"Mekat, this Mayari Great Iron Mine from the prophecy—oh, perhaps it should be called the Moon Mother Great Iron Mine—what exactly is its situation?"
Starlight fell from the zenith, and oil lamps kindled sparks like stars. Warm orange light lit the table, and the sweet fragrance of wine drifted through the palace. Ruler and ministers gathered to drink, speaking of what had been seen on the voyages; the mood was intimate and harmonious. And as everyone talked through the night by candlelight, deciding the great affairs of the kingdom, their hearts were filled with soaring ambition.
"Your Majesty, we cannot estimate the reserves of the Mayari Great Iron Mine... But it is an entire mountain range of iron ore, black-gray streaked with red, stretching as far as the eye can see, almost across the whole horizon! Just the ore zones exposed on the surface alone are at least twenty or thirty li across. As for the reserves beneath the ground, there is even less need to say! And after I examined it carefully, the quality of this great iron mine is clearly far higher than Black Iron Mountain!..."
As he spoke of the magnificent sight of the Mayari Great Iron Mine belt, Priest Mekat's face was filled with piety and fervor.
"Praise the Main God! I had originally been worried that we would not find this iron mine of prophecy... But I never imagined it would be on such a vast scale, simply like the Main God's Snake Mountain!... And aside from this iron mine, we also found several great copper mines, as well as some deposits we could not identify..."
"Praise you, Your Majesty! The Snake Island of Cuba upon the sea is just as the prophecy said, transformed from the divine body of the Feathered Serpent! That rich