"The waves sang their names; those who had sunk had gone with the wind."
"Their bodies left the earth, and now only the wind knows where they belong."
"They no longer speak, they no longer sing, sinking into the depths of white jade."
"Flowers must wither in the end, and hearts must sleep in the end..."
Scholar Miki stood by the sea, gazing at a small stone altar as he chanted a poem of mourning. In traditional Nahua culture, the ocean and the Great Lake were both the divine domains of Tlaloc, the Rain God. Thus, souls that sank into the water would also follow the waves, circling through the Rain God's kingdom beneath the sea, and finally solidify into stone. And the more devout and noble the soul, the more crystal-bright and dazzling it became, even turning into the precious "jade" of religion.
"."
Hearing Scholar Miki's chant, Chief Priest Chimer first nodded, then furrowed his brows slightly. This senior seafaring priest, the "Scholar" famed for his poetry and records of voyages, seemed rather unsettled after the shock of the shipwreck. Even the poem he chanted carried an obvious despondence. And as the captain of the support fleet heading west, about to cross westward through the Divine Revelation Island Chain, how could it do if he did not have sufficient fearless resolve and courage?
"Alas! Alas! Ohuaya, ohuaya!"
"Only the ocean, only the sun."
"The God of Wind carried them away, and the Sun God shone upon their road home!"
Scholar Miki raised his head to the sky, gazing at the polar-day sun, clasping his hands in devout prayer. Only after a long while did he sigh out the closing lines of the poem, praying for salvation from the Sun Main God. Then, with tears in his eyes, he