Homecoming

Warm sunlight poured down from the azure sky, while the wind across the Mexican Plateau remained cool. The moist air carried the freshness of Lake Xaltocan. South of Lake Xaltocan, it connected to Lake Texcoco, and a dozen or so kilometers from its eastern shore stood the ancient holy city of Teotihuacan, where Xolotl had been born.

At the sight of Lake Xaltocan, the whole party suddenly came alive, as though some spark of vitality had returned to them.

The warriors hurried to the lakeshore, drew water from the bank, and drank deeply of the taste of home. Small boats crisscrossed the lake. When the passing villagers saw the city-state's warriors, they warmly greeted them and asked about their gains from capturing captives. Young maidens even rowed their boats closer, dressed only in short cloth skirts that covered their lower halves, boldly displaying their youthful figures as they sang love songs for the warriors they admired.

Xolotl blushed slightly and turned away to look at the villages near the lake. Simple canals diverted the lake water into the sprawling cornfields outside the villages, where black beans and pumpkins were planted among the corn. Agriculture here was clearly far more developed, and the population seemed much denser as well.

Between the villages and the lake lay many small ponds, filled with Chinampas of varying sizes—floating fields upon the water. Chinampas could yield six or seven harvests a year, making full use of the nutrients in river mud. They had ample water and fertilizer, suffered fewer pests, and produced nearly ten times as much as ordinary rough-tilled farmland. These Chinampas were controlled by the city-state's nobles, sustaining their abundant lives. Great nobles often possessed Chinampa gardens, filled with splendid flowers, fragrant and delicious herbs, and sacred cacao.

Xolotl's gaze lingered for a long while over a pond near one village, stirring a hazy memory of a fate of death. He watched in silence until Tercer called him back to himself, and the party set off once more. Before long, a vast, ancient city appeared in Xolotl's sight, magnificent beyond measure.

Teotihuacan had no city walls. Its walls had long been buried beneath the dust of history, along with more than half the city itself, which now lay underground. A thousand years ago, this had been the Teotihuacans' "City of Gods," and also the place from which the gods had departed!

Xolotl entered the city from the west, crossing an indistinct boundary. Before him unfolded a spectacular wonder that had endured for millennia. Under the sunlight, a stone-paved avenue forty or fifty meters wide ran north to south, as if leading to the end of an era. It was the famous Avenue of the Dead!

At its northern end lay a stone plaza two hundred meters long and wide, with a square altar at its center. This was Moon Plaza, a sacred place of sacrifice, where the gods were pleased. It was here that Xolotl had first seen scarlet blood gather into a lake and corpses pile into small hills. That unforgettable stench of blood and shock had made him understand for the first time that he had left forever the modern civilization where no blood was seen, and entered this savage, brutal age of the jungle.

The warriors led their terrified captives forward along the Avenue of the Dead. North of the altar stood a magnificent pyramid, three times the avenue's length and width, and roughly forty or fifty meters tall. Looking up, one could see its five tiers built from massive stones, with an exquisite Temple standing atop it. The Temple was vivid in color, its ancient patterns painted in red and blue dyes, with countless moons, stars, jaguars, and serpents carved and painted among them.

Four Temple Guards wearing wolf-head caps stood on either side of the temple doors. Blue and yellow stripes had been carved and dyed onto their black leather armor. They stood motionless, like statues. The statues held half-meter-wide, leather-covered wooden shields in their left hands and over-meter-long obsidian clubs in their right. Sharp obsidian blades along both sides of the clubs glinted with a cold light.

Xolotl had tried several times to climb to the top of the pyramid, hoping to find a path back through time, but the statues had stopped him every time. Had his identity not been special, he would have long since been sent onto the altar as a sacrifice. This was the sacred Pyramid of the Moon, the bridge linking Heaven and Earth.

Directly opposite the party, due east across the avenue, stood another enormous pyramid: the Pyramid of the Sun. It faced the sun, with a base fully two or three hundred meters long and wide. It too had five tiers, but it was loftier and more imposing. The summit of the pyramid was extremely broad. At its center stood a Sacrificial Stone half a man tall, while slightly to the east was the half-open Sun Temple.

Within the Sun Temple stood a towering statue of the Sun God, facing east. The statue wore a golden crown and had gemstone eyes, while silver ornaments draped from its arms and waist. Behind it blazed a pure gold sun several meters across! This golden sun surely weighed over a ton—a fortune beyond anything the nobles of the Old Continent could imagine!

Sunlight was falling upon the peak of the Pyramid of the Sun, and its dazzling golden radiance made Xolotl's eyes blur. This most exalted Pyramid of the Sun enshrined the Alliance's Main God of the Sun. Only sacred grand sacrificial ceremonies could be held here; climbing it was absolutely forbidden at ordinary times.

