Chapter Summaries

Exploration Captain Zuwaro and Scholar Miki argued over Zuwaro arranging Priest Xi Feng’s marriage to strengthen the Wiyot port and spread the faith. As the fleet sailed north, Miki made Zuwaro promise not to break religious laws again, and they learned that the Kingdom Priesthood and the Alliance’s High Priest Council were beginning to clash.

• The fleet departed Lake Bay Port after Zuwaro’s marriage alliance with the Wiyot had helped bring Tulan and more than a hundred tribespeople into the settlement.
• Miki confronted Zuwaro for arranging Xi Feng’s marriage without consulting him, and Zuwaro defended it as a way to secure local support and build the northern port.
• Miki pointed out that Alliance doctrine barred low-ranking priests from marrying, and Zuwaro swore that his decision had served the Main God and the kingdom.
• Miki warned Zuwaro that breaking religious law could deepen conflict between the Kingdom Priesthood and the Alliance’s High Priest Council, and Zuwaro promised not to act independently again except in priestly marriage alliances.
• Miki explained that the two priestly centers were disputing religious interpretation, appointments, and administration in Otomi territory as the fleet continued toward the Tolowa Tribes.

Scholar Miki and Exploration Captain Zuwaro led the fleet north past the towering redwoods and reached the Redwood Tribe, where the Tolowa people initially prepared to fight. Hunter Tou recognized Cedar Shaman’s wood carving and welcomed them, while Chief Big Wood explained that his tribe was at war with the Leaf Grass Tribe.

• Scholar Miki, Exploration Captain Zuwaro, and Cloak Hunter Letian marveled at the towering ancient redwood, and Zuwaro named it the Divine Revelation Tree.
• The fleet rested beneath the tree, then continued north as Miki and Zuwaro discussed the redwoods’ potential for shipbuilding and the dangers ahead.
• The fleet reached the Redwood Tribe, whose people armed themselves and appeared ready to defend the coast.
• Cloak Hunter Letian showed Cedar Shaman’s wood carving, and Hunter Tou recognized it and declared the visitors friends.
• Chief Big Wood asked Tou to speak with the visitors, and Tou explained that the Redwood Tribe was fighting the Leaf Grass Tribe and asked whether the newcomers wanted to trade or join the battle.

Scholar Miki and Zuwaro discussed the Tolowa tribes’ long-running conflict and the Redwood Tribe’s reluctance to trade stored food. The fleet intended to continue exploring north rather than get involved, though Zuwaro considered how the war might serve the Kingdom’s interests.

• Zuwaro told Miki that the Redwood Tribe had traded little storable food because it distrusted the fleet and wanted its help in the war against the Leaf Grass Tribe.
• Miki explained that the Tolowa people were divided into northern and southern branches led by the Leaf Grass and Redwood Tribes, which fought over hunting grounds, fishing grounds, and a salt marsh.
• Miki described the conflict as ritualized fighting, usually involving small groups and leaving few casualties rather than becoming a full-scale war.
• Zuwaro considered joining the conflict, spreading the Main God’s faith, or trading weapons and captives, but hid his interest from Miki.
• Miki said the Redwood Tribe had been losing ground after the Leaf Grass Tribe gained unfamiliar hunters, possibly with support from northern tribes.
• Miki said the fleet should continue exploring north and avoid the Tolowa tribes’ internal war if possible.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro and Scholar Miki traded weapons for ore at the Redwood Tribe, then sailed north with hunter Tou. The hostile Leaf Grass Tribe blocked their way, and Zuwaro and Miki chose to fire the cannon.

• Chief Big Wood refused to send Redwood hunters with the fleet, but hunter Tou agreed to guide and translate for them.
• Chief Big Wood traded baskets of gold ore, quartz, and black crystals for eight Copper Spears, and Zuwaro took samples aboard.
• The fleet sailed north to the Leaf Grass Tribe, whose warriors and boats threatened to attack them.
• Zuwaro suspected Chief Big Wood had alerted the Leaf Grass Tribe to provoke a fight, while hunter Tou remained silent and uneasy.
• Letian tried to communicate with the Leaf Grass Tribe, but its chief ordered the fleet to leave and threatened them with war.
• Zuwaro asked Scholar Miki whether to fire the cannon, and Miki agreed.

The Kingdom fleet used cannons, arrows, and its Longships to rout the Leaf Grass Tribe’s warriors and destroy or scatter their dugout boats. As the fleet sailed north with a handful of captives, Leaf Grass Chief wondered whether he had misjudged the newcomers and what their power could mean for the united tribes.

