Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1445 - 998: Scholar’s Nautical Journal – Dense Fog and Storms, the Difficult Exploration of the Aleutian Islands
"Chief Divine bless us! At the end of August, we left behind over 50 Samurai sailors and a longship at the starting point of the western island chain to construct the Divine Land Port. More than 70 people from the Unanga Tribe also joined us. We selected about 10 able-bodied Unanga men to replace the last batch of Prepetcha sailors. Almost all the sailors of the entire fleet came from the Northern Tribes..." 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶
"The leader in charge of Divine Land Port is Tecos Warrior Luo Heishi. Like many brave and battle-hardened Tecos Warriors, he received the surname ’Luo’ conferred by Your Majesty. His physique is indeed strong enough to adapt well to the harsh northern climate, no wonder he hails from the Barbarian Children in the mountains!..."
October is considered early autumn in the Aleutian Islands; the season of the biggest fogs in summer has passed, making it a suitable time for navigation. The Northern sun hangs close in the sky, noticeably larger than in the South, for reasons unknown.
Scholar Miki looked up at the clear sky, as if seeing an upside-down sea. Today’s sunlight was very bright, yet the temperature was quite low. The snow on the hills covered the mountain rocks, showing no signs of melting. Next to him, the white bear Gawain sat on the snowy stone, looking at him with a silly smile, seemingly not afraid of the cold at all.
"Gawain."
"Hmm?"
"Are you not cold?"
"Cold?"
The white bear Gawain blinked in confusion. It was only early October, and the temperature in the Aleutian Islands was fluctuating around zero degrees. However, for Gawain, who was used to the -20 degrees cold of winter, today felt quite comfortable, not even needing to wear a thick fur robe.
In fact, for the Unangas of the North, they are accustomed to ’warming up’ during the summer and autumn seasons. This way, when babies are born, it’s just when the climate is warm, and food is abundant in spring and summer. The young women who give birth can immediately participate in hunting and gathering, which is more beneficial for the continuation of the tribe.
During the long dark winter, they would reduce any unnecessary consumption, including ’warming up.’ So, at that time, hugging for warmth was really just hugging for warmth...
The harsh natural environment has such a profound impact on these Far North tribes, influencing all aspects of their lives. Of course, white bear Gawain doesn’t know the reasons behind these traditions, she’s just used to following them. So she blinked, looking at Scholar Miki, inquiring expectantly.
"Hmm? Do you want... to warm up with me? Here? On the stone?..."
"Uh!..."
Hearing this, Scholar Miki shivered. He didn’t have Gawain’s strong physique to withstand the cold and warm up in the snow. He quickly shook his head, avoiding Gawain’s fiery gaze, and from the recent nautical records he had just put in, pulled out the latest one, pretending to read it earnestly.
"Chief Divine bless us! At the beginning of September, we left Divine Land Port near the hot springs with three longships and 120 Samurai and sailors... We rowed along the extended Great Island, along a series of small islands, continuously heading west... And those towering icebergs revealed in the western sea were the Chief Divine’s guidance for the fleet’s direction!..."
"From the ancestor island chain to the west, the exploration fleet used several months of warm ocean currents before gradually disappearing. Zuwaro was quite regretful because this constantly westward flowing warm ocean current helped us so, so much! ... It was thanks to this mysterious warm ocean current that we arrived at the island chain so quickly! It flows just offshore, like a spirit hidden in the sea, flowing thousands of miles, and like the Chief Divine’s blessing in the water..."
Scholar Miki scratched his head, still unable to figure out how this warm westward current appeared and how it suddenly disappeared.
Starting from Whale Harbor in the South to Divine Land Port at the western island chain’s end, the gift of the Alaska current was like the ever-changing winds of fate, appearing and disappearing unexpectedly. What still accompanied them were the summer fog rising, and the turbulent waves, repeatedly testing the ’Divine Revelation Exploration’ fleet’s edge of death!
"On the island chain in September, most of the time the wind was from the north, northeast. But sometimes, it would suddenly turn to a south wind, southeast wind. The wind is strong and completely unreliable. So, we didn’t dare to raise the full sails, at most raising half when visibility was clear, using a little force to quicken the fleet’s westward journey..."
"Chief Divine witness! We must follow the island chain, must carefully go west, absolutely absolutely must not let the guiding Divine Mountain leave our sight!!"
"Praise the Chief Divine! It was under the guidance of the Divine Mountain that we reached Ancestor Second Island, Divine Solitary Mountain Island (Akutan) in early September. This island is not large, with only one iceberg on it, so I call it ’Solitary Mountain’... And not far from this island is Ancestor Third Island, Divine Fire Volcano Island (Ualaska). This island has a natural harbor that is very deep. Zuwaro wants to set up a port there too, but we don’t have enough ships..."
"It is worth mentioning that Divine Stone Bay Island also has only one iceberg, but it sometimes flashes a peculiar, faint purple light... like a strange Divine Object omen! The Unanga Tribe on the island says it’s because the iceberg is alive, a giant ancestor not yet dead, who occasionally shouts and, according to legend, spits flames and black smoke!..."
"Chief Divine protects us! I then realized, this is a living volcano, harboring the active Divinity deep within! So, I call it ’Divine Mountain’ (Makushin Volcano). The Ancestral Three Islands are hence named ’Divine Mountain Island’!..."
