Aztec Eternals

The sky is clear after the rain. There is only one crimson sun, low at the end of the sky, looking at the kingdom of the world, like the eyes of a god lowered. The sky is reflected by the setting sun. The red glow gradually spread until it turned into boundless blood, covering the sky of Qincong Cancheng, like the cloak of the sun god.

Shulot walked to the light-transmitting window and looked down at the capital and the people under his rule.

The spectacular celestial phenomenon has attracted the attention of the people in the capital, and the sky has already reached the time for evening prayer. The continuous sound of prayers sounded in the majestic capital. The young king listened attentively, and he heard the name of the chief god of Mexica, Vitzilopochtli, with a high-pitched and passionate voice, accompanied by the chants of the priests; The voice was low and buzzing, scattered in every corner of the capital. And more subtly, he also heard the names of Kvelava Peri, the mother of the earth, and Haratana, the goddess of the moon.

"Tarasco's old beliefs are still circulating among the Prepeca people. The change of beliefs is by no means a temporary achievement. Once converted completely, it will be indelible."

Shulot's eyes were calm and deep, with the dignity of a king and the patience of a priest. Jadiri listened silently for a moment before pointing to the seventh slab with a smile.

"Your Majesty, this last slate tells the story behind the god Tarasco."

"Oh? What's behind the gods?"

Shulot asked with a smile.

"Nature is the one who gives meaning to the gods."

The wise old man answered like this.

Hearing this, Shulot was startled. He looked at Jaitiri for a moment, gravely.

"Chief, in a country that believes in gods, you don't seem to have qualified beliefs."

"Your Majesty, if you are like me, you know enough ancient epics to understand how the kings and sages reshaped the beliefs of the gods. Then the light of the gods will no longer be able to shine into the mind full of knowledge. "

Jadiri still had a smile on his lips. He looked at the serious expression of the king, bowed his head slightly to pay tribute, but he had already seen through his eyes.

"The Spirit of Prepecha. Faith Restoration"

Shulot pondered for a moment. In his mind, the corridor murals of the chief palace, as well as the transformation process of the elders on the Mexica myth emerged. The king nodded slowly. He waved his hand and let the personal guards retreat, leaving only the warrior commander alone.

"There is no one in this room, so please let the chief speak freely, and listen to me in detail."

Jadiri's smile spread across his mouth. He walked to the last slate and pointed to the first group of paintings.

The brushstrokes of the first painting are abstract and mysterious. In the center are two radiant gods, one with a grim male face and the other with a gentle female smile. Behind the male god is the bright sun, which uses gold powder as the pigment, shining golden light from time to time. Behind the female god is a thick mountain, based on copper powder, which has long been oxidized to black over time.

And below the two gods, there are two nobles dressed in gorgeous clothes. They were a man and a woman, with their arms around each other. The man is wearing a Nahua hunting suit, and the strength of the man is outlined with straight lines. For women, it is the dress of the Prepecha people, with rounded arcs symbolizing the femininity of women. The male's feet are cacti in the plateau, and the female's feet are small islands in the lake. In the hands of the two, they also held a baby together.

Shulot took a closer look, and there was a deep full moon behind the baby. The full moon is painted with silver powder, and it is still bright today. The young king thought about it for a while, and understood it in his heart.

"The God of the Sun and the Goddess of the Earth, the Nahuas and the Urixiu. The combination of the two races gave birth to the Moon Goddess. Is this the connection between gods and humans, and the gods reflect the world?"

"Indeed!"

Jatiri smiled lightly.

"Your Majesty, this painting was drawn in the early days of the kingdom. At that time, the most important issue of the kingdom was to deal with the conflicts between the two races. The first kings settled in religious holy places and suppressed the power of the priests, and then began to work on it. Reinventing the kingdom's beliefs. He reinterpreted the gods of the two races to stabilize the rule of the royal family and strengthen the integration of the southward migration tribes and the original tribes.

In this painting, the Nahua people who migrated south are descendants of the sun lord Kulikaveri, the gods of the heavens. The original Urixiu people are the descendants of the earth goddess Velava Peri, and they are the gods of the earth. The two gods are married by marriage, and the ethnic groups of the two gods naturally follow the gods to marry each other. In the combination of gods and spirits, the new moon goddess Haratana was born. She is a god in the world and is also in charge of the life and death of life. And the goddess of the moon also symbolizes the newly born Prepecha people after fusion! "

The knowledgeable elder paused. He looked at the king and said with deep meaning.

