Aztec Eternals

The sea breeze is blowing, and the moonlight is cold and dim. The clouds gathered in the sky, leaving only a little bit of starlight. A few petrels hovered in the night sky, looking down at the boundless sea and surrounding three anchored sailboats, like some kind of mysterious omen.

The flagship "San Cristovan" hoisted the flag of the Kingdom of Portugal and docked between the two ships. According to the instructions of Captain Dias, for the safety of navigation, the expedition fleet usually does not sail at night. The night was quiet and deep. Dozens of crew members were crowded in the smelly cabin, and most of them were already asleep. On the wet deck, there were only a few sailors on duty, as well as the navigator Perrault de Alenquer.

Perot stands tall and lean, with a rigid face. He stood at the foot of the long mast, holding in his hand a trommel made of iron, and a wooden protractor. He raised his head, stared at the stars in the sky, and waited patiently for a long time. It wasn't until the clouds cleared up a little, revealing the shining four stars of the Southern Cross, that he moved quickly and climbed onto the mast nimbly.

After a while, Perot stood firmly on the watchtower. Wrapping the mast rope around his arm, he carefully observed the bright Gamma and Alpha stars of the Southern Cross. Then, he imagined to make a line, passing through the southern cross γ star and α star, and then continue to extend southward until the length is about 4.5 times the distance between the two stars, leaving an imaginary point in the night sky. This point is the estimated position of the South Celestial Pole!

Then, Perot opened his eyes wide, raised his head and remained motionless, not daring to move an inch. He took out a measuring compass, and pointed one compass foot toward the horizontal direction, and the other foot toward the imaginary south celestial pole. Then, he fixed the compasses, took out the protractor, and measured carefully for a while. The angle measured at this time is the south latitude where the fleet is located.

"Approximately 32 degrees south latitude."

Perot secretly wrote down the number. Then, he raised the protractor again and measured several times, and the numbers he got were all between 31-33 degrees south latitude. After confirming the number, he didn't stay any longer. He just glanced at the east where the fleet was moored, the endless southern continent, and slid down from the mast.

As the night deepened, there was silence on deck. The sailors on duty bowed their heads respectfully when they saw the navigator Perot. Perot nodded slightly, without saying a word.

In ocean voyages, the navigator is responsible for guiding the direction and determining the latitude, and his status is very important. And these methods of measuring azimuth are definitely beyond the grasp of ordinary sailors. They must be able to read and write, and have received professional navigation training. In the Kingdom of Portugal, those who can serve as navigators are usually from the nautical academy, or are descendants of navigating nobles, so they are naturally different from ordinary sailors who are born at the bottom.

After a while, Perot passed the inspection of the guards and came to the captain's cabin at the stern. He knocked on the door lightly a few times.

"Praise be to the Lord! Dear Captain, Perot, Navigator, salutes you!"

"Well. Come in!"

Perot lowered his head, carefully pushed open the wooden door, and walked into the captain's cabin.

Captain Dias closed his clothes and fell asleep, then sat up from the bed. With a dagger in his hand and a dagger hanging from his waist, he spoke calmly.

"How about it?"

"Dear Captain, I just measured the latitude and observed the weather. The fleet is located between 31-33 degrees south latitude, and the wind direction is southwest. There are clouds gathering in the night sky, and there may be wind and rain."

"31-33 degrees south latitude."

Hearing this, Dias fell silent, thinking in his heart. After a while, he asked in a deep voice.

"How's the morale on board?"

"The morale of the sailors."

Perot hesitated for a moment, then spoke frankly.

"It's not very good. We have been floating at sea for two months since we set off from Cape Cross, and only occasionally went ashore to hunt sea lions and replenish fresh water. The southern mainland in the east stretches endlessly. For two months, it has been a desolate desert, even I can’t see the local aborigines. The crew secretly rumored that the deserts in the southern continent are endless, and I’m afraid there will be no end in a lifetime!”

"Um"

Dias nodded, silently clenched the dagger, and asked seemingly calmly.

"Are there any sailors in series? Is there a secret gathering? Is there anything unusual about the quartermaster in charge of weapons?"

