Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!

Chapter 2108 - 1540: Reciting Two Poems, Viewing Four Treasure Ships!

July is coming to an end, Alaska Bay, 58 degrees north latitude. Great Whale Island, Kingdom Port, Divine Great Whale Port.In the distance, the layered mountains are covered with lush coniferous forests, where eagles soar above the peaks. Streams meander at the mountain’s base, and pink shrubs and yellow-blue wildflowers reflect each other, bathing in eighteen hours of daylight during the continuous days, life flourishing everywhere.

The vitality brought by the streams extends nearby, suddenly transforming long meadows into cultivated potato fields. In those over a thousand mu of potato fields, hundreds of tribespeople are busy weeding among the potato seedlings that stand several palms high. After two months of planting, green buds have appeared on the potato seedlings, soon to blossom into pink-white flowers. Beneath the summer’s warm fields, the roots of the potatoes are growing stronger, nurturing the upcoming autumn harvest, preparing for the most precious winter provisions.

Despite being at the same latitude, under the combined shelter of the Alaska warm current and northern mountains, Alaska’s coastal summer is far warmer than the Kamchatka Peninsula, which is affected by the Thousand Islands Cold Current, exaggeratingly up to "10 degrees" warmer. In fact, this area has a subpolar oceanic climate, possibly more suitable for potato growth than Hokkaido at over forty degrees north latitude!

"Da... da... da... da!"

Two tall Jurchen horses tread on the summer long meadows, "amble" from afar. With four alternating hooves tapping in a four-beat rhythm, without leaps leaving the ground, thus always having one hoof landing. This is the slowest, most stable gait for horses, suitable for beginners and relaxed training.

Looking closely, each of these two horses carries a high priest of the kingdom. They both wear a short feather crown of northern style, adorn a smooth Obsidian Necklace, and are dressed in sea otter fur robes with tightened sleeves and pants, secured with gold-plated belts, tucking their legs into deerskin boots. This more horse-riding-friendly priest outfit bears a style somewhat merged with the nomadic tribes of Northeast Asia, the Indigenous peoples of the Northwest North Coast, and the highland Nava culture.

"The world is but an ancient inn, In tlalticpac zan huehueyaloya,"

"The sun is merely alternating flames. In tonatiuh zan tlapetlahuilia."

"Night is where dreams return, In yohualli zan tlahuelilocayotl,"

"Life blooms like flowers, fleeting! In tlakatl zan cueponi, zan hueyollo!"

The two high priests pause their horses by the stream. One of them is short in stature, with a weathered expression and a hint of melancholy on his face. Gazing at the vast fields through which the stream flows, and the tribal settlement spreading out beyond, he recites poetry in Nava using the Kingdom of the Lake’s accent. In his line of sight, the camp with rows of wooden houses and huts has noticeably reached a scale of more than a thousand people. Such a tribal scale, for a kingdom foothold along the Alaska coast, is indeed impressive.

In fact, with Kimier stationed at the horse breeding Divine Great Whale Port, it has indeed become the largest kingdom foothold among all the ports along the Alaska coast!

"Hiss! Hiss!"

Speaking of horses, in the distance, seven mixed-breed horses of various sizes are grazing in the meadows near the port. A dozen apprentices trained by Sukeichiro are carefully attending to them.

Indeed, the initial three horses — one stallion and two mares — have successfully bred three times through mating in three consecutive years, resulting in six new horses. Currently, the strongest two-year-old colt is being ridden alongside the original Jurchen stallion "Ah Di" by the two high priests.

What? Why name it "Ah Di"? Because "Atlcahualo" means "January," symbolizing "the end of water," which is "the very first beginning."

"Where is reality? Only songs drift away! Ompa ye nelli, zan oncan cuicatl!"

"Why do flowers bloom? Why does song fade away? Tleipan xochitl huetzca, tleipan cuicatl polihui?"

"Alas! Alas! Ohuaya, ohuaya!"