Thinking of the resplendent Divine Mountain, Scholar Mikki’s eyes showed a devout longing. Such a divine place indeed deserves a separate port built by the Kingdom Fleet! Moreover, since there is an active volcano, there will also be warm springs and places to plant potatoes. Unfortunately... we can only wait till later to talk about it.
"Continuing west from Divine Mountain Island, almost connected, is Divine Sky Stone Island (Nikolski). According to the island’s Unanji Clan legends, there is a large depression extending for dozens of miles on the east side of this island, and the reason for this depression..."
"The Cloud Divine once cast down a burning sky stone, killing the Ancestral Giants! And when the giants sank into the sea, their wounded heads floated on the sea surface, and the depression wound was where the sky stone fell!..."
Scholar Mikki’s eyes flickered, as he touched the traditional song he had recorded, thoughts swirling in his mind. He wanted to go to the depression on Divine Sky Stone Island to thoroughly search, to see if he could find the legendary ’sky stone’, or at least a trace of the Divine Object...
"Continuing west from Divine Sky Stone Island is a series of scattered small islands. These islands are too far apart, and there are no high snowy mountains on the islands to guide the exploration fleet... From the Ancestral Fourth Island, Divine Sky Stone Island, to Ancestral Fifth Island, Divine High Mountain Island, there lies more than three hundred miles of the most perilous voyage!..."
"Oh Chief Divine! The sky-covering fog arises and pervades, rolling waves hang high above! The surging currents rage in chaos, the ferocious sea wind can break the sails!... We spent a full two weeks on this three hundred miles of journey. Every morning and evening was shrouded in fog, and we could only desperately row when the fog cleared slightly at noon to find the next island to dock. Because terrible storms could suddenly arise, bringing waves as high as an apocalypse, dragging us to destruction!"
"And the truly nightmarish apocalypse came from a storm in the North... We encountered three storms, with only one coming from the northern sea, and it was especially, especially, especially large! And in that storm, there was not only blizzards but also terrifying, deadly hailstones!..."
"If it wasn’t for the few Unanga sailors we recruited on Divine Sky Stone Island, familiar with the sea conditions, who discovered the northern storm ahead of time... If it weren’t for the Northern Tribesmen on the ship rowing on the wildly pitching vessel... If it weren’t for us being only two to three quarters of an hour away from the nearest island... Chief Divine protect us! Chief Divine protect us! Chief Divine protect us!!"
At this point, Scholar Mikki trembled all over, recalling once more the great northern storm that repeatedly appeared in his nightmares!
That all-encompassing snowstorm and hail, those stacked waves towering over ten meters high! That difficult struggle sailing on the sea of death, was like madly running along the edge of a cliff! Those brief two quarters of an hour became an unforgettable lifetime memory!
"Chief Divine bears witness! Sailing along the island chain is so difficult, yet Gowau didn’t mind at all. She was always curiously exploring the longship, even standing steadily on the deck amid the fierce rocking by the wind and waves... Later, she gestured and told me that they, the Unanga, were fishing on the stormy sea in skin boats like canoes. Compared to their boats, our large ship was practically an island floating on the sea!..."
"I was skeptical, so I asked her: ’How bumpy and swaying are your boats?’... She might have misunderstood, or perhaps she understood too much... Or perhaps, after that deathly storm, we both needed to unleash like wild beasts..."
"She pushed me down into the lower cabin, making me truly feel what it was like... It took me several days to recover until we reached Divine High Mountain Island, beholding the parallel peaks and white light..."
Seeing this last paragraph, Scholar Mikki shivered, inexplicably feeling weakness in his legs and pain throughout his body. He nervously turned his head and glanced at his wife, as strong as a white bear, who instantly noticed his strange state.
"Huh? What’s wrong?... Why is your face so pale? Were you shaking?"
"Uh! Gowau. I... I recalled that deadly storm. If it weren’t for you and Anufish holding me, I might have already been swept into the waves... But Anufish, during the last storm a few days ago, in order to catch back the longship swept away..."
At this point, Scholar Mikki sighed, genuine sorrow flashing in his eyes. And the white bear-like Gowau knew the reason for his sadness, lowered her head, forehead touching forehead, giving her husband a hug. Her stature was large, and hugging Mikki felt like a bear hugging a small seal, yet her actions were exceptionally gentle.
"Oh. Here, each year, many die! For boats, for fishing boats, it’s a necessity to fight for it!... Us, Unanga, it’s like this. Them, the Sugpiaq, are the same!..."
"Yes... The Chief Divine bears witness! I understand!"
Scholar Mikki poignantly nodded after a moment. He knew that in this far northern harsh land, death was extremely common. He thought of Anufish, who once saved him but fell in the storm, and of the encounter with the Sugpiaq Tribes. At the mouth of the immense Great River in the Far North land, and on that azure delta at the Rivermouth...
Thinking of this, Scholar Mikki lowered his head, fingers slightly moving in the Bronze box, and picked up another nearby nautical journal. A light move of his fingers took him from the western end of the island chain, eastward more than two thousand miles, back to the midsummer of July...
Note: The Easter egg Chapter is the exploration map of the Aleutian Islands.
