Synopsis:
WHISPERS
In
the summer of 1031 AD, a trading ship from the Chinese Song Dynasty follows the
currents north, past Japan, then east and south, down the coast of western
British Columbia. The captain, ZAHN, a hardboiled Chinese trader seeking new
markets, trades first with the Nisga'a and Haida, then on a later voyage
travels further south to the Musqueam (Rivergrass) lands around what is now
Vancouver.
There Zahn
meets with KIAPELANEH, the Rivergrass Chief, and a delegation from the River
People (Sto:lo) from up the Fraser River. Zahn offers a trade of technology for
furs and copper. Song technology at this time includes gunpowder, metallurgy,
tools, and medicine—far more advanced than the local culture. When an agreement
is reached, the Song leave four advisors with the locals, to help them produce
the trade goods that the Song desire, and introduce the new technologies.
After
Zahn’s visit, the River People and the Rivergrass tribe form an Alliance that
develops into a new civilization encompassing the West Coast of North America.
The experience of the Song with smallpox, which arrives in
bolts of cloth with Zahn's second visit, allows the people to mitigate the
effects of the disease. They spread their knowledge to all members of the alliance,
and further. But Zahn is devastated when he realizes that he is responsible for
bringing smallpox to the Haida, almost wiping out an entire village. He commits
to guiding the initially naive natives in shaping their Alliance, and dealing
with the older cultures that they come in contact with.
The
Alliance grows throughout North America, finding allies in the Arabs and at a
Norse settlement on the East Coast, which briefly becomes a refuge for
desperate Norse and Rus, including the Varangian Guard, who flee the corrupt
influence of the European Church that is going to destroy their culture.
Zahn,
now the Alliance Fleetmaster, is still a trader at heart. He sends BUWEI, a
senior captain, to expand trade south along the coast, in search of tobacco,
which has become a new trade item for the Alliance. Contacting new
civilizations as they go, they spread their influence south into Central and
South America where they find fascinating new cultures, and face desperate
conflict with unbelievable barbarism from the collapsing Mayan and Toltec
cultures.
The
Song Empire finally sends EMISSARY LIU, backed by heavily armed warships, to
find out first hand what this Alliance is all about. Are they a threat, or
vulnerable to expansion of the Empire? The envoy realizes that they are a
unique culture, valuable as an ally, and dangerous as an enemy. With Zahn and
the council negotiating for the Alliance, they strike a deal for a joint
venture, where the Empire will provide metallurgists and skilled workers to
build the infrastructure for a metalworking industry, for a share in the
profits.
In
the south, the Norse refugees begin to arrive, and the Mayans become an
immediate threat. The first battle is won, but has a devastating effect on both
Buwei and his men, and the Norse.
The
Tairuna, a trade league in what is now northern Columbia, and Jocay, a large
trading center in modern Ecuador, are vulnerable to an influx of Mayans and Toltecs
fleeing the collapse of their civilizations, and both join the Alliance, as the
Norse refugees settle in to a toehold in their new home in southern Central
America, and prepare for all out war with the Maya and Toltec cultures to the
north.
Zahn
is content that he has guided the Alliance well on their path, and established
strong trade ties that will support their expansion. With Captain BUWEI in
charge of Alliance trade, Zahn retires
from all but the council to spend time with his wife and children in
Rivergrass.
