Surrender

August's rainy season was fierce. Sudden downpours came with howling winds, while black clouds blotted out the sun. Heaven and earth lay in darkness, as did the face of the envoy from Suiqiu City of Xilotepec.

Xolotl habitually stood at the edge of the great tent, only to be caught by Totek's powerful arm. The cropped-haired, tattoo-faced commander gave Xolotl what he considered a friendly smile. Xolotl shuddered and could only stand beside him.

This time, the leader of Suiqiu City's envoy group was a noble. He wore a pointed blue leather cap, a green-striped cloak, and a white robe embroidered with suns, perfectly avoiding every color associated with the God of Day and Night.

A noble's bearing was naturally far softer and more agile than a Priest's. First, he paid respects to the Divine Descendant King, "sacred as the Morning Sun, great as the mountains, brave as fire, and wise as the Great Lake." Then he lavishly praised the enormous Hummingbird from the south—the God of War Huitzilopochtli—and the Aztec myth of his succeeding the Sun God.

Next, the noble began handing out honorifics and flattery to the commanders and Priests present as if they cost nothing.

Xolotl instinctively glanced at Avet's sincere smile, then widened his eyes with a face full of black lines. He, too, had been granted a flattering title: "Giant Beast Breeder." It sounded like an exceedingly fantastical name.

He could hardly forget the envoy's astonished, baffled, reverent expression upon learning that he was the maker of the Giant Beast Catapult, as though he should not have been a boy at all, but a giant from the mythical First Sun Age.

Too much mythical thinking still lingered in the hearts of Mexico's tribes. The flame of newly awakened Civilization had only just been lit.

Yet for that flame to grow, Civilization needed accumulation. Xolotl pondered for a long while, his thoughts drifting far away.

Perhaps I should combine the Alliance's existing Pictographic Script and quickly create a complete writing system.

Inside the commander's great tent, a noble's words might have changed many things, but at this moment, they could not change the essence of the war between the two sides.

When the Xilotepec envoy cautiously expressed their intention to surrender, the old Priest in the Sun Cloak stepped forward once more.

"Thirty years of tribute, six thousand male sacrifices, sever the Otomi Pact, hand over the Inheritance Ritual Disc, surrender a God-descendant as a hostage, and convert to the great Sun God!"

The Mexica army held an overwhelming advantage, and its demands became correspondingly harsher.

"Merciful and magnanimous King of the Mexica."

The Suiqiu City envoy lowered his head and pleaded with the expressionless Tizoc upon the throne.

"The city-state has decided to break the pact, convert its faith, and surrender the Inheritance Ritual Disc. As for the tribute and sacrifices, could those be discussed further? As for the hostages, I must report back to the city-state as well."

At this, the King finally nodded and made his decision.

"Hand over the Inheritance Ritual Disc that records all myths immediately. The tribute and sacrifices may be reduced by half. This is your final chance!"

The noble envoy bowed in thanks and was about to leave in haste. Suddenly, he recalled something and hesitantly addressed Xolotl.

"Dreaded Giant Beast Breeder, while the city-state is deliberating, could you have the Giant Beast stop attacking?"

At those words, Xolotl froze and looked toward the King. Tizoc nodded, and Xolotl answered calmly.

"Yes."

"Praise the gods! I will bring you a satisfactory gift."

The noble envoy breathed a sigh of relief. Leaving behind those final words, he departed dejectedly.

As soon as the Suiqiu City envoy left, everyone in the great tent showed delight in their eyes. After months of siege, the sturdy city-state of Xilotepec would finally submit to the Alliance.

Xolotl smiled and also breathed a sigh of relief. Three consecutive days of bombardment had severely worn down the Catapult's throwing axle, especially where it connected to the throwing arm—the point that bore the most force and was also the most fragile. He had already told Totek that if they continued firing for another day, the Catapult would break. It would then need a week of repairs before it could be used again. At the same time, the three days of stone throwing had caused only several hundred Otomi casualties. And as the soldiers on the walls adapted, that number was rapidly shrinking.

Now, whenever they saw a stone being launched, the city-state's Samurai and Militia would crawl into the corners of the walls, lower their heads, and pray to the Giant Beast. Some clever people had discovered that if they did so, the Giant Beast would not harm them.

King Tizoc understood the situation clearly and had long left room to retreat in the terms of negotiation. Fortunately, Suiqiu City's morale had collapsed before its walls did.

"The Main God blesses us! He has promised me victory!"

Tizoc swept his gaze over the crowd and declared in a deep voice. He nodded approvingly at Xolotl, then stepped down from the throne. He reached out and stroked the boy's hair. Was this perhaps a hint that he should swear loyalty?

"Xolotl, the Catapult is very good. Continue researching it!"

Tizoc raised his brow and asked with a smile.

"What reward do you want?"

Xolotl lowered his head, seemingly oblivious to the hint. He thought for a moment, then replied with an innocent and sincere expression.

"Honored King, I would like some Copper Axes and copper tools, as well as some skilled Artisans."

"Other than the Artisans who build Pyramids, you may choose any twenty men you like."