• Zuwaro’s five Longships fired cannons and arrows near the Leaf Grass Tribe’s warriors and Totem Pole, frightening the defenders into chaos.
• Zuwaro ordered the fleet to ram the Tolowa dugout boats, scattering them and capturing more than a dozen hunters from the water.
• Miki told Zuwaro to keep one captive on each ship and release the others later with food, hoping to avoid making the Leaf Grass Tribe an enemy.
• The Kingdom fleet sailed north, while Leaf Grass Chief learned that several warriors had died, dozens were wounded, and more than a dozen had been captured.
• Leaf Grass Chief studied the arrows and the places where the cannons had struck, then wondered whether he had chosen wrongly and who the Longship Tribe supported.

Scholar Miki’s fleet released captured Leaf Grass Tribe hunters after teaching them the Main God’s name, then traveled north through Tolowa territory into Coos lands. Zuwaro planned to follow Coos fishermen to their village, share a meal, and assess whether to establish another Kingdom port.

• Scholar Miki had the captured Leaf Grass Tribe hunters repeat Huitzilopochtli’s name, gave each an amulet and an acorn cake, and released them.
• Hunter Feng Cao fled into the forest and shouted that he would meet the fleet again one day.
• The five Longships traded with Chief Mountain Pine’s Mountain Tribe for food and supplies, then sailed north into Coos territory.
• Zuwaro led the fleet into a deep lagoon harbor, where the Coos People’s fishing boats retreated from the ships.
• Zuwaro proposed following the fishermen to their village to eat and learn about the region, and possibly leave men to establish a Kingdom port.

Scholar Miki and Exploration Captain Zuwaro found a friendly Coos settlement at Coos Bay and chose it as the site of the Kingdom’s new South Port. Zuwaro left Priest Cacao Tree and fifty men to establish the port and expand its population before the fleet continued north toward the Siuslaw people.

• Scholar Miki observed the Coos People’s fishing-and-hunting way of life and learned that a larger Coos tribe lived upriver in a sheltered valley.
• Zuwaro and Miki chose the harbor at Coos Bay for a new port rather than risk conflict with the large inland tribe.
• Zuwaro left Priest Cacao Tree, fifty men, and one Longship to build South Port, stockpile food and timber, and seek help from nearby Coos People.
• Zuwaro urged Cacao Tree to use cloth, wine, and other means to keep the Coos People close and increase the port’s population.
• Miki told Zuwaro that the Sun-worshipping Siuslaw people lived about three days north by land.

The fleet met the sun-revering Siuslaw Rising Sun Tribe, whose shaman Chinook welcomed them and described the tribe’s history and harvest. Miki and Zuwaro discovered the tribe’s unusual land and sea crops, but Miki suddenly collapsed on the beach.

• The fleet sailed north from South Port as Elder Woji and the Coos People sang a farewell song.
• The fleet reached the Siuslaw villages, where Miki and Chinook discussed their peoples’ sun-guided journeys and the tribe’s harvest.
• Chinook invited the fleet to rest and trade for food, leaving Miki wondering what the Siuslaw cultivated.
• Zuwaro found that the Rising Sun Tribe planted edible wild peas and ferns on a barren hill, and Miki identified the crops.
• Zuwaro and Miki examined sea ponds where the Siuslaw cultivated seaweed and kelp and trapped fish.
• Miki said the sun was moving, then collapsed onto the beach.

After recovering from eating poisonous Thorn Fern, Miki joined Zuwaro in arranging supplies before the fleet continued north. They reached a striking stone pillar on the coast, which Zuwaro named God Palm Peak and marked as a navigation landmark.

• Miki woke after a night of illness, drank fish soup, and learned that raw Thorn Fern had poisoned him.
• Miki accused Zuwaro of misleading him about the wild plants, but Zuwaro explained that he had eaten Bear Paw Fern instead and apologized.
• Miki recovered enough to join Zuwaro in arranging the fleet’s grain trade and urged them to continue north toward the bay in the prophecy.
• The four Longships traded with the Siuslaw Rising Sun Tribe for grain, then sailed north out of Siuslaw territory.
• After traveling three hundred li, the fleet reached a desolate beach beside a towering stone pillar, and Zuwaro named it God Palm Peak for the nautical chart.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro and Scholar Miki led the fleet north from Tillamook Bay and discovered the Columbia River, which they recognized as a strategic route and a suitable site for another supply port. Zuwaro chose a promising spot on the river’s southern bank and proposed naming the settlement North Port.

• Zuwaro and Miki presented God Palm Peak’s sunset as a divine sign, prayed with the crew, and continued north.
• The fleet visited the Timo Tribe at Tillamook Bay, where they exchanged gifts with female chief Tilla despite the language barrier.
• Zuwaro and Miki left the bay and discovered the enormous Columbia River, noting its marshy mouth and the cooking smoke on its southern bank.
• Miki judged that few large tribes likely lived near the river mouth but that the river would connect many communities upstream.
• Zuwaro chose a sheltered southern-bank site as a new supply port and proposed calling it North Port.

