The Sacred Wedding (Part 1)

Time was like water, flowing on without cease; the tangled affairs of the world pressed forward, stopping for no one.

After Gilim left, he went straight to the royal palace to report back to King Avet. Early the next morning, Avet summoned Xolotl for a private audience and questioned him about the prophecy of the Eastern Sea.

Xolotl had come prepared and hurried over. He brought with him a map of the Eastern Sea he had been drawing for a long time, as well as a hand-drawn portrait of the colonists.

The stone hall's great doors opened, then closed tight once more. There was no one else around; the guards had all been dismissed, and even Gilim was not allowed inside. Teacher and student met in secret for an entire day, speaking frankly and holding nothing back. Only when dusk fell and the red sun sank toward the horizon did the long conversation finally come to an end.

Afterward, the king summoned his close attendants and held a small evening banquet. He drank a little light wine, asked about the detailed arrangements for the wedding, and only then allowed Xolotl to leave.

Night lay heavy, and the evening wind stirred softly. Candlelight flickered in the king's great hall, like the shifting heart of a ruler. Avet's brows were locked tight as he stood alone in the center of the hall. He trusted his own judgment, and he also believed that Xolotl had not lied. The ruler's expression seemed both angry and pleased, and flames seemed to burn in his eyes as he gazed toward the direction of sunrise.

"...If Xolotl's Divine Revelation is true, then beyond the great sea in the distant east, there is another rich and powerful new continent, countless brand-new crops and tamed beasts, and innumerable new