"The Main God is supreme! Cut your hair, swear the oath! Blood Wine, tattoo the face!... This is the Main God's blessing and protection, from the beginning of the era to the end of the era! Not a single tribesman can be missing!..."
"Praise the Main God! Huitzilopochtli... He will cover the Northern Continent, bringing abundance and light, like blood and the setting sun, like Sacred Fire and Morning Sun!..."
From sunset to sunrise, the blood-colored festival of conversion lasted an entire night. The priests sang until their voices were hoarse, and the Sacred Fire blazed through the night as well. Compared to the rites of daytime, the festival of conversion held in darkness had far more mystery and fear. And fear was the first, and also the firmest, source of faith.
Of course, only the Great Yoeme Tribe, seated around the coal belt, could have nearly endless fuel, enough to keep over a hundred clusters of Sacred Fire burning all night and illuminate the entire tribal camp!
"High Priest Ge Niao, all the tribesmen of the Yome Tribe, seven thousand five hundred and forty-two in total... have sworn the blood oath and converted!"
"Mm. Were there any stubborn ones who refused to convert?..."
"There were one or two hundred, mostly old clan elders, kin of Great Chieftain Mountain Eagle... They are full of misgivings about the Kingdom's appearance, and even question whether we had long been colluding with those 'mountain tribes' that suddenly appeared..."
"Mm..."
"High Priest Ge Niao, should we follow the old precedent from Leijin Town, for the Great Yoreme Tribe... send them onto ships and transport them back to the Kingdom's heartland?..."
"Mm?..."
At those words, Priest Ge Niao's brows lifted. He sat in Chief Great Mountain Eagle's longhouse, calmly drinking a cup of Flower Tea