"Bring the deer we hunted this morning! Bring the honey wine we seized! The spirits of our ancestors shelter the tribe—today is a fine day to welcome friends! I, Short Spear Moqi, will be right here, with Tomato, Priest of the Tiger Tribe, to smear blood and swear an alliance!"
Beside the long river, the sea waves thundered. It was evening, with clouds and rosy sunset glow drifting across the sky. Seven longships drew close to shore, and more than a hundred archers stood guard along the gunwales. Puapu, the Grey Earth noble, personally led sixty armored Purepecha warriors onto land. He was fully armed, bronze cloth armor covering his upper body, a long spear held upright in his right hand, a shield strapped to his left arm, and a copper axe at his waist.
"Heh! First an ambush, then detainment, and now an oath of alliance—fickle as wind and clouds. Damn barbarians!"
The valiant Grey Earth noble's face darkened as he cursed inwardly. He tightened his grip on the Copper Spear in his hand, ready at any moment to charge forward, fight the Putun Tribe, and protect Priest Tomatl, who was making the oath ahead.
Opposite the kingdom's warriors, separated by several dozen paces, stood a dense mass of Putun warriors. They all held Stone Spears upright, carried javelins on their backs, and howled excitedly. Soon, at the chief's command, several tribal warriors in wooden armor carried a stag that had been dead half a day into the middle between the two groups.
"Chief, a fresh stag! Just right for the ceremony!"
"Mm. Let me do it. The ancestors say that to welcome friends, we must show sincerity!"
Chief Moqi took the knife himself, cut open the stag's lower belly, and dug out the deer heart where the blood