Chapter Summaries

At Tilantongo, Yuntian Andivi helped lead a ceremony in which Divine King Avet replaced the Mixtec Rain God Dzahui with the Mexica Main God Huitzilopochtli, proclaiming the Cloud Land’s absorption into the Alliance. The ritual shattered the captives’ faith, and Xolotl began the mass sacrifice of eight hundred Mixtec nobles, priests, and god-descendants.

• Yuntian Andivi led the priests up the Temple of Heaven and declared that the Mexica Main God would rule the Cloud Land.
• Yuntian recalled how he had surrendered to the Mexica years earlier and become a priest while his former Mixtec peers were captured as offerings.
• Xolotl proclaimed the unification of the Cloud Tribes under the Alliance, and Avet pressed the Main God’s golden hummingbird emblem onto the sacred stele.
• Four War Priests drove twelve bronze nails through the emblem and stele, while the Mixtec captives mourned the apparent death of Dzahui.
• Xolotl put on his turquoise mask, ordered the sacred fires lit and a bronze cauldron brought up, and began the victory sacrifice.

At the three-day victory festival in Yunzhong, Prophet Xolotl performed human sacrifices while Divine King Avet rewarded and relocated nobles who had earned merit in the southern campaign. The rites continued into a second day, where Avet began building his personal guard from the newly enfeoffed warriors.

• Xolotl sacrificed God-descendants Yun Zhao and Chief Rain God priest Viiko, while Yuntian silently remembered his old acquaintance.
• Avet enfeoffed Montezuma II as Prince of the Coastal Mixtec, granting him coastal fiefs, wealth, and five years of grain support and tribute exemption.
• Avet forced Feather Goose Prince Mihoti to transfer his fief to West Yunzhong, promising migration assistance and support.
• The festival continued through the night as Alliance warriors celebrated, and Avet and Xolotl began another day of sacrifices and enfeoffments.
• Avet enfeoffed Kuo Ying for killing Yuchi and appointed him captain of the Shorn Guard, commanding two hundred elite warriors.

Chief Priest Chimer comforted Scholar Miki, whose northern support fleet had lost two ships to Arctic drift ice, and showed him a memorial for the dead. The four newly built Zheyang Ships remained at Great Whale Island as Miki and Chimer prepared to visit the seaside ritual tower and pray for the fallen.

• Scholar Miki recited Nahua poems to Chimer, who praised his verses and read poems from Xoloc’s collection.
• Chimer told Miki that he was commemorating the warriors lost at sea with a painting and a stone stele, then invited him to pray at the seaside ritual tower.
• Miki and Chimer rode to Divine Whale Port, where they saw four newly built large Zheyang Ships moored in the harbor.
• Miki recalled leading the fifth support fleet north and described how drift ice in dense fog had split open two ships near Great Whale Island.
• Miki prayed that the Main God would receive the dead warriors’ souls from the frigid northern sea.

After a shipwreck left Scholar Miki grieving and fearful of leading the westbound support fleet, Chief Priest Chimer urged him to sail before winter. Their decision was interrupted by the return of High Priest Losanda’s fleet from the Western Sea Continent, offering unexpected hope.

• Scholar Miki mourned the sailors and his two apprentices lost in the shipwreck while viewing Chimer’s memorial painting.
• Chimer urged Miki to lead the support fleet west within ten days, before winter ice and storms made the voyage too dangerous.
• Miki described ill omens and a dream warning that his luck at sea was spent, and hinted that Chimer should replace him as fleet leader.
• Chimer reassured Miki that the Main God would protect him but privately worried over the risks and the fleet’s leadership.
• A horn announced the arrival of two ships, and Miki and Chimer rode to a lookout to see Losanda’s battered fleet returning from the Western Sea Continent.

Losanda’s fleet reached Great Whale Port, where Caishan and Losanda revived the seasick blacksmith Tetta Mune-yoshi using their different healing practices. Losanda then discovered two high-ranking priests waiting to welcome him and reported that he had brought back artisans and livestock from the Western Sea Continent.

• The two Zheyang Ships approached Great Whale Island as their passengers celebrated reaching Divine Whale Port.
• Caishan treated the unconscious Tetta Mune-yoshi with acupuncture and ginger juice while Losanda applied American herbs and explained his beliefs about the soul.
• Tetta Mune-yoshi regained consciousness, and Losanda reassured him that they had arrived at the port.
• Losanda spotted Chief Priest Chimer and Chief Priest Miki waiting with a large welcoming party and hurried ashore to greet them.
• Losanda knelt before the two Chief Priests and reported that he had completed his mission, bringing back artisans, riding and plowing animals, and domestic fowl.