The Marsh Tribe, led by old grandmother River Water, mistook the arriving Kingdom Warriors for a powerful enemy and surrendered after they landed. When Scholar Miki offered a gift and spoke of the Main God, the entire tribe prostrated itself, leaving him to imagine that he possessed divine majesty.

• Old grandmother River Water welcomed the armed expedition fleet at the Marsh Tribe’s fire and sang about the rivers and the tribe’s ancestors.
• River Water feared the warriors would destroy her small tribe and struggled to understand which neighboring power they came from.
• Scholar Miki and Zuwaro failed to understand the Clatsop’s song as River Water pleaded with the newcomers to explain their intentions.
• River Water ordered the Marsh Tribe to put down its weapons and surrender to the warriors.
• Scholar Miki offered a gift and invoked the Main God, prompting River Water and the tribespeople to prostrate themselves.
• Scholar Miki watched the tribe submit and wondered whether carrying out the Main God’s will had given him divine majesty.

At the Columbia River mouth, Zuwaro and Scholar Miki debated how much of their small fleet to leave behind after the Clatsop tribe surrendered. They decided to establish North Port as their priority while taking the remaining ships onward toward the prophesied Bay of Hundred Lakes.

• Scholar Miki realized that the Clatsop people had surrendered because they mistook the fleet for enemies pursuing them, not because they had been converted willingly.
• Zuwaro proposed intermarrying with the tribe and absorbing neighboring groups, while Miki warned that the Clatsop were unusually vulnerable after fleeing upstream conflicts.
• Miki told Zuwaro that the Bay of Hundred Lakes lay northeast of their position at 46 degrees north and was likely the great harbor from the king’s prophecy.
• Zuwaro decided to leave two Longships and one hundred people under Missionary Priests Tu Shan and Tu He to establish North Port.
• Zuwaro planned to take the other two Longships onward to the great bay, postponing expansion there until the kingdom gained more strength and experience in the northern climate.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro led the fleet north, met the Salish People, and learned of a route to the Bay of Hundred Lakes. Near a northern cape, Miki and Letian heard strange calls that Letian identified as an Ice Banshee, and the fleet headed toward the disturbance.

• Before sailing, Zuwaro assigned Tu He to civil affairs and Tu Shan to military affairs at North Port.
• The fleet met the Salish People, exchanged gifts, and watched Xia Osprey win the tribe's fish-catching festival.
• Chief Xia River showed Zuwaro and Miki a rough map of routes to the Bay of Hundred Lakes, and they chose to travel by sea.
• The fleet sailed north past snow-covered mountains and reached a cape where whales could be heard calling.
• Miki and Letian heard eerie sounds northeast of the fleet, and Letian feared they came from a legendary Ice Banshee.
• After the calls changed and Letian said the whales were screaming, Miki ordered the fleet toward the northeastern shore.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro’s fleet helped the Makah Whale Tribe kill a gray whale after its hunters asked for aid. After the hunt, Zuwaro accepted an invitation to visit the tribe, and Jinghai introduced them as the Whale Tribe.

• Jinghai asked Zuwaro’s fleet to help the Makah hunters kill the enormous whale, promising to divide the catch by head count.
• Zuwaro ordered his warriors to attack with bronze spears and crossbows, then had the longship ram the weakened whale and kill it.
• The Makah hunters and the fleet hauled the whale ashore, where the tribe began processing its meat and hide.
• Jinghai thanked the newcomers and invited them to rest in his nearby tribe while the whale was prepared.
• Zuwaro accepted the invitation, and Jinghai named his people the Whale Tribe.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro and Scholar Miki visited the Makah Whale Tribe after a successful hunt and learned about the northern coast and its fertile bays. Old hunter Jinghai warned them that powerful tribes controlled the bays and would attack the small fleet if it tried to settle there.

• The Makah shared a huge whale harvest with the two Longships, and Scholar Miki calculated that the fleet had taken more than twenty thousand jin of meat.
• Zuwaro and Miki reached the Makah village, where chief Jinghai welcomed them and offered to smoke and salt their share of the whale meat.
• Jinghai demonstrated the Makah Ancestral Spirit Drum and explained that it imitated a whale call using a whale's throat air sac.
• Jinghai told Zuwaro and Miki about Vancouver Island, the Snuneymuxw islanders, and their knowledge of northern seas and winter fishing.
• Jinghai described the fertile North Bay and South Bay as warm, food-rich regions occupied by numerous powerful tribes.
• Jinghai warned Zuwaro that the fleet's small numbers made settling either bay dangerous because local tribes would try to seize its ships and people.