King Tizoc withdrew his hand, and the smile from his face. He contemplated in silence for a moment before speaking in a deep voice.

"Copper Axes are scarce even among the Imperial Guard. Along with tools, I can only give you five sets. I will grant you a batch of cotton cloth; purchase what you need from the merchants yourself."

"Xolotl, the Priesthood of the Lake Capital, Tenochtitlan, will always reserve a high seat for you."

Tizoc left behind that final hint and returned to his throne. The boy in the Royal Tent had finally changed from "someone who posed a slight threat to the throne" into "someone with some use to the throne."

The torrential rain had just ceased, but the Sky Family remained thick with black clouds. Early the next morning, Xolotl was awakened in his tent by the commotion and shouts coming from the distant city-state. Donning the Sun Cloak newly bestowed by the King, he climbed a nearby platform under the protection of Bertad and several Samurai and looked toward Xilotepec's eastern gate.

Around a hundred Laborers struggled out of the city-state. They strained against ropes across their backs, dragging something forward with slow steps.

Behind the Laborers stood a group of Otomi Noble Warriors in splendid attire. Some blocked the way while others held fast, keeping the agitated Priests in black-and-white cloaks behind them.

The Otomi Priests in the city watched helplessly as the Laborers dragged an enormous stone beyond the gates, inching it toward the Mexica camp. At last, they fell to their knees on the ground outside the city, allowing their cloaks to be stained with mud, their heads facing only toward the huge stone.

"O Primal God! Main God who governs day and night! We have failed you!"

Some Priests wept bitterly, some murmured confessions, and some pointed at the sky and swore oaths. Younger Priests even drew Obsidian knives and slashed their own cheeks, letting their blood paint red streaks across their faces.

Wearing Leather Armor, Xolotl stepped forward and finally saw the huge stone clearly. It was circular, roughly two meters in diameter and more than half a meter thick. By a simple estimate, it weighed nearly ten tons. At its center was the face of a two-sided deity bearing both male and female traits, likely symbolizing the Primal God Ometeotl.

Below the Primal God was a monster with a Crocodile head, fish body, and frog legs, symbolizing Cipactli, the primordial Sea Monster sealed by Ometeotl—the being said to devour the world.

Surrounding the Primal God were four suns, representing the four ages that had already passed. This pattern resembled the Sun Stone at Tenochtitlan's Great Temple: "Four Jaguar," "Four Wind," "Four Rain," and "Four Water." The same mythic legends proved the common origins of Mexico's many tribes.

On the outermost edge of the huge stone, densely packed pictures had been carved. The images depicted all kinds of abstract animals, little people, and gods, interspersed with ancient-looking villages, cities, and enormous Pyramids.

These pictures were Mesoamerica's writing, like the epics of the tribes! Most epics recorded the development of city-states from villages into cities, as well as famous chieftains, warriors, and divine miracles. Other than Priests who inherited the knowledge across generations, no one could explain the pictures clearly.

Within this Pictographic Script, different symbols held different meanings; the same symbol could also possess different meanings; and different symbols could share the same meaning.

Such a mysterious design was not meant for the spread of knowledge and culture at all. Instead, it was more like the inheritance of an Esoteric Sect.

And this was the core power held by the Priests: the right to interpret myths and Pictographic Script. By losing this Inheritance Ritual Disc, Xilotepec's Priests lost the Temple's most important foundation within the city-state.

Thus, the Otomi Priests wept for their faith, but also hated for the power they had lost.

It seems creating a script is easy enough, but unifying scripts must be handled with utmost caution! Because that means fighting the Priests for their core power!

At that thought, Xolotl shivered in alarm.

Without the mighty power of the First Emperor, how could one make all writing share the same script?

The city-state's inherited Sacrificial Disk was dragged all the way into the Alliance's great camp. Upon obtaining it, the theologian King was overjoyed. He no longer concerned himself with other "trifles," merely gathering the accompanying Priests to study the enlightenment of divinity.

After visiting once, Xolotl quietly slipped away. Tizoc's eyes held nothing but the Sacrificial Disk now, and for the first time, he paid no attention at all to Xolotl's movements.

Over the next three days, countless feather garments, herbs and Spices, gold and silver ornaments, gemstones, and precious treasures were transported from Xilotepec. Xolotl also received the gifts promised by the envoy: one chest of gemstones, gold, and silver, and another of herbs and Spices. It almost gave him the illusion that he had suddenly become enormously wealthy.

Besides valuable tribute, the army also demanded ordinary clothing, fish and meat, grain, Salt, and firewood.

The Mexica Samurai beamed with delight over the spoils of war. Yet in the eyes of the Otomi nobles and Samurai, flames of hatred burned ever more fiercely.

On the evening of the final day, the city-state gates swung wide open. Three thousand people, finally chosen as sacrifices, were escorted to the Mexica camp amid the cries of their relatives.

Black clouds once more shrouded the land. August's wind and rain never seemed to stop.

Only then did Xolotl clearly understand: from Priests, to nobles, to Samurai, and then to commoners, every person in this city-state had become the Mexica army's implacable enemy.

And how could a mere handful of noble hostages suppress such deeply buried flames?