Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1467 - 1019: First Encounter with the Tribes of Kamchatka, the Itelmen Hunters
"Praise the Chief Divine, praise Your Majesty! The relay of twenty Kingdom Longships, the support of thousands of elite warriors and sailors, the provision of hundreds of thousands of pounds of supplies, have finally delivered this Kingdom’s great longship to the new continent foretold in prophecy! ...And we sailed for a full two years, traversing more than twenty thousand rough miles, all for today’s arrival!..."
November at the Kamchatka Peninsula is marked everywhere by cold, white traces. On the sea surface of the eastern side of the peninsula, death’s white gleams are flickering. The long, harsh winter has arrived with the cold northern winds, making the rolling mountains become silent and the boundless tundra turn desolate. Along the whole expanse of the bleak coast, no obvious human habitation or villages can be seen, nor are there wandering deer herds. Only two towering active volcanoes conspicuously sit among the northern mountains, with faint white smoke occasionally rising, hinting at the warmth and vitality buried deep underground!
When first approaching the coast, the Great Snow Wolf ship only saw the eastern active volcano (Avachinsky). The longship rowed along the desolate coastline for half a day before entering a recessed natural bay, where another taller smoking volcano (Koryaksky) suddenly appeared among the northern mountains, shining with icy flowing light.
"Chief Divine! Two gifts from the Chief Divine, the warm active volcanoes! They are the Chief Divine’s sons, towering and spouting vitality, as if exhaling Divine Smoke...then let this natural harbor be called Divine Twins...no, Divine Twins Smoke Harbor!..."
Exploration Captain Zuwaro gazed towards the north, looking at the smoking icy snow volcano with genuine delight appearing on his face. He did not know the exact heights of these two active volcanoes, the eastern Avachinsky Volcano at 2741 meters, and the western Koryaksky Volcano at 3456 meters. But based on his experience along the way, wherever there are volcanoes, there will be warm unfrozen springs. And in the cold Far North land, warm unfrozen springs inevitably signify the presence and gathering of tribes!
Indeed, so it is. In later years, this place becomes the capital of Russia’s Kamchatka Krai, the most livable city on the entire peninsula, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatskiy.
"Chief Divine! What a vast bay, what towering mountains!"
Exploration Captain Zuwaro jumped off the longship, landing on the bay’s north side. He knelt down and kissed the cold, black-brown earth, this "Burial Ground of the Ancestor Giants". Then he surveyed the surrounding scenery, looking at the low bushes around the bay, and then at the snowy northern mountains, pondering briefly before quickly reaching a conclusion.
"Such low shore bushes, even lower than the Ancestor Island chain. Such significant mountain snow accumulation, even more than the Far North Coast... Chief Divine! The winter here is cold! It must be colder than the coastal areas of the Far North Coast! The winds here will also be strong, surely frighteningly strong!... We must quickly find the local tribes, or find the warm springs for wintering..."
Exploration Captain Zuwaro slightly frowned, keeping his speculation about the local environment silently in his heart.
The songs inherited by Northern Tribes have always contained the wisdom of survival and death. The ancestors of the Unangas called this place "the Icy Burial Ground of the Ancestor Giants" for a reason. Although the latitude here is lower than Alaska’s Far North Coast, the temperature is noticeably lower, and no obvious traces of human habitation can be seen along the coast...
"Chief Divine bless us, Your Majesty guides us, we are the favored ones touched by divine grace!" 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝙬𝙚𝓫𝒏𝓸𝓿𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝙤𝓶
Exploration Captain Zuwaro pondered briefly, then smiled openly, showing confidence and joy. He looked around at the dozens of Kingdom’s Warriors and Tribal Sailors who had landed, with a generous and uplifting spirit, boosting everyone’s morale.
"Come! Praise the Chief Divine! Let us strike the firestones, ignite the Sacred Fire, hold a prayer ceremony! Then cook fish, shrimp, and whale meat, and hold a grand celebration banquet!"
"Praise the Chief Divine! Pray for divine blessing, celebrate the arrival!..."