The melancholic high priest sighs twice to end the poem. "Ohuaya" is a lament phrase in traditional Nava poetry, expressing the sorrow over life’s brevity. The two rhetorical questions in the second-to-last line and the introspective inquiry in the third-to-last line are also traditional Nava poetry styles, lamenting life’s transience with deep melancholy.

Overall, the latter part of this poem adheres closely to Nava traditions, aligns with aesthetics but is not particularly striking. The truly impressive part is the first half...

"Good! Good! Comparing heaven and earth to an inn, with the sun’s rise and fall representing time, night’s dreamlike flight for the spirit... and our lives like flowers blooming and withering amidst the heavens and time... Chief Divine! This is indeed a good poem!"

The Kimier Grand Priest applauds, riding with just his legs displaying confident horsemanship skills. He praises aloud, smilingly addressing his somewhat melancholic old friend beside him.

"Praise Chief Divine! Mikki, my great scholar... I didn’t expect that in just two years of not seeing you, you would write such a masterpiece! What other good poems, speak them aloud, let me enjoy them too!"

"Ha! Kimier, it’s not me who wrote the poem; this is a masterpiece recently circulated from Tloquiditlan..."

"A masterpiece from the Lake Capital City?!"

"Indeed!"

Speaking about the Nava people’s favorite poems, Scholar Mikki is slightly invigorated. He reaches into his bosom, pulls out a scroll of copied poetry, and smilingly hands it over to Kimier.

"Look, it’s all here! This is a collection of poems by the Poet Saint Xiuxoke, the father of His Majesty, from the Alliance in recent years..."

"...Oh?!"

Chimere’s eyes lit up, and he eagerly took the small booklet, flipping it open. The first poem he saw was a religious ode praising the Great Temple and the Chief Divine, titled "Great Temple Sky Vault."

"The Great Temple towers, standing a hundred arrows-high, Huey Teocalli tlacati centzontli mitl,"

"Reach out and you can touch the stars. Niman oncan tlachialoa in Citlalmeztli."

"I dare not speak loudly, Amo nimitztlahpaloa in nochi tlahtolli,"

"Lest I disturb the spirit of Huitzilopochtli! Mochipa nicchipa tlazohcamati Huitzilopochtli!"

Seeing this novel four-line poem, Chimere’s eyes widened, recalling the majesty of the Great Temple, and once again yearning in his heart.

"Oh Chief Divine on Snake Mountain! The most magnificent Great Temple in the Lake Capital City is the nearest and most sacred place to the Divine Kingdom! That ’hundred arrows-high’ immortal wonder could reach to ’touch the stars.’ And ’Mochipa nicchipa’ means ’Eternal Respect,’ ’Eternal Prayer’... What a good poem! Indeed worthy of ’Poet Saint Xiuxoke!’..."

The two Grand Priests discussed the poem, and their spirits were considerably uplifted. Chimere looked at Miki’s expression, and then began to comfort him.

"Miki... Life at sea is truly as fleeting as flowers. The warriors who die at sea for the belief in the Chief Divine will ascend to the red realm and be reborn there... A few days ago, I painted a new piece in memory of the brave souls on those two ships... And on the sacrificial tower by the sea, I also plan to erect a stone tablet, inscribing their names and patterns, as a permanent memorial..."

"By the way! Summer days are long, and it’s still early. Would you like to accompany me to the sacrificial tower by the sea for a visit and offer another prayer?"

"Hmm... Alright!"

Scholar Mikki pondered for a moment and gently nodded. Then, he nudged the horse’s belly, maintaining a beginner’s pace, following behind Chimere’s horse. The two of them, one after the other, rode to the seaside near the port.

"Da... da..."

The summer sea of Great Whale Island shimmered with intermingling light blues and greens, like gemstones in a lake. Dozens of four-meter tribal boats were filled with the Sugpiaq fishermen devoted to the Chief Divine, casting nets for fish outside the port. Three 20-meter Kingdom longships, along with two newer Kingdom sand ships, also busied themselves fishing further out at sea. Even further out, one could occasionally see the shadow of a passing whale and hear the long, melodic whale songs drifting from an unknown distant place.

