Chapter Summaries

Xolotl used a blood-red hot-air balloon as a divine sign to awe the Jungle Totonac and Zoque chiefs and strengthen the Lake Kingdom’s claim to rule. He ordered Crocodile King Aayin sacrificed, and Aayin warned the gathered Zoque chiefs that they would be next.

• A blood-patterned hot-air balloon rose above the Olmec ruins, frightening the jungle chiefs and reinforcing their belief in the Main God.
• Xolotl reflected on using faith and feudal fiefs to extend the Lake Kingdom’s influence along the jungle rivers.
• The chapter described how some Jungle Totonac tribes had submitted, while copper from the Oaxaca Valley entered the Coastal Alliance’s trade routes.
• Crocodile King Aayin recalled the fall of Red Lake Town and condemned the Mexica conquest as he was brought to the sacrificial stone.
• Xolotl called for Aayin’s sacrifice, and Aayin warned the Zoque chiefs that their destruction would follow.

Xolotl oversaw the sacrifice of Crocodile King Aayin and forced the Zoque tribal envoys to convert to Huitzilopochtli, extending Mexica religious and political control into the jungle. He left the ceremony resolved to campaign against the Maya states and push the kingdom’s power eastward.

• Xolotl sacrificed Crocodile King Aayin at the Olmec pyramid, terrifying the Zoque chiefs and envoys gathered for the New Year festival.
• Xolotl reflected that human sacrifice remained necessary to make the festival and alliance convincing, though he hoped to end the tradition once he unified the tribes.
• Xolotl began the blood-oath ceremony as fireworks and Copper Cannons sounded, while Temple Guards directed the tribal leaders to the priests.
• The kingdom’s priests made the chiefs and envoys drink Blood Wine, swear allegiance to Huitzilopochtli, and receive the Sun Hummingbird emblem carved onto their foreheads.
• Xolotl resolved to consolidate control of the Zoque lands, then send the kingdom’s legion east to subdue the Pudun and Maya states and open a route toward Cuba.

Xolotl and Kani staged an ancient Rubber People rite to bind the jungle tribes to the Lake Kingdom through an oath involving Corn, hair, blood, and pottery jars. The chiefs submitted and left their Soul Pottery Jars in ranked tiers beneath the Main God’s idol, and the chapter ended as Kani called for the feast.

• Kani proposed that Xolotl dress as the ancient Olmec Sky God, but Xolotl refused and ordered him to reshape the Rubber People’s traditions to establish the Kingdom’s authority.
• Kani led the chiefs through an ancient rite in which they knelt, ate Corn kernels, buried the remaining kernels with their hair and blood, carved their identifying glyphs onto pottery jars, and renewed their oaths of loyalty.
• Forest Deer Chief Milu submitted first under Xolotl’s pressure, and Kingdom priests placed his Soul Pottery Jar on a tier indicating his tribe’s rank.
• The jungle Totonac and Zoque leaders, including the Water God Snake of Malpasito and the Water God Eagle of Chiapa de Corzo, completed the rite and placed their jars among the others.
• Xolotl buried his own Corn, hair, and blood in a purple jar, carved his name and a divine wolf on it, and had it placed at the top of the stone tiers.
• After the chiefs’ submission was established through the ritual, Kani declared the rite complete and invited everyone to feast and drink to the gods, ancestors, and king.

After the New Year festival in the Olmec holy city, Xolotl entrusted Bertad with governing the seacoast and integrating its tribes while he prepared to return to the Lake Capital and reconcile with Avet. He left Bertad most of the Imperial Guard and coastal forces to secure the eastern territories as conflict with the Maya and upheaval from across the Eastern Sea approached.

