Through the wind and snow, amid the white mountains, a cluster of gray, yellowing felt tents suddenly appeared in a low, sheltered valley.
"Friends from the Sea Tribe! This is our Mountain Tribe's winter camp!..."
"Mm. Praise the Main God!"
Exploration Captain Zuwaro stood on the hilltop and gazed into the distance. Hundreds of tribespeople were busy among the winter camp in the valley, though he could not make out what they were doing. Herds of gray reindeer had gathered around the valley's outskirts, sometimes scattering aimlessly to forage, sometimes looking left and right for the lead deer of the herd.
The Mountain Tribe's children, under the hunters' guidance, rode on the backs of the gentler reindeer and played, growing familiar from childhood with these strong, powerful creatures, and with the skills of reindeer herding. In truth, the children of every tribe had to ride deer at five, herd at seven, and begin learning lassos, reindeer training, and the simple "Deer-Wrestling Technique" at ten... Only when the children reached fifteen and had mastered this complete set of survival skills would they count as adults in the tribe and gain the right to take a wife of their own.
"Main God! His Majesty's Divine Revelation!... The four-footed riding beast galloping in His Majesty's Divine Revelation—could it be these giant deer with antlers?!..."
Exploration Captain Zuwaro's eyes went wide as he approached these strong reindeer, which were unafraid of people and could be ridden. These adult male reindeer stood roughly one point one or one point two meters tall, actually a little taller than the Japanese horses of this era. They were sturdy, skilled at running, and able to endure extreme cold. A male reindeer weighed about three hundred jin, and had very solid long antlers on its head.
Zuwaro observed carefully