Upon hearing such joyous news, the warriors and sailors also began to cheer. After drifting on the islands and sea for so long, they indeed needed a grand prayer and celebration. Soon, bonfires lit the coastline, meats cooked with enticing aromas. And the continuous sounds of prayers and cheers echoed from the expansive bay, drifting into the distant cold winds.
"Chief Divine bless! Praise our God Huitzilopochtli! He is supreme, covering the sky and sea! Praise the God of Death Xiulote! He knows all things, guiding us from afar!..."
"Huh? Chut (wind)? Pina (smoke)? Smoke in the southern wind?"
Among the northern mountains over ten miles away, an Itelmen hunter clad in fur and carrying a hunting bow suddenly widened his eyes, looking towards the southern bay. The Itelmen (Itelmen) are one of the Kamchatka tribes residing on the southern peninsula. They are slightly shorter than the Unangas, generally around one meter seventy. They are mostly excellent hunters in the mountains and reliable fishermen along the coast.
"Mulu, what are you saying?"
"I said, look at the southern bay, there is smoke!"
"What? Smoke!"
Upon hearing Hunter Mulu’s words, a group of seven or eight Itelmen hunters all looked towards the south. Soon, incomprehensible surprise appeared on their robust, round, Mongolian-like faces.
"Shh!"
The leading Hunting Team Leader Mukun, holding a strong Samoyed hunting dog, gestured to everyone to be silent. He turned his ear to carefully listen to the faint wind noise, his brow deeply furrowing.
"In the wind, there are human voices...very subtle, but many, many voices!..."
"Ah? Spirit ancestors! Could it be the southern Island Tribe (Ainu) coming to harass again?"
"How can that be! The snowy winter is almost here, and the Big Sea will freeze. At this time, coastal tribes won’t come out, nor will they fight!"
"Could it be the Northwestern Rokube (Koryaks)? Are they coming to poach the deer around our territory?"
"At this time? When a snowstorm is about to arrive? Are they risking their lives?..."
"Then could it possibly be the Northern Tent Tribe (Chukchi)? They have always been fierce and aggressive, migrating everywhere on reindeer sleds, seizing food and camps from other tribes... Are they coming to steal our warm Winter Camp, steal our unfrozen spring water?"
"Ah? If the Tent Tribe is appearing here, they would definitely clash with the Rokube first! What’s more, this is south of the mountains, how could the Tent Tribe’s reindeer teams sneak over the mountains?..."
The Itelmen hunters discussed in low voices, displaying several degrees of unease. This desolate, cold snowfield, even located at the northeastern corner of the Asian continent, never lacks fights and conflicts between tribes.
Because, unlike the hunting tribes on the North American continent, they have higher productivity and organizational levels. And their greatest enemies had long shifted from the harsh natural environment to batches of tribes migrating around, competing for water sources and hunting grounds in Extreme North Asia.
"Enough! The spirit ancestors are watching us!"
Hunting Team Leader Mukun pondered briefly and quickly made a decision. He first handed the dog leash to the fastest runner, Hunter Mutu. The Samoyed dog, originally from the Extreme North Asian tribes, is an excellent hunting dog and guard dog suitable for harsh cold environments. And this strong Samoyed dog is an important assistant in the tribe’s hunting, with high cost in training, so it can’t be lost.
"Mutu, take the dog and head back to the tribe first, report to the tribe’s old grandmother! Have the able-bodied men prepare, don leather armor, and string the bows!..."
"Mulu, your eyesight is the best and movements the quietest... come with me to the south for a look!"
"Yes! Sage Captain!"
Hunter Mulu nodded earnestly, using the term "Sage" symbolizing the hunting dog leader, which is "Dog King". This term accurately reflects Mukun’s leadership status in the tribe, second only to the old grandmother who manages tribal inheritance. In fact, these hunting tribes in Extreme North Asia indeed have higher organizational levels than their blood cousins on the North American continent.
"The spirit ancestors are watching us! Let’s go! Let’s properly see which distant tribe this is, whether they are enemies or friends of our Mountain Part!"
