"Praise the Lord God, praise Your Majesty! The relay of twenty longships of the kingdom, the support of thousands of elite warriors and sailors, and the support of hundreds of thousands of kilograms of materials have finally sent this longship of the kingdom to the predicted destination. A brand new continent!... And we have sailed for two full years and traveled more than 20,000 arduous miles just to arrive today!..."
Kamchatka Peninsula in November is full of cold white traces. The white floating light of death is flashing on the cold sea surface on the east side of the peninsula. The long and harsh winter has come with the cold north wind, making the rolling mountains silent and the endless tundra also chilling. Along the entire vast stretch of coast, there are no obvious human settlements or villages, and there are very few wandering deer. There are only two towering active volcanoes prominently located in the mountains on the north side. And the faint white smoke that floats up from time to time is a sign of the warmth and vitality buried deep underground!
When it first approached the coast, the Snow Wolf only saw the active volcano (Avachinskiy) on the east side. After rowing along the desolate coast for half a day, the longship sailed into a concave natural harbor. Only then did another taller smoking volcano (Koryaksky) suddenly appear in the mountains to the north, shining with streams of ice and snow.
"O Lord God! The gifts of the two Lord Gods, warm active volcanoes! They are the sons of the Lord God, breathing life toweringly, just like breathing divine smoke... Then this natural port is called the God Twins... No, Shenshuang Yangang!…”
Exploration captain Zuvalo looked north in the distance, looking at the smoking ice and snow volcano, with sincere joy on his face. He did not know the exact heights of the two active volcanoes, which are Avachinskiy on the east at 2,741 meters and Koryaksky on the west at 3,456 meters. But according to his experience along the way, wherever there are volcanoes, there will be warm and not freezing springs. In the cold extreme north, warm spring water must mean the existence and gathering of tribes!
In fact, this is indeed the case. In later generations, this was the capital of Russia's Kamchatka Krai and the most livable city on the entire peninsula, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy.
"O God! What an open bay, what a towering mountain!"
Exploring captain Zuvallo jumped from the longship and landed on the north side of the bay. He knelt on the ground and kissed the cold dark brown earth, this "death mausoleum of the ancestor giants". Then, he looked around at the surrounding scenery, looking at the low grass around the bay, and then at the snow-capped northern mountains. After thinking for a while, he quickly came to a conclusion.
"Such low grass on the shore is even lower than the ancestral island chain. Such obvious snow in the mountains is more snow than on the far north coast... Lord God! The winter here is very cold! It must be better than the far north. It’s cold along the coast! The wind here will also be very strong, and it will definitely be scary!… We need to find the local tribes as soon as possible, or find a hot spring for the winter…”
Exploration captain Zuvalo frowned slightly and silently hid his speculation about the local environment in his heart.
The songs passed down by the northern tribes have always contained the wisdom of life and death. The ancestors of the Unanga people called this place the "cold mausoleum of the ancestral giants", and it was definitely not without reason. Although the latitude here is farther south than the extreme northern coast of Alaska, the temperature is obviously much lower, and there is no obvious human habitation along the coast...
"The Lord God protects us, Your Majesty guides us, we are the favored children of God!"
Exploration captain Zuvalo thought for a moment, then beamed with confidence and joy. He looked around at the dozens of kingdom warriors and tribal sailors who had landed, his expression full of impassioned spirit, boosting everyone's morale.
"Come! Praise the Lord God! Let us light the flint, light the sacred fire, and hold a prayer ceremony! Then cook the fish, shrimp, and whale meat, and hold a grand celebration dinner!"
“Praise the Lord God! Pray for God’s blessing and celebrate your arrival!…”
Upon hearing such good news, the warriors and sailors also cheered. They have been wandering on the islands and the sea for so long, and they really need a grand prayer and celebration. Soon, bonfires were lit on the coast and fragrant meat was cooked. And the continuous prayers and cheers sounded from the open bay and drifted into the distant cold wind.
"Blessed by the Lord God! Praise my god Huitzilopochtli! He is supreme and great, covering the sky and the sea! Praise His Majesty Shulot, the God of Death! He knows all things, guides us, and has come from thousands of miles away!..."
"Eh? Chut (wind)? Pina (pla, smoke)? Is there smoke in the wind from the south?"
Among the mountains more than ten miles to the north, an Itelmen hunter wearing fur and carrying a hunting bow suddenly stared at the bay to the south. The Itelmen are an ethnic group of the Kamchatka tribe living in the southern peninsula. They are slightly shorter than the Unanga people, generally around 1.7 meters. Most of them are excellent hunters in the mountains and reliable fishermen on the coast.
"Mulu, what did you say?"
"I said, look at the bay to the south, there is smoke!"
"What? Smoke!"
After hearing the words of the hunter Mulu, a group of seven or eight Itelmen hunters all looked south. Soon, unbelievable surprise appeared on their thick, round, Mongolian faces.
"Shh!"
The leader of the hunting team, Mu Dog, led a strong Samoyed hound and signaled silence to everyone. He tilted his ears and listened carefully to the faint sound of the wind, then frowned deeply.
"There are voices in the wind...very subtle, but many, many voices!..."
"Ah? Ancestors with spirits! Could it be that the island tribe (Ainu people) from the south are attacking again?"
"How is that possible! The winter of wind and snow is coming soon, and the sea will also freeze. At this time of the year, the coastal areas will not come out, and they will not fight!"
"Is it the deer tribe (Koryak people) from the northwest? Are they coming to poach the deer in our territory?"
"At this time? When a snowstorm is coming? Are they desperate for their lives?..."
"It can't be that it's the tribe (Chukchi people) further north, right? They have always been ferocious and aggressive. They travel around on reindeer sleighs and rob other tribes of food and camps... They want to rob our warm winter camp. , steal our non-freezing hot spring water?"
"Huh? If the Tent Bureau appears here, they will definitely fight with the Deer Division first! What's more, this is the south side of the mountain. How can the Tent Bureau's reindeer team sneak across the mountains?..."
The Itelmen hunters murmured in low voices, with a little uneasiness on their faces. This desolate and cold snowfield, even if it is located in the northeastern corner of the Asian continent, has never lacked fighting and struggle among tribes.
Because, unlike the hunting tribes on the North American continent, they have a higher level of productivity and organization. And their biggest enemies have long since transformed from the harsh natural environment into groups of North Asian tribes that migrate around and compete for water sources and hunting grounds.
"Stop arguing! The spiritual ancestors are watching us!"
Hunting Captain Mu Quan thought for a moment and quickly made a decision. He first handed the dog rope in his hand to the fastest hunter, Mu Rabbit. The Samoyed dog was domesticated from tribes in Far North Asia and is an excellent hunting dog and guard dog suitable for harsh cold environments. This strong Samoyed dog is an important assistant for the tribe in hunting. The cost of domestication is very high, so you must not lose it.
"Mutu, take the dog and others back to the tribe first and report the news to the tribe's grandmother! Let the young men get ready, put on leather armor, and string the bows!..."
"Mulu, you have the best eyesight and the least movement... Come with me to the south and have a look!"
"Yes! Captain Sage!"
The hunter Mulu nodded seriously and used the captain title "Sage", which symbolizes the leader of the hounds, which is also the "King of Dogs". This title can accurately reflect the Mu dog's status as the leader of the tribe, second only to the grandmother who is in charge of the tribe's inheritance. In fact, these hunting tribes in Far North Asia are indeed much more organized than their close relatives in North America.
"The spiritual ancestors are watching us! Let's go! Let's take a closer look to see which tribe this is from afar, whether it is our enemy or a friend in the mountains!"