"Oo~ ah ah! Oo~ ah oo! Yo~~"

The whale songs came from the sea and sky, drifting toward the inner side of the port. Four enormous ocean shielding ships lay quietly anchored in the port, resembling a fishing village. These four ocean shielding ships were grandly shaped, much like towering long whales. Even compared to the Kingdom’s longships, they appeared notably shorter and lower!

Yes, this is the Kingdom’s fifth support fleet, a new batch of "Big Ocean Covering Ships." This batch of ocean covering ships took two years to build, and not only did the construction time exceed expectations, but the ship designs also surpassed their original plans, doubling in size!

With the Kingdom’s high-quality large wood support, the Gold Shipwright’s diligent personal guidance, and the construction of many seasoned carpenters... The Southern Shipbuilding Department used 30-meter large timbers as the keel, proportionally enlarging the existing ship design. Using the high-quality wood of a 600-ton ship, it took two years to successfully build five 400-ton "Big Ocean Covering Ships"! Each 400-ton ocean covering ship had nearly twice the load capacity of the previous 200-ton ocean covering ships, reaching an "astonishing" 120 tons!

Cough, though the 400-ton ships utilized wood meant for 600 tons, and the manpower and resources expended far exceeded estimates, each of these five meticulously crafted "Big Ocean Covering Ships" compared to the medium-sized Clark Galleon "Holy Maria" from Columbus’ fleet. Also, the "three-masted Chinese vertical sails" used by the Big Ocean Covering Ships were more flexible than the contemporary European Clark Galleons, more efficiently harnessing the wind, and their coastal sailing speed was faster!

In October of last year, these five Big Ocean Covering Ships, along with twelve sand ships, formed the fifth support fleet and set out northward together. With 700 Kingdom warriors and sailors and a remarkable over 1,000 tons total load capacity, the scale of this northern support fleet far exceeded any previous ones!

"Chief Divine! What a magnificent fleet set sail last year!"

At that time too, Scholar Mikki, full of ambition, held a letter written to him by Xiulote. As the Fourth Level Grand Priest of the Kingdom and the captain of the support fleet, he personally led the fleet northward. And as long as this voyage succeeded, given the merits he made, the nautical epics he wrote, and his network within the Lake Priest Group... advancing further was near indisputable, almost within reach!

However, fate is always unpredictable, like the impermanence of sea storms. The first half of Mikki’s support fleet’s voyage, from the Kingdom of the Lake to Whale Harbor, was relatively smooth. Although they encountered a sea storm in Northern California and a large wildfire engulfing an entire mountain range... the fleet suffered no personnel or ship losses and successfully replenished 300 tons of coal from Firestone Town and 100 tons of salt from the Ypa Great Tribe, along with ten sand ships, to the various ports on the Kingdom’s Western Sea Coast.

Everything was under the protection of the Chief Divine until early May of this year, when the Ice Sea in the north began to thaw. Confidently, Mikki once again led the five Big Ocean Covering Ships, along with two sand ships, loaded with several tons of cured whale meat and dozens of tons of coal from Whale Harbor, following the Alaskan warm current, heading north to the Far North Coast...

However, just last month, the fleet encountered deadly drifting extreme cold floating ice from the north on the final segment to Divine Grand Whale Island from Divine Blood Bay Port, the northernmost stretch of their entire voyage, in eerily foggy weather! And in the face of such tempestuous underwater floating ice, even the incredibly sturdy Big Ocean Covering Ship cracked the moment it collided, creating an irreparable large hole...

"Oh Chief Divine! That dreadful scene of that day, with the two ships that struck the floating ice... may You cast Your blood-red gaze like the sunset’s afterglow, and from the ice-cold, bottomless deep sea of the far north, guide the souls of the fearless warriors, devout till death!"...