Covenant

Wearing a simple straw rain cape and a broad hat woven from reeds, Xolotl moved through the camp with the messenger Acap. Raindrops as large as beans drummed against the wide brim, the crackling rain blotting out every other sound between heaven and earth.

"How did Grandfather and Avet come to know each other?" the youth asked curiously. In his earlier memories, he had never heard anything about this.

"The High Priest and the royal house of Tenochtitlan certainly knew one another. He is also an elder of the royal house who lived through the era of Montezuma I. Back then, his becoming High Priest of Teotihuacan could not have happened without Montezuma I's strong support," Acap explained gently.

"Yet the High Priest had always kept a neutral distance from the direct royal line of the capital." Acap sighed softly, his eyes full of tenderness as he looked at the youth. "When you were taken away by the king this time, the High Priest scarcely slept for two days. Only afterward did he make up his mind to secretly contact the king's younger brother and ask him to look after you."

Xolotl nodded in dawning understanding. In the world of adults, every kindness had its original source. Under Tizoc's suspicions, his circumstances had once been extremely perilous. If not for Avet's secret aid, he would likely have met a grim fate long ago.

The two soon arrived at the great tent. Seeing the youth and the messenger, the commander laughed loudly and strode forward. He warmly seized both men by the arms and pulled them into the tent, carrying himself with an easy, informal familiarity.

Acap smiled helplessly. Clearly, he had met Avet many times already. He removed his rain cape and hat, solemnly paid his respects to the king's younger brother, and only then did the three sit cross-legged inside the great tent.

Thick cotton cloth shut out the wind and rain beyond, bringing a private sense of warmth and safety. The campfire flickered in its brazier, drying the rainwater from their bodies and casting shifting light and shadow across their faces. For a time, the tent was silent.

After a long while, when the rainwater on his body seemed to have fully dried, Acap spoke calmly. "His Highness Avet, before I departed, I received urgent news. The Tlaxcalan have gathered in great numbers along the Alliance's northeastern border. The allied forces of the Four States number nearly eighty thousand, with an estimated forty thousand Samurai."

"The eastern city-states of the Mexica have all mobilized, conscripting Militia and Samurai. Atotonilco Province, on the very frontier, has urgently appealed to the Alliance for aid. When I left, four of the six legions outside Xilotepec had already crossed the Tampico River and been transferred to Atotonilco."

Avet nodded calmly, clearly already aware of the news. "Atotonilco has been a borderland of warfare for many years. It has numerous forts and strong city-states; it will not fall so easily. The Tlaxcalan may not be able to bear the enormous casualties of a siege."

"It is only that the City-State Legion Commanders from the eastern city-states have long wanted to withdraw their troops. Taking this news as an excuse, they stirred up a great commotion in the main camp. Tizoc thus decided to send four legions over, to stop everyone's mouths."

Though he was not in the siege camp outside Otopan, the Chief Intelligence Officer knew everything that happened there.

"The campaign has lasted more than a year. The Samurai are all desperate to return home." Xolotl nodded in agreement as well. He often spoke with ordinary Samurai and the lowest-ranking Militia, and knew that everyone had already lost their passion for war. During this harsh rainy season, homesickness filled the army. Only the commander's prestige and the recent victories had kept the troops' morale intact.

"Based on the mobilization of the Tarasco and Tlaxcalan," Acap said gravely, "the High Priest judges that our enemies have united. They are preparing to save the Otomi People's ancestral homeland and prevent them from being completely conquered by the Alliance."

Xolotl's expression grew solemn. During this year's spring plowing, he had encountered an attack. That attack had already revealed signs of an alliance among the Otomi People, Tarasco, and Tlaxcalan.

"Therefore, the High Priest believes that Xilotepec is the next crucial point. He has already dispatched scouts to keep watch over this Otomi city at all times. Our enemies cannot possibly forget a city-state in such a vital location, one that still holds eight thousand Samurai."

Avet lightly clapped his hands in praise. "Eagles always cast their gaze equally far, while grass rats see only the food before their eyes. Xilotepec merely pretended to submit. They are venomous snakes pinned beneath a stone; once the stone is moved away, they will surely crawl out and bite someone."

"So Xilotepec could rebel at any time?" Xolotl asked curiously. "If the rear is unstable, then the king should withdraw his army as soon as possible!"

"A grass rat lured by the food before its eyes cannot be driven away, except in the instant a fox pounces upon it." Avet smiled, no longer concealing his contempt for the king.