Olorosh led the warriors to a halt and knelt toward the Sun Temple in the east.

With a solemnity Xolotl had never seen from him before, he prayed aloud.

"Great Guardian Deity Huitzilopochtli, beneath the sunlight with which You illuminate all things, we have completed this capture of captives! As Your warriors, loyal forever, we shall offer You the hearts and blood of our enemies until we return to Earth Mother and offer ourselves. May You bless our bodies and weapons, so that we may win the next exalted battle!"

Xolotl also went through the motions and finished the prayer. As soon as he rose, he saw Olorosh order the captives to kneel before the Sun God and offer up their faith.

The captured prisoners thought death was about to descend upon them. Trembling violently, they began to howl incoherently. Terror of sacrifice drained all strength from their limbs. Before long, they collapsed limply to the ground, huddled together in a crawling heap.

Not far west of the party stretched a magnificent complex of palaces. Multicolored paintings and carvings covered the walls and fluttered across pure white cotton curtains. Gods, Sky Family, sacrificial rites, farmlands, rainforests, lakes, tigers, leopards, serpents, and deer all came vividly alive throughout the palace complex. The scenes in those paintings were the Aztecs' past and present—their faith and their lives.

This splendid complex was the residence of Priests and nobles. It was also where the servants of the gods carried out their daily work.

Seeing the returning warrior party, a young Assistant Priest hurried over from the palaces. The young Assistant Priest looked around twenty, with features as gentle and polished as jade. He wore no feathered crown. A white shawl draped over his upper body, while he wore a white short skirt below, leaving his chest bare. Around his neck hung an ordinary obsidian necklace marking his status as an Assistant Priest.

"Honored Warrior Olorosh. Oh, and little Xolotl."

The Assistant Priest smiled gently and winked at Xolotl.

"How did it go? Did everything go smoothly with the capture of captives?"

"Not bad, Acap. This time, we went into Huastec territory and found a Wildman tribe. The opponents were weak, and none of our warriors were injured. The Main God has blessed us!"

Olorosh nodded, his stern expression seeming not yet recovered from prayer. Then he pointed at the kneeling crowd.

"The captives we caught are all here!"

"Good! The Main God has blessed us!"

Acap made a quick count of the captives, then glanced a few times at the damaged leather armor of several warriors standing at the rear. He smiled without exposing them.

"Honored Warrior Olorosh, your returning party has done quite well! Leave the male captives to me; deal with the female captives yourselves. Twenty-five sacrifices in all—looks like every new recruit can be promoted!"

At this, Olorosh smiled as well. He turned around and roared at the warriors.

"Turkeys, I have good news for you! After this capture of captives, every one of you will be promoted to Level 1 Warrior, 'Captor and Binder'!"

"Tercer, Marli."

Olorosh's gaze swept over them before he roared again.

"You two will both be promoted to Level 2 Warrior, 'Huastec Hunter.' You may go to the Temple storehouse and collect the cloaks and battle garb of Level 2 Warriors!"

Xolotl watched intently and saw only two smiling faces, both equally eager for battle. One wore a cruel expression; the other looked pure and simple.

"As for the remaining Level 1 Warriors, once I report to the elders, you can collect your new cotton armor tomorrow!"

At this, the young warriors erupted into excited cheers and howls. Their path of advancement as warriors had finally gotten off to a good start.

"But remember this! Your opponents this time were weak, and you are still a flock of inexperienced turkeys! Only when you capture a fierce, battle-hardened Tlaxcala warrior alone, or a well-equipped Tarasco warrior, can you call yourselves true warriors!"

"Tercer, Marli. Take those four handfuls of women to South City and sell them to commoners without wives. Divide the Cacao Beans you get among the brothers, then repair the weapons and leather armor!"

The warriors broke into another round of cheers.

"Oh, right. If they are our own people, give them a cheaper price."

As Olorosh spoke, he patted Xolotl's shoulder again and laughed loudly.

"Xolotl, what a pity—there's nothing here for you! Of course, you're not short of this little bit anyway."

Xolotl raised an eyebrow, utterly uninterested. The boy said nothing, merely watching as the captives were led away and dealt with like goods. He knew these tribal women would be sold to commoners to bear children and strengthen the Alliance. The tribal men would be sent to the Temple as sacrificial offerings to please the gods. Life and death hung on a single instant, as though it were the ordinary law of Heaven.

Only after everything had been properly arranged did Acap take up the conversation. Smiling warmly, he spoke in a gentle voice.

"All right, Olorosh. Now that everything has been arranged, you and Xolotl should come with me! Captain Xoloc gave orders long ago: the moment you returned, you were to go see him at once."

With that, he turned and led the two of them toward the splendid palace complex.