Chapter Summaries

Xolotl celebrated the return of the Cuban expedition and learned that the Kingdom had established Iron Bay Town and won the friendship and conversion of two large Taino tribes. Remembering the Spanish colonizers’ future atrocities, he vowed to protect the Taino and prepare to fight the explorers within three years.

• Xolotl welcomed Priest Mekat’s report about the iron mine and the peaceful Mayari Moon Mother Tribe on Cuba.
• Mekat said the Mayari and Red Soil tribes, each numbering more than three thousand people, had converted to the Main God, while more than two hundred Taino had joined Iron Bay Town.
• Xolotl considered the Taino people’s vulnerability and recalled the Spanish colonizers’ enslavement and slaughter of them.
• Xolotl vowed to protect the Taino, build Longships and send more legions within three years, even if he had to yield to Divine King Avet.
• Xolotl declared that the Kingdom’s warriors would meet the Spanish explorers with axes and blades.

Xolotl learned that Cuba held an immense iron ore belt and planned to fortify Iron Bay Town, expand its ironworks, and send an eight-thousand-man army under Bertad to the island. He warned that Spain posed a long-term threat and concluded that France would be the key ally capable of defeating the European sea powers.

• Mekat reported that Cuba's Mayari Great Iron Mine was vast and rich, and that the island also contained copper and other mineral deposits.
• Xolotl assessed the kingdom's low-quality iron production and ordered Iron Bay Town developed into a fortified center with a large ironworks and skilled craftsmen.
• Mekat said the Taino could supply labor but would be difficult to train as warriors, and asked for two thousand soldiers and more than a hundred Priests to expand control of Cuba.
• Xolotl ordered an eight-thousand-man army sent to Cuba and appointed Bertad to command there.
• Xolotl warned that Spain's naval power and Europe's growth threatened the alliance for generations, then decided that France could help defeat Spain and the other European sea powers.

Xolotl considered how France’s wars with Spain could create future opportunities for the Mexica Alliance, then learned the details of the fleet’s conflict with Maya clans. He ordered the two Maya royal children cared for and taught Mexica Language, planning to take them to Tenochtitlan after the Eastern Expedition.

• Xolotl reflected that the Italian Wars would weaken Spain and could give the Mexica Alliance an opening to build ties with France.
• Priest Mekat reported that Tikalo had manipulated the fleet and the Xiu Family into conflict, then arranged for the Cocom chief to convert and sent two Maya royal children as hostages.
• Xolotl learned that Totonac warriors from Hidden Snake City had ambushed the fleet and captured Tikalo, whose fate was unknown.
• Xolotl condemned Tikalo’s schemes but ordered that the two Maya children be guarded, taught Mexica Language, and kept out of public view.
• Xolotl decided to bring the children to Tenochtitlan after the long Eastern Expedition.

At a banquet, Xolotl heard Priest Tomatl’s account of Cuba and decided how to handle Puapu’s killing of Prince Xiu. After the others left, Mekat knelt to report three private matters, including one that might concern Xolotl.

• Militia Chiwako gave Xolotl Priest Tomatl’s letter describing the fleet’s plans to establish rule and spread the Main God’s faith in Cuba.
• Mekat defended Puapu’s courage and asked Xolotl to give him a chance to atone for killing Prince Xiu.
• Xolotl weighed the incident against his plans for conquering the Maya and ordered Puapu to garrison Cuba for ten years in service to the kingdom.
• Chiwako thanked Xolotl, then drank heavily and was helped to rest while Xolotl and Mekat remained in the hall.
• Mekat privately told Xolotl he had three matters to report, two concerning Chiwako and one that might concern the king.

Xolotl learned that Dark Snake was a Tlaxcalan God-descendant and discovered that his father, Black Snake Tlilcoatl, commanded warriors inside Cloud Snake Fortress. He offered Dark Snake’s father pardon, protected places for his people, and a hereditary noble title if he helped the kingdom take the fortress, leaving Mekat to consider whether Dark Snake could persuade him.

• Mekat reported that the Red Crow Tribe had settled in the northeast and was expanding, and Xolotl viewed its growth as serving the kingdom’s future plans.
• Mekat revealed that Dark Snake was the son of Black Snake Tlilcoatl, lord of Shuigu City, and explained how the fleet had rescued and recruited him.
• Xolotl found an old military report identifying Black Snake Tlilcoatl as the leader of a group of warriors in Cloud Snake Fortress.
• Xolotl asked whether Dark Snake would serve the kingdom and persuade his father to surrender the fortress.
• Xolotl offered to pardon Black Snake Tlilcoatl and his men, grant protection to eight hundred other defenders, and make him a hereditary noble with a fief in the northern lands if he helped the kingdom enter Cloud Snake Fortress.