"Your Majesty, there is indeed a connection between gods and humans. However, it is the human world that reflects the gods!"

Shulot's eyes flickered, and he nodded slowly. He didn't speak, but continued to look at the second group of paintings.

The second group of paintings seems to be a continuation of the first painting, but there are many differences. Nobles of Nahua and Nobles of Urixie combined each other and gave birth to a shining baby. The blessed baby then grew into a king in eagle helmet, scepter and spear. And behind the Condor King, there is a golden sun!

"Your Majesty, this second painting was drawn after the death of the first emperor. At that time, the fusion of the two races had been initially completed. The second generation of ancestors began to revise myths and beliefs. On the one hand, they unified the country and on the other hand, they gave the royal family sacred status.

In this painting, the first ancestor Talia Kuri is described as the descendant of the combination of the Nahua people and the Urixiu people, and is also the descendant of God chosen by the sun lord! He has innate authority and divinity to rule over all the people of the lake. And during this period, the Lord Sun God was also promoted from the god of the southward migration group to the protector god of all the people in the lake! "

Hearing this, Xiuluo nodded and commented affirmatively.

"It's similar to the alliance. The main god is promoted, and the former king is deified. This is a sign of the will of the kingdom."

"The king is wise!"

Hearing this, Jadiri wrinkled and shook, and smiled deeply, reading the time in his smile.

He then pointed to the third group of paintings. Above the painting is a striking sun shining on the towering pyramids on the ground. And a king with a condor helmet is in the center of the picture. He connects the sun and the pyramid, like a bridge connecting heaven and earth, gods and people, the kingdom of God and the mortal world!

"The third painting was drawn by the third generation of ancestors. It describes the scene where the new king climbed to the top of the pyramid and offered sacrifices to the gods. During this period, after the efforts of the second generation of ancestors, the eagle The family has gained divinity in the hearts of the people. The Patzcuaro Lake area has become the source of mythology that keeps the world running; and the pyramid of Qincong Cancheng is the true center of the universe!

The power of the king is granted and guaranteed by the gods, and the royal power is destined to be passed down through sacred rituals in the royal blood of the descendants of the gods. And through the sacrificial ceremony of the pyramid, every king will establish a sacred connection with the gods beyond people's cognition! "

"Sacrificing to the heaven and the earth, the gods grant kingship."

Shulot muttered to himself, and many pictures in his memory flashed before his eyes. After a while, the young king nodded first, then sighed softly.

He looked at the last expanse of the picture. The picture is still the king of Condor. The king has been promoted and transformed into the god king of the ethnic group. He stands between heaven and earth, radiating light like a god. His feet were spread apart, with one foot on the land and the other on the water. Around the god king, there are countless prostrate and worshiping crowds. At the bottom of the picture, there are a series of mysterious graphic inscriptions engraved, like the epilogue of a mythical epic.

"Chief, is this the epic of the gods?"

The young king scanned the inscription with his fingers, and looked at the knowledgeable elder in front of him.

Jatiri nodded. He cleared his throat, and recited the last epic of the kingdom in an ancient and distant tone.

"The sun shines on the heavens and the earth, and the ancestors rule the four directions! Praise be to you, Talia Kuri, you are the descendant of the sun, you are the incarnation of the eagle, you are destined to rule the sky, the earth and the lake!

People from all over the world, we worship the gods of our ancestors at the same time. He had one foot on land and one foot on water. He has the supreme power, and with the hands of the gods, he created the newborn Prepecha people

And we are the descendants of the God King! We are the holy Prepecha people and will be a great people! We bred and grew, multiplied and died in the land of the lake, and the great kingdom of Tarasco will continue to stand for thousands of years under the rule of the supreme Condor royal family! "

The deep chants echoed in the vicissitudes of the stone palace, as if carrying some kind of strange magic power, arousing the mood of the king. It wipes away the dust of history, unseals the memories, re-sings the lost epic, and then turns it into a perfect song. And the setting sun in the sky finally completely submerged into the earth, leaving only the deep night and the candlelight in the stone hall.

The candlelight flickered, leaving behind an elongated silhouette. Shulot stared at the inheritance stone slab that was already indistinguishable in the shadows. At this moment, his thoughts fluctuated and he was in a trance for a long time.