Losanda presented the returning fleet’s artisans, oxen, and a Joseon medical woman to the Chief Priests, who praised the expedition’s achievements. At the feast on Whale Island, the travelers shared songs from their homelands, and Caishan’s court dance and ancient-style song impressed the priests before everyone celebrated until dawn.

• Losanda introduced eleven Western Sea artisans, including master blacksmith Tetta Mune-yoshi, and showed the Chief Priests the oxen and cartwright Kuruki Sadakichi’s transport skills.
• The returned Samurai and sailors feasted on Whale Island, celebrating their safe voyage and singing songs from their cultures.
• Losanda explained that Caishan was a Joseon medical woman who could study inoculation, and Scholar Miki promised to report her arrival and Losanda’s merit to His Majesty.
• Caishan overcame her shyness and performed Changchun Music—Ode to Taiping, prompting Chimer to consider using the ritual song and dance for the Main God.
• The Chief Priests honored Caishan with a seat among them, and the travelers sang and celebrated through the night until dawn.

Losanda returned from the Western Sea and visited Chimer, who used a painting of the northern sun’s path to discuss divine mysteries and urged him to seek advancement through Chief Priest Miki. The chapter left Losanda heading to meet Miki while Chimer continued investigating the earth’s tilt and the seasons.

• Losanda prayed at the temple and gave Chimer a silk garment from the Western Sea, explaining that Zuwaro had prioritized practical artisans over costly silkworms and silk workers.
• Chimer returned the garment and advised Losanda to offer it to Miki, who might help him become a level-four Chief Priest.
• Chimer showed Losanda his gold-ringed painting of the banquet and explained how the summer sun’s path formed a complete circle farther north.
• Losanda concluded that the Sugpiaq Ancestral Peak of the Sky God was a sacred northern dwelling of the Sun Lord God, and Chimer cautiously agreed.
• Chimer told Losanda that Miki needed trusted followers after two priests died in a shipwreck and was close to becoming a Priest Elder.
• Losanda kowtowed to Chimer and carried the silk garment to Miki’s hut, while Chimer added diagrams of two spheres and rotation arcs to his painting.

Chimer, Miki, and Losanda settled the fleet’s leadership and cargo arrangements after its return from the Western Sea, with Miki preparing to bring the expedition’s merits to the Lake Kingdom and Losanda ordered to sail west again. Losanda then briefed the priests on the Western Sea and added detailed information to their map.

• Chimer finished a religious painting and reflected on Miki’s impending bid to become Priest Elder and Losanda’s coming return west.
• Losanda presented Miki with Western Sea crops, seeds, and a cargo booklet, and Miki praised his contributions.
• Chimer recorded the expedition’s cargo as Miki and Chimer decided the draft oxen should be sent to the Lake Kingdom while some animals and a farmer stayed on Great Whale Island.
• Miki and Chimer confirmed that Losanda would lead four ships west within seven days, and Losanda accepted the assignment.
• During the following week, Losanda briefed Miki and Chimer on Western Sea peoples and powers and filled in their map of Northeast Asia.

Losanda briefed Chimer and Miki on the Kingdom’s Western Sea strongholds, alliances, and gold trade with the Wajin, revealing how quickly Zuwaro’s influence had grown. Chimer ordered another shipment of gold to sustain the trade, while the Kingdom’s silver mines offered a potential long-term source of wealth for its western expansion.

• Losanda described the Mountain Tribe, Ainu clans, and other Western Sea allies, including their ports, resources, and ties to the Main God.
• Losanda explained how Zuwaro had established gold-trade agreements with the Wajin and the Tiantai Temple, exchanging gold for artisans, supplies, titles, and a Shiba prince’s children.
• Losanda outlined the Wajin’s internal conflicts and reported that Shenhuatai Port held over two thousand people and hundreds of warriors, with more migrants expected.
• Losanda estimated that about 1,500 jin of gold remained at Shenhuatai Port and that further trades would require another 1,000 jin.
• Chimer ordered Losanda to take another 2,000 jin of gold west so Zuwaro could continue trading for artisans, livestock, and supplies.
• The Kingdom’s leaders considered using silver from the Zacatecas Wasteland mines to fund future Western Sea trade.

Losanda described Western Sea tribes and trade prospects to Chimer and Miki, who examined books he had brought back from Wagoku and Great Ming. The priests discovered that the books included revered Buddhist and Confucian works, including the I Ching, and realized its hexagrams resembled divine revelations received by their kingdom.

• Losanda explained that gold and silver would be the most useful trade goods and described the tribes, resources, and dangers of the Western Sea.
• Losanda told Chimer and Miki about Joseon's wealth, social divisions, and history of raids by the Wajin, while Chimer compared Joseon to the Maya kingdoms.
• Losanda brought ten chests of books from the Tiantai Temple, and Chimer chose to keep a chest of popular histories on Whale Island.
• Losanda showed Chimer and Miki the Tiantai Tripitaka, whose rare illustrated Buddhist scriptures astonished them.
• Losanda presented a nine-volume collection of Confucian classics, and Chimer and Miki recognized the I Ching's sixty-four hexagrams as resembling the Main God's revelations.