Xolotl sent Priest Mekat to negotiate with Black Snake Tlilcoatl and promised him a future role leading the Navigation Academy if he mastered mathematics and joined an expedition to the Southern Continent. Mekat then revealed that the Red Crow chieftain Alan had kept a dagger Xolotl gave her ten years earlier, leaving Xolotl stunned to realize she was the girl from his past.

• Xolotl agreed to send Mekat with Captain Chiwako to negotiate with Black Snake Tlilcoatl and issued a royal decree to support the mission.
• Mekat asked to teach nautical subjects at Shenwei University, and Xolotl offered him the Navigation Academy deanship if he learned mathematics and joined a Southern Continent expedition.
• Mekat told Xolotl that Alan, daughter of the Red Crow Chieftain Amoxi, had asked about the dagger she received from a Mexica noble youth ten years earlier.
• Mekat revealed that the dagger’s hilt bore the name Xolotl, and Xolotl recognized it as the dagger he had given Alan when she was a child.

Drunk Xolotl realized Chieftain Alan was the girl he had saved ten years earlier and learned she had become Amoxi’s adopted successor. He rejected Mekat’s plan to claim the Red Crow alliance through marriage, insisting it would take military force, then drunkenly reminisced while Ekat watched a pregnant noblewoman approach.

• Mekat told Xolotl that Alan’s dagger bore the name “Xolot” and that she had mentioned ten years, prompting Xolotl to recall saving a little girl during a campaign.
• Xolotl realized Alan was the girl who had kept his childhood dagger and said he wanted to see her again.
• Mekat explained that Alan was Amoxi’s adopted daughter and likely successor, renowned for her archery and military leadership.
• Mekat proposed pressuring Amoxi to give Alan to Xolotl as a concubine, but Xolotl explained that the Red Crow alliance would not submit without a military defeat.
• Xolotl drank with Mekat and reminisced about his years as a hostage in Tizoc’s camp, while Ekat listened outside the hall.
• Ekat noticed a pregnant noblewoman in a white robe approaching down the corridor.

Snake Priestess Miawa tried to enter the great hall while His Highness was drunk, but guard captain Ekat turned her away and warned her to focus on raising her unborn child in the coastal land. Miawa left outwardly obedient but privately rejected the limits placed on her future.

• Miawa approached the great hall with herbal tea, but Ekat blocked her and said His Highness had ordered her to rest.
• Miawa overheard His Highness drunkenly complain about Ahuitzotl and Cihuacoatl and speak of his plans for the wider world.
• Miawa tried to enter by offering tea, but Ekat sternly told her she was a concubine, not the household mistress, and should protect the child in her womb.
• Miawa accepted Ekat's warning, left the tea, and departed after he ordered her to forget what she had heard.
• Miawa stroked her belly as she left and thought that her future might not be confined to the coastal land.

After receiving the royal command to recruit Black Snake's surrender, Priest Mekat found Chiwako studying beans in a military-farm village. Chiwako explained that the Fine Bean came from the Southern Continent and that their future exploration would lead to Tawantinsuyu, a vast sun-worshipping kingdom.

• Priest Mekat received royal authority to recruit Black Snake's surrender and a message from His Majesty telling him to forget the complaints he had heard.
• Priest Mekat found Chiwako in a bean field, where Chiwako compared three kinds of beans as part of his agronomy work.
• Chiwako described the common bean as easy to grow, the sword bean as tall and hardy, and the Fine Bean as tasty but vulnerable and low-yielding.
• Chiwako told Priest Mekat that the Fine Bean came from the Southern Continent and was also called the Lima Bean.
• Chiwako said His Majesty had predicted that the explorers would travel south to Lima and encounter the immense sun-worshipping kingdom of Tawantinsuyu.

Priest Mekat told Old Militia Chiwako that Dark Snake’s father was alive in Cloud Snake Fortress and that the king offered his family pardon and noble status if Dark Snake helped secure the fortress. Chiwako challenged Mekat to show mercy and respect to other peoples on the coming southern voyage, then set off to find Dark Snake.

• Priest Mekat discussed the Inca Kingdom and the planned southern voyage with Old Militia Chiwako, who examined bean roots while Mekat anticipated becoming vice-captain.
• Mekat told Chiwako that Dark Snake’s father, Black Snake Tlilcoatl, was alive among the defenders of Cloud Snake Fortress and described the king’s offer of pardon and rewards if Dark Snake helped the Kingdom enter it.
• Chiwako questioned Mekat’s willingness to put Dark Snake at risk and urged him to practice pity, understanding, and respect toward the tribes they would encounter overseas.
• Chiwako explained that mistreatment of other peoples had brought retaliation during earlier voyages and said he wanted both himself and Mekat to return alive.
• Mekat promised to follow Chiwako’s lead on the southern voyage, and Chiwako left to find Dark Snake and resolve his situation.

