The moon rose in the east, and the bonfire blazed. Priest Tomatl raised the scripture high and gazed at the head of the Cocom family, the young Heavenly Snake Divine Descendant, Tiakin. The devout priest's heart had long since hardened like iron; he regarded faith as the foundation of all things. If the Mayan chieftain before him refused, he would lose this chance won through a thousand hardships, so difficult to come by.
"Ah! Abandon the Heavenly Snake God and convert completely to the Main God?"
Hearing his uncle Tikalo's translation, sweat beaded on Tiakin's forehead. Such terms were a price difficult for any Mayan divine descendant to accept. His ancestors had worshipped the Heavenly Snake God for generations, and his family prided itself on being the most revered Heavenly Snake Divine Descendants, a lineage passed down for a full thousand years. Could it be that today, he was to convert to the Mexica Main God of the highlands?
"Me? This! How could this be possible?"
"Agree to it! Tiakin, my nephew, the last sun of Mayapan!"
The Mayan merchant Tikalo's gaze was firm as he looked at his young nephew. He had traveled among the tribes under heaven for decades and had long ago cultivated a flexible bottom line of faith. At this moment, he used the ancient Mayapan Language and instructed him in a low voice.
"Think of Mayapan's hundred thousand dead souls! Think of your father, your grandfather, and your great-grandfather! The blood feud of the Cocom family is like mountains and seas... This is the family's last chance! Seize it and agree to him!"
"My father who died in battle, my grandfather who died in battle, my great-grandfather who died in battle. The blood debt of the Xiu family, Cocom's revenge!"
The young divine descendant Tiakin