From the wind and snow of the far north to the tropical highlands, the sun hung high like the eye of a god, forever watching the world. If the long northernmost route was a slow-swinging pendulum, taking a full two years to complete a single round trip, then the nearby Caribbean islands were the eye of the storm, shooting world-shaking thunder east and west at the speed of a hurricane!
The first bolt of thunder came from the great island of Cuba, from last year until this spring. The Kingdom's Longship brought the heads of the demons, passing along the Maya coast and the Totonac shore, cutting through Tlaxcala Valley, before finally arriving in grand procession at the eastern states of the Alliance. Under the proclamation of the Main God's priests, amid the shock of countless nobles and Samurai, and in the bewildered, terrified cries of the commoners, Xolotl's astonishing prophecy from several years ago was at last fulfilled in a way that left everyone uneasy.
"The White-Skinned Demons have appeared in the Eastern Sea, coming aboard great ships of thunder..."
"Death God's prophecy really came true! This is truly a miracle!"
"Yes, a miracle of the Main God! A living Great Prophet, Death God Xolotl!..."
A sudden downpour fell into the lake, making the already turbulent surface ripple even more. As the "demons'" heads were passed from hand to hand along the route, what was shaken most was not the hearts of the lowly commoners, but the hearts of the Alliance nobles, priests, and Samurai! For in the eyes of the commoners, there were many miracles under heaven, and priests always possessed the power of prophecy and divination. But the higher one climbed, the fewer "miracles" there were in the world, and the more nakedly exposed the truth of