"God bless you! Captain Zuvalo, are you sure you want to go to the mountains in the north to meet the grandmother of what tribe?..."
"Of course! Witness the Lord God! Shi Jian, we dealt with those two hunters, invited them to dinner, and gave them gifts... Wasn't it just to meet their leaders and priests, to know the details of this area, and to find the local tribal meeting? Is it possible to form an alliance?”
"That's true! But the captain...these hunters said that their sleigh can't hold too many people and can only carry four or five people...This is obviously an excuse! The risks involved... Lord God! These tribes across the sea, give I have a very dangerous feeling. Their eyes are indifferent, not simple and enthusiastic at all. They seem to be different from the Jiao tribes on the west coast and the far north!..."
"It doesn't matter! The Lord God protects me! In order to spread the glory of the Lord God and for His Majesty's divine inspiration, so what if I take some risks! Didn't they leave behind an important, um, good-looking woman who can win our trust?... Shi Jian, After I leave, you will hold that hostage and wait patiently for me to come back! If by any chance I cannot come back...then you will treat me as dead and lead the entire advance exploration team to prepare to fight for the Lord God!..."
"Well, I understand! Captain...may the Lord God bless you!..."
"Haha! The Lord God will surely bless you!..."
Snowflakes rustled and fell on the pure white ground, dyeing the green of the vegetation and the gray-brown of the earth into white. In the blowing wind and snow, two groups of warriors from the Eastern and Western tribes looked at each other in silence outside the simple campsites in this frozen bay. Groups of huskies squatted on the snow, their silly faces full of curiosity. From time to time, they shook their silly heads to shake off the snowflakes on their heads, and then dug into the snow pits with their paws, letting out bursts of excited wolf howls!
"Ouch! Ouch!..."
"Obey! Shut up!..."
"Ouch...wu...gu..."
A Kotelmen huntress wearing a leather robe and a deerskin hat waved her whip impatiently, making a crisp "snap" sound. Seeing her actions, the surrounding huskies all shivered, lowered their eyebrows and whimpered twice, becoming well-trained again. Hunting Captain Mu Quan glanced at the tall and powerful huntress and pursed his lips, with a hint of guilt on his face.
"Msona, my daughter...grandmother..."
However, the huntress Msona did not look at her father, Msona, nor did she care about what he said. She just held her head high, puffed out her chest, narrowed her eyes and looked down at Zuvalo, the "Head of the Sea" who was talking.
"Is this the leader of the Kaibu? He doesn't seem to be able to fight with the warriors next to him. Can he control the tribe?"
Looking at Zuvalo's figure, which was neither tall nor strong, the huntress had a vague suspicion in her eyes. But when she saw the row of Kingdom warriors in bronze armor behind Zuvalo, many tall Northland sailors, and the wall-like long ship frozen by the bay and creek, her eyes immediately became hot.
"Ancestors! Warriors of the Haibu! Bronze armor, bronze spears and big ships..."
"God bless you! Welcome, the granddaughter of Grandma Yamabe, a dog trainer who can control white wolf dogs!..."
The exploration captain Zuvalo made a decision, then smiled and nodded to the huntress Msona. The huntress raised her brows sharply, pursed her lips, and bowed her head slightly in return.
"Witness the ancestors! The leader of the Haibu tribe who came from afar... I hope you have enough courage to live up to the expectations of my grandmother and bring back the head of the chief of the Lubu tribe to become my future husband!..."
"Huh? What did you say...?"
Exploration captain Zuvalo blinked and looked at the huntress' complicated eyes, unable to understand what she was saying. He looked at Wu Hai, Yamabe's translator, who just smiled in a friendly manner but translated nothing.
"Lord God! What a strange... hostage..."
Exploration captain Zuvalo scratched his hair and suppressed some doubts in his heart. He already knew from Wu Hai's mouth that the chief of Shanbu was an old and wise grandmother. The hunting captain Mu Quan is the leader of the tribe's hunters, the most skilled warrior, and the grandma's son-in-law. As for the dog-training hunter Msona, she is the granddaughter respected by the old grandmother, or "granddaughter".
Yes, the Kamchatka tribes in far northern Asia, whether it is the Chukotka Tribe in the north, the Koryak Deer tribe in the north, or the Kotelmen Mountains in the south, are all related to the Unan in the Aleutian Islands. Like the Canadians, they are an ancient matrilineal clan.
In these matrilineal clans, the family's lineage and social status are passed down through the maternal line, that is, determined by the mother. The highest status in the tribe is the old grandmother who has many children, is respected by the elders, and has shamanic heritage!
"Witness the Lord God! When we go to the other tribe's camp, it's useless to bring more people... I just need to bring the hunter Xiong Da and an armored kingdom warrior!... Without further ado! Let's leave now! …”
The cold wind was biting, blowing on the body of exploration captain Zuvalo, but he didn't feel the cold at all. At this moment, the blood of adventure, like many successful experiences in the past, boiled and flowed in his warrior-like body. He looked heroic, and with just two followers, he confidently got on the sled on the mountain, sitting behind Mu Dog.
"Aow! Aow! Aow! Aow!..."
Soon, the continuous howling of dogs sounded again. The mountain tribe hunters boarded the sled silently, drove the obedient husky dogs to change direction, and quickly disappeared into the northern wind and snow. On the snow-covered snowfield, only the lone huntress Msona and dozens of kingdom warriors and tribal sailors wearing armor and holding spears were left!
"Ah! The spiritual ancestors, the benevolent sacred deer, the warm sacred mountains, and the highest sky..."
It was not until this moment that the young huntress Musona felt unconcealable anxiety in her heart when she faced the Kaibu warriors alone. She knew the old grandmother's intentions and what the upcoming negotiations meant!
If the negotiation between the two parties is successful, she will leap forward and become a bridge of communication and trust between the two tribes. She will stand out from the many granddaughters of the old grandmother and may even inherit the shamanic heritage!
And once the negotiations between the two parties break down, the old grandmother, who is as cold as the snowfield, will never let the leader of the Kaibu come back alive! As for her being kept as a hostage, there is no doubt that she will be ruthlessly abandoned by the old grandmother and become a sacrifice to the sacred deer and sacred mountain...
"All living things! May you protect me!..."
As the wind and snow came, the huntress Msona lowered her eyes and prayed in a low voice to the spiritual creatures in the mountain's faith. She praises the heroic spirits of the ancestors and shamans of the past generations, the oldest benevolent deer that nourishes the tribes, and the sacred mountain that blocks the wind and snow and provides warmth to the tribes. And when she sang the praises of the last and most noble sky, she used a foreign word that was not ancient and was gradually introduced to the Kamchatka Peninsula from the Ewen tribe in the West.
"Huh? Is she praying to...the gods believed by the local tribe?"
Warrior captain Tsakapu Shijian pricked up his ears and listened carefully to the prayer of huntress Msona. Then, he keenly caught a word that appeared repeatedly at the end, which seemed to be a very respected god. And the name of this god is called "The Supreme God of Heaven"... "Tenggri"!
(End of chapter)