Zuwaro and Miki allied the fleet with the Makah's Whale Tribe, established Whale Port, and continued toward the prophesied great bay. They reached Seattle bay and found it vast and densely settled, but their lone Longship carried only fifty men.

• Zuwaro and Miki decided to establish a supply settlement with the Whale Tribe and leave one ship and fifty men there under Zu Yu.
• Miki and Jinghai built trust, and Jinghai agreed to a blood-oath alliance after the tribe witnessed the Kingdom's promises.
• Miki and Jinghai swore the alliance, and the fleet founded Whale Port beside the Whale Tribe's village.
• Zuwaro led the remaining Longship southeast and entered the enormous Seattle bay foretold by the prophecy.
• Zuwaro and Miki spotted numerous tribal camps and approached a village that Miki estimated held at least a thousand people.

Exploration Captain Zuwaro and Scholar Miki fled a wary tribe in Seattle Bay and planned how to build up the Kingdom’s northern bases before the next year’s explorations. Miki revealed a prophecy of an enormous northern gold district, while a warrior on the coast of North Asia searched for alluvial gold to complete his mission.

• A tribe’s hunters chased Zuwaro and Miki out of Seattle Bay, and Zuwaro vowed to return with greater strength.
• Zuwaro decided to return to Whale Port, bury the half ton of gold there, and divide their missions with Miki.
• Zuwaro assigned Miki to seek reinforcements, help develop West Mountain Port, and inspect the Kingdom’s northern settlements on his way south.
• Zuwaro planned to winter at Whale Port, hunt whales, and explore a northwestern island before the storms arrived.
• Miki revealed that the prophecy described the Juneau Gold Mining District, a vast gold region north of Golden Bay.
• A warrior aboard a Zheyang Ship on the North Asian coast lamented that he still needed to find alluvial gold for his house head’s mission.

Murakami Suemichi and Watanabe Masumi completed the season’s northern trade and discussed their competing interests in the Kakizaki Clan’s planned purchase of a Jurchen horse. The ship prepared to sail east across the northern sea toward Karafuto Island.

• Murakami Suemichi told Watanabe Masumi that he had arranged for Sanda leaders to trade for an ungelded Jurchen horse to present to the Kakizaki clan head the following year.
• Watanabe Masumi recalled how Morino Kiyoshi’s forces had joined the voyage, and how he served as navigator and cargo appraiser aboard the ship.
• Murakami Suemichi confirmed the season’s haul of horses, furs, ginseng, and antler, and explained that two of the horses were Mongol-Sanda mixed-breed mares.
• Murakami Suemichi insisted that the Jurchen horse belonged to the Kakizaki clan head to decide, and Watanabe Masumi yielded.
• Murakami Suemichi asked Watanabe Masumi to have Shipwright Kim inspect the ship before it sailed east toward Karafuto Island.

Murakami Suemichi and Watanabe Masumi sailed away from the Evenk camp after trading for supplies, discussing the lack of fine hides and gold dust. Murakami committed to leading a dangerous two-year expedition into the far northern sea next spring, and Watanabe agreed to join him.

• Shipwright Kim Seon-su inspected the Zheyang Ship and received two deerskins from Murakami Suemichi as a reward.
• Kim Seon-su reflected on his years away from Joseon after Wagoku samurai had taken him as a shipwright.
• Watanabe Masumi told Murakami Suemichi that the fleet needed to travel farther north to find better hides and gold dust.
• Murakami admitted he had not dared sail beyond Karafuto Island and vowed to venture into the far northern sea next spring.
• Watanabe showed Murakami his battle scar and promised to accompany him on the two-year expedition.
• Murakami and Watanabe agreed to sail north from the Karafuto Peninsula, circle the far northern sea, and return by way of the Chishima.

Tai Shishan oversaw laborers building a lime-clay road in River Mouth County, enforcing careful roadbed and drainage work while checking on limestone being fired into lime. After rewarding the workers with extra cornmeal cakes, he headed for the newly established relay station to inspect the midday meal.

• Tai Shishan ordered village laborers to tamp the roadbed and straighten its drainage ditches, demonstrating how to dig them properly.
• Tai Shishan promised extra cornmeal cakes to teams that worked well, and the laborers redoubled their efforts.
• Tai Shishan inspected the limestone-burning heaps and learned that the fired lime would be ready for road construction the next day.
• Tai Shishan drank salted well water, praised the lime burners, and promised them extra cakes as well.
• Tai Shishan set off for the relay station to check on the midday meal for the village workers.