Losanda described the Wild Jurchen and the conflicts surrounding Great Ming and Mongol, while Chimer and Miki arranged support for Zuwaro’s expedition. As Zuwaro and Maha Aguda’s party traveled through the forest, they spotted an armed hunting party and decided to ambush it.

• Losanda told Chimer and Miki about the Wild Jurchen, the Tame Jurchen, and the dangers posed by Great Ming and Mongol.
• Chimer and Miki prepared four ships, warriors, supplies, and gold to support Zuwaro’s travels, and Losanda led the fleet west.
• Miki gave Chimer the silk ceremonial robe and pledged support for Chimer’s efforts to secure his promotion to Priest Elder.
• Zuwaro and Maha Aguda spotted an armed hunting party near the Niuman River, which Ali suspected might be connected to a Great Ming guard post.
• Maha Aguda ordered his men to treat the hunters as enemies, and Zuwaro agreed to divide the party and ambush them.

Maha Aguda’s warriors ambushed Uduwen’s hunting party, overwhelming the Duo'er Tribe hunters with armored troops and cavalry. Uduwen challenged Aguda to fight one-on-one but was quickly defeated and taken captive as the battle ended in the Kingdom’s victory.

• Uduwen’s hunting party stopped by the river to rest, but enemy scouts and dogs revealed attackers closing in from both sides.
• Nushu’s armored warriors charged the hunters, and Tiger Slave survived an arrow wound before joining the assault.
• Uduwen’s hunters were routed, and he fled toward the horses as thirty cavalrymen emerged from ambush.
• Maha Aguda and Wuzhu pursued Uduwen, while the cavalry captured or knocked the other hunters from their horses.
• Uduwen challenged Aguda to a one-on-one fight, but Aguda struck him from his horse, tied him up, and carried him back as a captive.

Maha Aguda captured Uduwen and challenged him to a wagered bare-handed duel, with the Duo'er chieftain staking his tribesmen’s freedom. After repeatedly defeating Uduwen, Aguda forced him to admit defeat and claimed the captured Duo'er people as war slaves.

• Maha Aguda returned from the ambush with Uduwen captured and found the warriors tending their horses while Zuwaro questioned the other captives.
• Aguda offered Uduwen a duel: Uduwen would go free if he won, but would join Aguda’s tribe if he lost.
• Uduwen raised the stakes, wagering that all his captured tribesmen would serve Aguda if he lost, and Aguda accepted.
• Aguda repeatedly threw Uduwen to the ground and overpowered him as Uduwen refused to yield.
• Exhausted and choking, Uduwen finally admitted defeat, and Aguda declared that the Duo'er captives would lead horses and fight for him.

Maha Aguda’s party reached the Duo'er Tribe’s stronghold and discovered it was the ruined Tulusiting Mountain Guard, a former Great Ming fortress. Uduwen opened the gate after Aguda promised food and salt, bringing the abandoned fort under the Kingdom’s control.

• Maha Aguda’s party traveled through the rainy forest toward the Duo'er Tribe’s stronghold, with Uduwen leading their horses after his defeat.
• Ali recognized the hilltop fortress as the remains of Tulusiting Mountain Guard and mourned the disappearance of the empire’s northern guard posts.
• Maha Aguda and Zuwaro judged the fortress too difficult to storm and ordered Uduwen to open its gate.
• Maha Aguda promised the stronghold’s people food and salt, and Zuwaro had Tiger Slave give Uduwen a sack of salt.
• Uduwen called to the tribespeople, who opened the gate, and the Kingdom’s warriors and Jurchen riders entered the fortress.

Zuwaro, Maha Aguda, and Ali recognized the abandoned Tulusiting Mountain Guard as a defensible base for expanding their power and planned to rebuild a chain of forts across the Xing'an Mountains. Their discussion was interrupted when Ali realized Uduwen had been eating from a Ming military commander's helmet.

• Zuwaro examined the terrain around Tulusiting Mountain Guard and proposed using its secure location and potatoes as a logistics base.
• Ali described a strategy to link Tulusiting Mountain Guard, Du'erbi River Guard, and Nurgan to control migration routes and recruit tribes.
• Maha Aguda agreed to expand toward the Xing'an mountain valley, while Zuwaro promised grain, a priest, and help rebuilding the forts.
• The three leaders decided to leave warriors and a priest with the Duo'er Tribe while taking some able-bodied men and Uduwen with them.
• Ali spotted Uduwen eating from what he identified as a Great Ming regional military commander's helmet.

