March was a frozen season. North of latitude 50 degrees, over the North Pacific, it was still a world of white crystal, bitter cold, and death. And the Far North route linking North America to Northeast Asia—the coldest and briefest coastal route of this era—set out precisely from Whale Port at latitude 49 degrees north, and ultimately reached the Kamchatka Peninsula at more than 50 degrees north.
The first half of this Far North route ran along the Alaskan coast of North America, where the warm Alaska Warm Current flowed, reaching as far north as Divine Blood Bay Port at latitude 60 degrees north. The latter half was the Aleutian Islands, battered by great winds and waves, and the Kamchatka Peninsula washed by the cold Chishima Cold Current; in truth, it was even more bitterly cold and difficult!
A thousand miles of ice ruled the North Pacific, and even the Alaska Warm Current could only flow beneath the ice. From the starting point of Whale Port (N48, W124), one headed nine hundred li north to the northern tip of later Vancouver Island, and there lay the kingdom's second port on the Far North route: Divine Shellfish Port (N50, W127).
"May the Main God bless us! The ice outside the harbor has already melted. If we wait another half a month, the fishing boats can go out to sea and fish... There are more people in the port again. When it's time to plant potatoes this year, we'll still have to plant more! Mm, the snow was heavy this winter. It was a hard time. The Heiltsuk tribes across the strait had it hard too. Once navigation opens, we'll take some of the catch across and pacify the small tribes struggling to survive, then bring them back to replenish our population!..."