding spears behind Chief Kalan. He sighed in his heart and had no choice but to stand up and follow the deer-headed Chief Kalan to the center of the crowd and stand side by side in front of the bright bonfire.
"Haha, friends from the Lake Tribe! Come on, put on the sacred deer head, pick up the blessing wooden bell, and dance and sing with me in front of the inherited bonfire!"
"Uh, deer head? Okay! Wow!..."
Chihuaco stayed where he was and allowed two Yorem warriors to step forward and put a heavy deer head on his head. Two sisal ropes hung from the deer's head and were tied tightly to the lower jaw, which was painful. Then, another middle-aged man dressed as a witch doctor bowed and gave him two gourds and wooden bells.
After finishing it, Chief Kallan stood in front of the bonfire and took the lead in dancing. He bent over and arched his legs, maintaining the jumping position, squatting and squatting together enthusiastically, shaking the wooden bell in his hand, singing loudly like a frog, and telling ancient legends.
"Ahaha! A long time ago, there was no fire in the world. All animals were thirsty for fire!
The flame was on the highest mountain top, and they asked a frog to go to the top of the mountain to find it.
The frog will not be burned because he lives in the water and has water in his mouth!
The frog jumped and jumped, and finally jumped to the top of the mountain and swallowed the burning flint in one gulp.
He wrapped the fire on the stone with the water in his mouth. Two plumes of smoke came out of his nostrils.
The frog got the fire! ....
Ah ha ha! Then the fox said, turkeys, you must follow the frog.
When the fire in the frog's mouth is about to go out, blow it out quickly!
So the turkeys followed the frog and lit the flint again when it was about to go out.
However, the frog's mouth was too big and the flint fell and hit the Possum on the tail.
The possum's tail was on fire, it screamed and ran around, setting fire to the grass and trees in the mountains...
Ah ha ha! Thanks to frogs, foxes, turkeys and possums.
All animals have fire from now on! ...
Ah ha ha ha ha ha! ...
"
"Uh...ah haha! Frog, fox, turkey and possum?"
Chihuaco's eyes widened and he imitated Chief Callan and danced the frog dance. He twisted his waist and tried to jump up and down, and the wooden bell in his hand made a "dinging" sound. Chief Kallan's singing was like thunder, which made people dizzy. He could only barely understand a few words. After a while, he blinked sharply.
"Huh? And flaming rocks?"
Among the people sitting around, Pave, the guide of Guakili, expressed admiration and whispered in response. Among the entire expedition fleet, he was probably the only one who understood the song completely.
This is an ancient song that tells the story of tribal heritage. Flame is the spirit inherited by the wilderness tribe and a gift from the divine heaven and earth. The climbing frog is the leader of the tribe, the most courageous and resolute warrior. The wise fox is the priest of the tribe, guiding the leaders and warriors. The turkeys who follow are naturally the guided warriors and have the responsibility to protect the flame. The possums with their tails on fire are the numerous tribesmen, the people who spread and share the fire.
Leaders, priests, warriors, and tribesmen, these four groups are the composition of the Northland tribe. And the reason why they are united together is because they inherit the divinity of their ancestors and the flame of the tribe!
The intense dance lasted for a full two-quarters of an hour, until Chihuaco's old waist almost broke. Only then did Chief Kallan, who was leading the dance, sweat profusely and stop dancing. He laughed heartily, stretched out the gourd bell in his hand, touched Chihuaco's bell hard, and made a crisp "ding"!
"Ahaha!... Turkeys who have come from afar, the frogs of the Yorem tribe welcome you! We have sung songs and danced together, and we have been trustworthy friends from now on!"
Hearing the chief's words, the warriors of the Yorem tribe suddenly stood up. They put down their spears, danced with their hands, and laughed loudly.
"Ahaha!...Ahaha!...Ahahahaha!"
"Ah, friend? Okay! Wow! Ahaha!..."
Chihuaco smiled and nodded. Then, he turned slightly, looked at his team members, and made a gesture.
"What are you doing here? Everyone, get up and celebrate!"
"...Praise the Lord God! Let friends meet again, haha!..."
After a while, more than thirty Prepecha warriors stood up, put away their weapons, raised their hands, and prayed joyfully. Seeing their actions, the tribal warriors on the opposite side became even more enthusiastic and almost rushed over to hug them and dance.
"Phew!... Damn it... Who... brought me to this place... God is really blind!"
At this moment, Chihuaco finally confirmed that the tribe on the opposite side was not hostile. He breathed a long sigh of relief and cursed in his heart, a certain noble person who had been thinking about him.
This journey was too difficult, and everyone had a close call with death several times. Looking back now, I am literally in tears.
In mid-November last year, he received a call from the kingdom and had no choice but to pick up a spear, leave his daughter Luwei and son-in-law Ezpan behind, and go south alone. Several old brothers wanted to accompany him, but he drove them away.
It was not until early December that he came to Lake Atoyak and reported to the Southern Shipbuilding Company. In accordance with His Majesty's instructions, the Southern Shipbuilding Department handed over the three newly launched Crocodile God galleys to the leadership of the old militiamen.
Accompanying the ship was Mecat, a first-level priest who was proficient in navigation and could read, count, and estimate directions. There is Guakili guide Pawe, who grew up in the wilderness, knows the Northland language, and understands the customs of the wilderness. Then there were sixty Prepecha sailors who were familiar with the operation of galleys and were all good rowers.
Then, the group rowed the kingdom's most advanced galley down south along the Talsas River, arriving at the mouth of the sea a few days later. Huitu Puap and his fifty Prepecha warriors had been waiting for a long time. When the two met, they were naturally filled with emotion and sigh.
Puap's face was filled with regret. He should have followed Chihuaco's advice and confessed to His Majesty earlier about his dealings with the southern nobles, so that he might not have lost his military power. Chihuaco cursed angrily and wanted to hit Lao Pu on the head. After reminiscing about old times, Puap also joined Chihuaco's team as the deputy captain of the expedition team in accordance with His Majesty's royal order. At this point, the Kingdom’s first ocean-going expedition fleet has been formed!
The expedition fleet has a total of three galleys and 110 people. The cabin was filled with food, fresh water, cloth, cocoa, two small bags of gold and silver, and a large bag of gems from the kingdom's inventory. The purpose of the voyage is to follow His Majesty's royal order and go along the coast to the far northwest. They want to find islands where birds inhabit, collect stones condensed by guano, and record the hydrology and navigation along the way until they can return home smoothly.
And this is the kingdom’s first voyage of exploration into the vast unknown world! And this is the kingdom’s first voyage of exploration into the vast unknown world! Nearly twenty years after coming to this world, Shulot finally completed all preparations and sent out the first batch of explorers. And the entire vast American continent will be re-opened in front of him, telling a destiny-changing future in a completely different way!
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