".ship.captain"

Sweat dripped from Navigator Perot's head in an instant.

"I didn't see the sailors in series, and the quartermaster was fine. During this voyage, we didn't go deep into the devil's land, and few people were cursed. The water on the ship was also very sufficient, and the sailors just had some complaints."

"Yes, Not Bad."

Dias nodded slightly, his expression slightly relaxed.

Before this voyage, he carefully questioned the crew members who participated in the previous exploration, and learned that the biggest cause of the outbreak of the rebellion was that the people went deep into the devil's land, contracted the curse of the devil, and died of a large number of illnesses.

Therefore, on this long voyage, he did not stay long in the evil Congo Basin, but went all the way south along the coast. And the other square-sail supply ship was filled with non-perishable light wine, dry cheese, dry bread, and salted fish. It now appears that although the morale on board is not high, it can still be maintained.

"Perot, after a while, today is Epiphany, right?"

"Yes, Captain. Today is January 6th, 1488, since the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ, celebrating the first appearance of the Lord to Gentiles after His incarnation"

"Very good. On the day of the Epiphany, my lord recognized for the first time that he is the incarnation of God. Let the priest on the ship preside over a grand and solemn prayer! Then, according to the tradition, the fleet docked for a day to rest and distribute the stored light wine and food, and a celebratory party!"

"Ah! Praise be to you, my Captain! Your generosity and mercy are like the splendor of the Lord."

Navigator Perot saluted respectfully. With this prayer and celebration, the morale of the crew should be restored.

"Hmm. God bless! We can definitely go to the East!"

".God bless you!"

In the early morning of the second day, Captain Dias summoned the crew and announced the good news of celebrating the Epiphany. The sailors cheered for joy, and then rushed to the nearby beach like wild horses that had run wild.

"Bang! Bang!."

Projectiles flew, flesh and blood flew across, and the huge body fell down with a bang. The elite sailors set up matchlock guns and hunted the strong fur sea lions mercilessly at this time.

These sea lions are almost all over the surrounding beaches, scattered everywhere. They are the overlords of their native coasts and have not been threatened by predators for tens of thousands of years and have not known to hide from humans.

Then, the sailors were familiar with the road, dismembered the carcass of the sea lion, peeled the skin to take the meat, and scraped out the fat. Piles of bonfires were set up immediately, and the fragrance of barbecue immediately diffused, and the previously clear sea surface was also stained with blood red.

"Praise the Lord! He has given us meat and wine."

Dias sat on the dry rock, slowly, while drinking light wine, while tasting the grilled sea lion meat offered by Bruno.

"Well, it tastes like venison, with a strong smell of blood. Not bad, Bruno, you have a heart!"

Bruno stood aside respectfully, with his head bowed. The crew had just hunted a sea lion, and he baked two pieces with his own hands, and hurried over to present it to the respected royal knight, expedition leader Dias.

"It's just a fly in the ointment. If there is no spice, if there is a little pepper, or a few slices of thyme, that taste, tsk tsk!"

"Well"

Hearing this, Bruno lowered his head, showing embarrassment. These spices are almost worth gold in the kingdom, and he, an ordinary noble knight, can afford to consume them there. The only time he tasted spices in his life was in the land of the devil, in the court of the King of Kongo.

"Ha ha!"

Seeing Bruno's embarrassment, Dias laughed. He reached out and patted Bruno on the shoulder.

"Bruno, as long as we sail smoothly this time, we can discover the eastern sea route, find the country of Elder John, and when we return to the kingdom, every captain will be rewarded! Not only will you be able to increase your title by one level, but you will also have up to 1,000 du Carter's reward! At that time, even if you eat a portion of spices every day, there will be no problem at all!"

"1000 Ducats!"

Hearing this number, Bruno held his breath instantly, with strong greed and longing on his face.

You know, one ducat is equivalent to one kingdom gold coin, which is about 3-4 grams. And 1,000 ducats are 3-4 kilograms of gold, plus the premium of the mint! This large sum of money is enough for him to buy a big house in the city of Lisbon, and since then he has the qualifications to participate in the banquets of the nobles

"Dear Royal Knight, I will definitely listen to you for this voyage!"