Xolotl reviewed reports on the Eastern Sea Water Fleet and ordered it expanded, then sent the documents to Miawa. She realized his decision would strengthen the fleet while keeping it beyond her influence, and began considering the second document.

• Xolotl gave Irene two documents for Miawa and said he would meet with the exploring sailors that night.
• Irene delivered the documents to Miawa, who teased her about dressing up for Xolotl.
• Miawa read that Black Wolf Toltec praised the Eastern Sea Water Fleet's logistical work as his army prepared to besiege Stone Carving City.
• Xolotl's order expanded the fleet by one thousand men, including water-skilled warriors from the Golden Bay City area under Nuohuyu's command.
• Miawa understood the order as a warning not to interfere in the fleet's recruitment or seek military power, then turned her attention to the second document.

Snake Woman Miawa studied the king’s order for village militias and recognized how its arrangements limited her authority while drawing the Coastal tribes into the Lake Kingdom’s rule. Overcome by resentment and feverish longing, she called Irene over to help her to bed.

• Snake Woman Miawa read the royal order establishing village militia battalions from resettled surrendered troops and assigning them village security and grain transport duties.
• Snake Woman Miawa concluded that loyal Kingdom Warriors and former surrendered soldiers held the villages’ military power, leaving her influence chiefly over local Village Priests and Village Chiefs.
• Snake Woman Miawa recognized that the king’s settlement and military plans were reshaping the Coastal Region and laying the groundwork for a Coastal Kingdom Legion.
• Snake Woman Miawa cursed the king for trusting Black Wolf and excluding her from his plans, then began to feel feverish and weak.
• Snake Woman Miawa told Irene that she felt unwell and asked her to support her to the bed inside.

Miawa coaxed Irene with tropical fruits and pastries, then encouraged her to pursue Xolotl and offered to help bring them together. Hoping to gain an ally and a source of information amid fears about her position and the limits placed on her power, Miawa made Irene her confidante, while Xolotl remained unaware of their arrangement.

• Miawa served Irene an assortment of tropical fruits, pastries, and jams, winning her trust by promising to teach her the foods Xolotl liked.
• Miawa told Irene that becoming pregnant with Xolotl's child could benefit her and her people, and Irene admitted that Xolotl had never let her stay with him at night.
• After sending the maids away, Miawa proposed helping Irene seduce Xolotl, and Irene worried that he might be angry.
• Miawa reassured Irene that she would not be jealous and framed their alliance as a way to support one another against more powerful women at court.
• Miawa sought Irene's friendship and access to information because she feared losing influence on the coast, while Xolotl remained unaware of their plan.

The Coastal Alliance captured Stone Carving City, toppled the Feathered Serpent God’s statue, and began converting and securing the city’s people and supplies. Black Wolf Toltec questioned Muxiz about the vanguard’s fierce morale and learned that the warriors hoped to gain status and rewards as His Majesty the Death God unified the coast.

• Totonac vanguards stormed Stone Carving City, killed its resisting warriors, and captured the city after a siege of more than twenty days.
• The vanguards toppled the Feathered Serpent God’s statue, while Coastal Militia entered to extinguish fires, clear bodies, and search for survivors.
• Black Wolf Toltec ordered the surrendered chieftain Zhanxiang Teotla and the newly elected chieftain executed, and assigned guards to secure storehouses and prepare the townspeople for conversion.
• Black Wolf Toltec summoned Muxiz and asked why the Vanguard Battalion fought with such high morale.
• Muxiz explained that the warriors believed His Majesty would unite the coast and that battle merit could earn them land, slaves, and noble status.

After Stone Carving City fell, Black Wolf Toltec discussed why the surrendered tribes now trusted the kingdom and planned the army’s next advance. He ordered the Third Ancient City occupied and looked forward to carving his name and achievements onto its ancient stele.

• Black Wolf Toltec asked Muxiz why military merit land grants had failed to inspire trust two years earlier, and Muxiz explained that the tribes had feared being abandoned to their enemies after the army withdrew.
• Black Wolf Toltec praised Muxiz’s Vanguard Battalion and assigned surrendered troops to garrison Stone Carving City while keeping a force at White Bay Village and boats to carry supplies.
• War Priests sacrificed city-state nobles and began converting Stone Carving City’s captives through blood oaths and rites.
• Black Wolf Toltec ordered a thousand surrendered troops to occupy the Third Ancient City and decided he would carve his name and achievements onto its divine stele after taking Hidden Snake Holy City.

Black Wolf Toltec brought the Kingdom’s legion to Lake Sacrifice City and prepared a northern assault, but the siege depended on supplies carried by the Eastern Sea Water Fleet. When he learned the Totonac fleet was blocking the fleet and using unexpected large boats, he went to inspect the coastal fighting.