At Tulusiting Mountain Guard, Uduwen described his tribe’s hunger and Aguda explained the forest foods they relied on. Ali suspected the guard post’s official-seal bronze plaque had survived, and Uduwen remembered where it might be, leaving to dig up his mafa and grandfather’s graves.

• Uduwen told Ali, Aguda, and Zuwaro how the Duo'er Tribe struggled to find enough food and described the meals he had grown up eating.
• Aguda explained the wild vegetables, fruits, insects, millet, and fish that forest tribes ate, and recalled the hardship that drove some tribes to desperate acts.
• Zuwaro promised Uduwen that Shamans would help the tribe plant potatoes next spring, making Uduwen excited at the thought of eating his fill.
• Ali examined Uduwen’s iron helmet bowl and asked whether he had seen the official-seal bronze plaque from Tulusiting Mountain Guard.
• Aguda ordered Uduwen to search for the plaque and promised him potatoes and salted fish as a reward, prompting Uduwen to remember his mafa’s grave in the woods and run off to dig it up.

Zuwaro and the others visited the Duo'er Tribe's tree-burial ground, where Ali recovered a skeleton carrying two Ming garrison seals. The seals suggested that the tribe might descend from the Du'erbi River Guard, leaving Zuwaro to reconsider its origins.

• Uduwen showed Zuwaro the tree-burial ground and explained how the Jurchens returned their dead to the Solon Pillars.
• Uduwen and Ali tried to climb to his grandfather's remains, but both froze after spotting something unusual on the skeleton.
• Ali brought the skeleton down and recognized its clothing as the uniform of a Ming third-rank military official.
• Zuwaro found two bronze garrison seals clasped to the skeleton: one for Tulusiting Mountain Guard and one for Du'erbi River Guard.
• Ali prompted Zuwaro to connect the Du'erbi River Guard seal with the Duo'er Tribe's name, raising the possibility that the tribe had migrated west.

Ali explained how the Du'erbi River Guard's official status could let the Maha Tribe gain Ming recognition and supplies. Maha Aguda considered taking the guard's identity south to offer tribute and seek the post of Assistant Regional Commissioner, while Ali warned that they would need to fund the effort and prove their military value.

• Ali and Zuwaro examined the bones of Wu Xiong's grandfather and identified him as an Assistant Regional Commander of the Du'erbi River Guard.
• Maha Aguda struck Uduwen when he tried to demand more food for the two bronze seals, and Ali persuaded him to continue discussing their plans.
• Ali proposed that Maha Aguda use the Du'erbi River Guard seal to pose as its chieftain and go south to offer tribute, then seek to rebuild the guard.
• Ali explained that the guard's position at the Xing'an Mountains could earn support from the Haixi tribes and make the Ming court more likely to recognize its restoration.
• Ali said the Maha Tribe would have to provide gifts to Liaodong officials and fighters for the court to approve the guard's restoration and open an official route for obtaining supplies.

Ali explained to Maha Aguda and the others how Great Ming’s vast wealth reached the Liaodong garrison and how Jurchen chiefs could gain access to it through titles, tribute, and payments to powerful officials. The group planned to secure the Du'erbi River Guard title and use Ali’s connections and Zuwaro’s gold to obtain supplies.

• Maha Aguda questioned Ali about whether Great Ming was rich or poor and how the Jurchens could obtain its goods.
• Ali compared Great Ming to a huge tree whose resources flowed to the strategically vital Liaodong branch, where officials and nobles controlled much of the wealth.
• Ali explained that ordinary Ming soldiers were kept hungry and poorly equipped, while generals maintained small, well-supplied private forces.
• Maha Aguda asked how the Jurchens could secure supplies, and Ali said Aguda should claim the Du'erbi River Guard office while he used his connections and Zuwaro’s gold.
• Ali explained that officials treated supplies as their own and that money was needed to obtain them, then recited the ancestor’s advice to offer gold and silver and forge an opening into Great Ming.

Zuwaro and Ali buried the old Duo'er chief before preparing to travel west in search of horses and supplies. After a bear hunt and a long march, the group reached the middle reaches of the Huntong River, where Zuwaro named the black-water river Heihe.

• Ali wrapped the old chief’s bones in hide and tied them to the Solon Tree, while Aguda kept the official robe and bronze seals.
• Zuwaro ordered supplies left for the Duo'er Tribe and decided to bring its fifty Battle-Ready Serfs west, allowing robbery only if trade failed or the other tribes threatened them.
• Uduwen and Aguda hunted a bear before the party set out, and Zuwaro gave Ali the roasted bear penis to eat on the journey.
• The group traveled west along the Niuman River, passing through forest until it widened into the Huntong River’s marshy middle reaches.
• Ali recognized the destination, and Zuwaro named the black, surging river Heihe.