"Totek has advised Tizoc several times, but the king stubbornly refuses to withdraw. He only wishes to continue the siege for another three months and take Otopan City. He keeps urging the capital city to send a new batch of troops to fill the main camp outside Xilotepec. The king's prestige has nearly been exhausted; capturing Otopan City has become the bottom line in his heart."

As Avet spoke, he turned his head and looked gravely at the youth. "Xolotl, do you remember what I told you? When a bottom line cannot be violated, it becomes a weakness. A great ruler cannot have weaknesses!"

"Because weakness brings death!" the youth blurted out. Death? Tizoc's death? He understood completely, yet a chill ran through him.

Acap nodded. "Thank you, Your Highness, for teaching Xolotl. He has indeed grown greatly."

"Xolotl is an outstanding youth, and an excellent heir." Avet smiled. Rare gentleness showed in his eyes as he looked at the youth. "He is my student and my friend. In him, I see many traces of my past self, and the shadow of Grandfather Montezuma I. He can become an outstanding ruler."

Acap smiled, then suddenly prostrated himself before Avet once more. "Your Highness. The High Priest is willing to form an alliance with you, offering the loyalty of the Teotihuacan branch to help you realize your grand ambitions. But we also hope that you can offer us, in return, enough sincerity to set our hearts at ease."

"Sincerity?" Avet pondered for a moment. "Commander Xoloc's merits are enough for him to become a Level 3 Honorary Noble and take charge of Teotihuacan City. Xolotl can become the heir of Quetzal, Chief Priest of the Great Temple in the capital. When he grows up, he can concurrently serve as Chief Priest and High Priest, merging the Alliance's two great priesthoods into one."

"Beyond that, I can allocate five hundred hectares from the two thousand five hundred hectares of Chinampa directly controlled by the royal house to the Teotihuacan branch. That will be enough to support your cultivation of two new Honorary Nobles in the capital!"

The youth was somewhat shocked. One hectare of Chinampa could support twenty people; five hundred hectares meant an estate feeding ten thousand people. Tenochtitlan only had nine thousand hectares of Chinampa in total. Even in the vast and richly endowed Celestial Empire, this would have been treatment fit for a marquis, let alone in the Aztec Alliance, whose total population was currently three million.

"Thank you for Your Highness's generosity, but a grant of five hundred hectares of Chinampa is too lavish. We dare not accept it." Acap shook his head gravely. Taking away one-fifth of the royal lands would make them a target of public condemnation; it would be a path to death in the future.

Then a hint of cunning appeared in his smile. "You said that Xolotl is your student, and also your friend. Have you considered taking things one step further?"

"You mean? But Priests cannot..." Avet's face showed a flash of astonishment. Clever as he was, he instantly grasped the meaning.

"If the High Priest's plans and yours are realized, then there will be no question of whether it can or cannot be done." Acap smiled gently, though a few sharp edges showed through.

"The High Priest has heard that the eldest daughter of your principal wife is eleven this year—gentle and intelligent, lovely and fair, the purest lotus in the City in the Lake. He specially sent me to ask you: might Teotihuacan's Hummingbird be fortunate enough to alight upon Tenochtitlan's lotus, waiting for her sacred bloom?" Having solemnly delivered the message, Acap once more bowed deeply and waited for the commander's reply.

"This..." Avet was, unusually, at a loss. He clasped his hands behind his back, rose, and paced back and forth through the tent several times. During that time, he looked at Xolotl several times with a complicated expression. At last, he sighed softly and reached out to touch Xolotl's face.

The youth was somewhat bewildered. He had not yet reacted.

"My beloved Alisa is still young and has not yet been promised to anyone. Xolotl is indeed a fine child." Avet sighed again. At last, he could not resist tightening his hand and fiercely pinching his student's cheek.

It hurt, hurt, hurt—so much! The youth cried out softly in pain.

"When we return to the capital this time, Alisa and Xolotl shall be betrothed!" The commander withdrew his hand, finally feeling a little better, then made the decision with a solemn expression.

"The Teotihuacan branch shall be your most loyal ally. Under the witness of the Sun God, we shall never waver! And your enemies shall be our enemies, whoever they may be!" Acap raised his head, pressed a fist to his chest, and swore loudly with equal solemnity.

"Nani?!" Xolotl stood frozen in stunned silence. He rubbed the cheek that had been pinched red. It hurt—he was not dreaming. What had he just heard? He was getting betrothed just like that? The youth raised his head and looked at Acap, who smiled at him with gratification. Then he looked at Avet, and the commander gave him a fierce glare.

I'm only thirteen! At last, the youth let out an incredulous cry in his heart.