• Black Wolf Toltec led the legion to Lake Sacrifice City, where the defenders refused to come out and fight.
• Black Wolf surveyed the city and chose its northern side as the only practical direction for an attack.
• Black Wolf ordered his troops to build siege equipment and told the Wolf Packs to capture nearby tribes.
• Uta reported that the Copper Beasts were still days away, so Black Wolf planned to use Divine Power Spheres in the assault.
• Black Wolf heard that the Totonac fleet was fighting the Eastern Sea Water Fleet with large boats and hurried north with the Red-hair Hunters to investigate.

Black Wolf Toltec saw the Kingdom’s Water Fleet losing a sea battle against the Totonac Alliance’s unexpectedly powerful fleet and decided to intervene with fire weapons. As the Kingdom fleet retreated toward shore, he ordered his Hunters to fire Black Oil Rockets at the tangled ships, regardless of friendly fire.

• Black Wolf Toltec arrived with six hundred Red-hair Hunters and saw the Totonac Alliance fielding ten large ships, including two Kingdom Longships and eight Maya Galleys.
• The Totonac Alliance’s larger vessels smashed and capsized Kingdom Canoes, inflicting heavier casualties and pushing the Kingdom Water Fleet into a disadvantage.
• Black Wolf judged that the Kingdom fleet would lose and ordered his Hunters to prepare Black Oil Rockets to support it.
• Nuohuyu boarded an enemy Maya Galley while leading her guards, but Black Wolf concluded that her bravery could not turn the battle by itself.
• As the Kingdom fleet retreated toward shore, Black Wolf sent elite Hunters out in small boats and ordered Rockets fired at the ships, even if they struck friendly vessels.

Black Wolf Toltec’s fire arrows set several Maya galleys ablaze and split the fleets with a burning barrier, while he searched unsuccessfully for the Eastern Alliance commander. The surviving ships regrouped, and the commander finally appeared in a high priest’s regalia, lamenting that the decisive battle had failed and wondering what fate awaited him.

• Black Wolf Toltec fired gunpowder arrows at the Maya galleys, but some veered off course and struck warriors in the melee.
• Fire arrows from the shore and Red-hair Hunters ignited three Maya galleys, forcing their crews to abandon ship as the battle raged.
• Nuohuyu climbed aboard a war canoe after losing her command flag-spear and learned that Black Wolf Toltec’s forces were setting fires.
• Black Wolf Toltec watched the burning barrier divide the fleets and searched the ships for the enemy commander, judging Nuohuyu to be a reckless vanguard rather than a skilled war leader.
• The Kingdom Water Fleet retreated toward shore as the Eastern Alliance regrouped its seven surviving large ships across the battlefield.
• The Totonac fleet commander donned a feather crown and High Priest’s robe, boarded the largest Longship, and lamented the failed raid and his uncertain fate.

After Priest Pap’s eastern fleet won a costly sea battle against the Mexica and their Coastal Tribe allies, Pap feared the victory would not change the war’s course. As the fleet returned toward its stronghold, he questioned whether he truly had no way to escape the conflict.

• Priest Pap proclaimed victory as the eastern fleet salvaged survivors, captured prisoners, and counted far fewer losses than the Kingdom Water Fleet.
• Pap worried that Mexica fire arrows had burned three of the eastern Alliance’s precious big ships, threatening its ability to control the waterways and disrupt enemy supplies.
• Pap recalled that Lake Sacrifice City was under siege and that the high priest Atlcoyotltzin had sent Priest Elder Tezozomoc to oversee its defense.
• Pap considered how confiscating Maya merchants’ property and ships had alienated powerful groups, leaving him with few allies or places to retreat.
• As his fleet sailed east toward the stronghold beneath the Great Fire God Mountain, Pap wondered whether the unnamed man’s promise might offer him a way out.

Priest Pap questioned the imprisoned Maya merchant Tikalo about his ties to Prince Xolotl and improved his conditions after Tikalo swore by his family. Tikalo inferred that the Kingdom had reached Lake Sacrifice City, while Pap left open the possibility that Tikalo might later reach the sacrificial lake.

• Pap returned to the water fortress after the raid and secretly entered its sacrificial dungeon with Chuchut guarding the entrance.
• Pap questioned Tikalo about knowing Prince Xolotl, and Tikalo reaffirmed his connections through Olorosh and his past work for the prince.
• Pap demanded that Tikalo swear by the Sky Snake God and his family, and Tikalo swore that his account was true.
• Tikalo asked for water, food, and a clean cell, and Pap ordered the guards to move him to a ventilated room and give him two meals a day.
• Tikalo asked to bathe at the sacred sacrificial lake, but Pap said he was not yet qualified and might have a chance in the future.
• After Pap left, Tikalo realized that the Kingdom had already fought its way to Lake Sacrifice City.