"Um."

Seeing Bruno's expression, Dias nodded in satisfaction. Then, with a solemn expression, he asked in a deep voice.

"Bruno, how is the situation on your ship?"

"Dear Royal Knight, everything on my ship is safe and sound. I just exhausted a few captured hard-working sailors on this journey south. There is no devil's curse, and the morale of the official sailors is not bad!"

"Ah, very good!"

Dias' face remained unchanged. In the great voyages, hard labor sailors are generally captured poor people, fishermen, or natives. They are not allowed to own weapons and do the hardest work. They are not considered human at all. Only a full-fledged sailor, who is constantly in contact with weapons and can start a rebellion, is considered to have reached the minimum standard of a human being.

"Let's go, the priest's prayer is about to begin!"

The two asked and answered, and chatted for a while. Dias stood up, and under the protection of the guards, he walked towards the priest not far away.

The ship's priest tied two sticks and erected a crude cross. Soon, a group of sailors gathered around the cross, and then under the guidance of the priest, they clasped their hands and bowed their heads.

The priest spoke first, piously praising.

"Lord, open my mouth!"

"My mouth will praise you!"

Everyone applauds.

"On this day, our Lord Christ was born for us, please come and worship!"

The priest announced loudly, and Dias knelt down first, worshiping the cross in front of him.

"To You, Lord, be glory! As it was in the beginning, so it is today and forever!"

Then, hundreds of sailors fell to their knees and worshiped.

"To You, Lord, be glory!. Forever!."

"From sunrise to sunset, let us sing to Christ You existed before all ages, but were born for us in time."

The priest raised his head, looked at the sun in the clouds, and sang hymns and psalms. After the training of the church, he has a solemn expression and a low and gentle singing voice. It was not until the last praise that he suddenly chanted loudly.

".Praise you, merciful Lord! May your name be exalted, may your kingdom come, and may your will be done on earth as it is in heaven! Please illuminate the hearts of your believers with the true light of glory, Redeem our sins!. I pray to the Lord, may the Almighty Lord bless us, protect us from disasters, and lead us to a new route, amen!.”

"I pray to the Lord, may the Almighty Lord bless us, protect us from disasters, and lead us to new routes, amen!"

Everyone repeated in unison, with excited expressions and longing faces. Bruno raised his eyes to peek, but he saw tears streaming down piously on the face of Captain Dias. His heart trembled, he quickly lowered his head, quietly dipped in some saliva, and wet the corners of his eyes.

After the prayer, the solemn atmosphere was relaxed. Dias wiped away his tears, stood up and looked around at the crowd. His eyes paused for a moment on Bruno's face, he nodded unobtrusively, and then announced loudly.

"Praise the Lord! Today is a day off, no need to board the ship and set sail. Play the wooden flute, play the harmonica, distribute food and light wine and sing tonight!"

"Praise the Lord! Praise the captain!"

The sailors cheered thunderously, and each face showed joy. Soon, the melodious harmonica sounded in the crowd, and the crisp wooden flute fluttered across the coast. But after two or three glasses of water and wine, the sailors blushed and roared and sang songs from their hometown.

"Dawn sleeps, embraces harbor and love,

The moonlight is gentle, caressing the dancing waves,

Like the sun out of its bounds,

It's like we've left our distant homeland

"

Bruno sang and danced, enjoying a time of indulgence with Quartermaster Mattim. Only at this moment, singing with many sailors, can he feel truly relaxed and at ease.

Dias was still sitting on the high place of the rock, with his legs crossed, watching the sailors singing and dancing. There was a smile on the corner of his mouth, and a faint yearning appeared on his face, and then he was suppressed by a hard heart. After that, he didn't look any more, but turned his head and looked at the southern sky, looking for unknown hope. In the distant sky, dense clouds gathered, like a dark curtain pressing down on the sky, which would linger for a long time.

"That is."

Dias stood up abruptly. He stared at the sea and sky in the south, lost in thought.