From these silent slabs, he heard the myths of the four eras, which converged into a unified story; he witnessed the collapse of the old kingdom and the rise of the new kingdom; Caring for the enfeoffment of the world.

In the new feudal state, it is necessary to reconstruct the three-level structure and deal with different classes; it is necessary to strengthen the centralization of power, and it is necessary to control the wealth of the feudal state; , evolved a constantly strengthening belief!

Countless sparks of thought flickered in the king's heart, and then converged into a blazing flame in his chest. There was silence in the stone hall, and everyone was waiting quietly, like a frozen scroll in history. It wasn't until a gentle smile appeared on the king's face that time flowed in the hall again.

"Listening to the sage's epic poems today has really benefited me a lot, saving me ten years of hard work."

Shulot smiled and held Jadiri's hands.

"Chief, you are my wings to fly in the sky. In the future governance of the kingdom, we cannot do without sages like you; in the newly-built government of the feudal kingdom, we also need more good birds who are good at flying. If you have any sages you know , please don’t begrudge me, you must recommend them to me! I will select talents and appoint them according to their virtues and talents, regardless of ethnicity or closeness!"

Hearing this, joy flashed across the face of the knowledgeable elder. He bowed his head solemnly and repeated what he said once again.

"Your Majesty, the river turtles, lake fish and water birds in the lake are all willing to serve the real eagle!"

Hearing this, Xiulot laughed and nodded with satisfaction. He looked around, finally looked around the wide stone room, and was about to step away. Suddenly, in the corner of the stone room, a black-gray dagger flashed coldly, and it caught the king's eyes.

"A black and gray dagger?"

The young king was startled. He took a few steps, picked up the dagger, and examined it carefully. Afterwards, he reached out and touched the still sharp smooth edge, feeling the unique hard touch of metal, but it was not the common obsidian material.

"Black gray metal. This is an iron knife!"

Surprise appeared on Shulot's face. He looked at Jatiri beside him and asked urgently.

"Chief, where did this weapon come from?"

The knowledgeable elder glanced at the specially shaped dagger and smiled knowingly.

"Your Majesty, this is an ancient weapon seized by the Kingdom many years ago when they conquered the Terkos tribe in the southwestern Colima State. There are several similar short knives, all of which are stored in the nearby trophy hut. These weapons are very sharp, but slightly inferior. Compared with the sharp pieces of obsidian, it is far superior in toughness and wear resistance, even stronger than the latest bronze!

The royal family once sent people to carefully search for the dark gray metal that can forge this short knife in the complicated Colima Mountains, but they found nothing. In the end, they could only be classified as god-given weapons, as the elders of the Terkos tribe said. The Condor Royal Family claimed to be the descendants of the gods, so they also chose the strongest dagger and put it in the inherited stone hall. "

"Mountain Colima Well, I see."

Xiuluo nodded, a little disappointed. He thought of the experience that Ezpan had told, and when the two reflected, he could only sigh faintly. Then, the young king looked solemn. He pondered for a while, then looked at the most trusted warrior commander.

"Bothard, has the copper mining in the south resumed? What is the status of the artisan camp? How much is the output of the longbow? Has the bronze farm tool I ordered started production? And the small copper cannon I mentioned emphatically, the latest How is it going?"

"Your Highness, I have gathered thousands of miners and initially resumed copper mining in the south. The priests have settled in the artisan camp and taught the artisans. All the more than 2,000 artisans have been organized and began to assume the functions of the past. If the wood is sufficient, the output of the longbow can be maintained at more than 100 per day. The loss of the Longbow Legion has been made up

The expensive bronze farm tools are not difficult to produce, and trial production has been completed. It's just that although bronze farm tools are convenient for farming, the cost is too high. Their output is limited by the copper mines mined in the southern part of the closed state, and they also need to import more tin ore from the southern part of the alliance. As for the copper cannon you requested."

At this point, Bertard hesitated to speak. He thought for a moment, then replied cautiously.

"The artisans have just made a trial, but they just encountered some problems, and if it still can't be used, please go and check it yourself."

Hearing this, Xiu Luote pondered for a moment and ordered solemnly.

"Okay! You go down and prepare. When I finish the government affairs in hand, August will almost be over. The time is set in September before the autumn harvest. I will bring the guards I have trained to inspect the artisan camp first. Then inspect the mines south of Ivacio!"