• Xolotl used the three-day New Year Grand Sacrifice to reinforce the Main God's worship and Rubber People's rites among the jungle tribes.
• Xolotl appointed Bertad to oversee the seacoast's military and political affairs, while limiting Miawa to Coastal Alliance administration and finances and barring her from controlling the priesthood and ancestral rites.
• Bertad proposed redefining the Main God as the god of all Rubber People, but Xolotl refused to provoke Avet while seeking to rebuild trust with him in the Lake Capital.
• Xolotl told Bertad he would return west after completing his jungle arrangements and ensuring Irene gave birth safely in mid-March.
• Xolotl assigned six thousand Imperial Guards and most Mexica and Purepecha warriors to Bertad, while he planned to return to the Lake Capital with two thousand tribal warriors.

Xolotl inspected the coastal settlements and fields, emphasizing expanded cassava cultivation as a foundation for feeding the kingdom. At Sunrise River, he considered opening a route south through Zoque territory to the sea on the other side.

• Xolotl returned to Hidden Snake City, where Li Yu sought his attention while her younger sister Li Yao was pregnant.
• After half a month in the city, Xolotl left with a thousand personal guards to inspect the eastern settlements and awaited news from Zuwaro's expedition.
• Xolotl instructed Bertad to expand cassava cultivation and train villagers to plant and prepare the poisonous crop.
• Bertad explained that the cassava fields near the river mouth covered nearly two hundred mu and that expansion could reach one or two thousand mu that year.
• At Sunrise Village, Xolotl described a possible route south past Second Ancient City, Malpasito, and Chiapa de Corzo to the opposite coast.

Xolotl laid out a plan for conquering the Eastern Sea coast and expanding inland through missions, trade, marriage, and military settlement. After establishing La Venta as a sacred site, he decided to return to the Lake Capital, leaving Bertad in charge of the eastern campaign.

• Xolotl instructed Bertad to expand the kingdom inland through missionaries, trade, and marriage alliances while using military force to control the coast and grant conquered lands to warriors.
• Bertad described how surrendered tribes would be converted, conscripted, and mixed into the legions as the kingdom conquered new territory, and Xolotl approved his plan.
• Xolotl ordered Bertad to expand the coastal fleet and shipyards, reward skilled shipwrights, and prepare to defeat the White-Skinned Demons and capture their ships.
• Xolotl traveled upstream to La Venta, erected a statue of the Mexica Main God, and held rites declaring the ancient city a sacred site.
• Xolotl told Bertad to inspect Red Lake Town and the Classic Maya Sky City, then announced he would return to the Lake Capital; Bertad swore to defend him and bring the legions back if summoned.

Christopher Columbus rode away from Granada with his younger brother after the Castilian navigation committee rejected his proposal to sail west. As Columbus dreamed of discovering Cathay and rising to noble status, a bloodstained troop of Crusader knights charged toward them.

• Christopher Columbus cursed the Castilians and Aragonese for rejecting his westward voyage proposal, while his younger brother tried to comfort him.
• Columbus recalled Granada’s surrender to Queen Isabella and the magnificence of the Alhambra Palace.
• Columbus reflected on the Crusader siege and his desire to become a knight and nobleman.
• Columbus declared that he would discover Cathay and become a great noble.
• A troop of bloodstained Crusader knights raced toward Columbus and his brother as they crossed a bridge.

Christopher Columbus and Giacomo Columbus were cornered by Bavarian mercenaries led by Reinhard while traveling through Moorish lands. Reinhard spared them after finding the queen’s letter and learning Columbus claimed to be planning a voyage west, but the chapter ended with him discovering Columbus’s enormous debt.

• Reinhard’s mercenaries surrounded Columbus and Giacomo beside the Genil River and demanded their belongings.
• Columbus knelt and surrendered his bundle, but Reinhard found only a few coins and threatened to kill him.
• One of Reinhard’s men found a letter from the queen asking Columbus to present his westward voyage plans to the royal navigation committee.
• Columbus claimed the queen had funded his plans to reach Cathay and India by sailing west.
• Reinhard demanded to know where Columbus’s money was, and Columbus showed him a loan contract for 2,212 Ducats at 60 percent annual interest.
• Reinhard reacted in shock upon reading the scale of Columbus’s debt.

Christopher Columbus was nearly killed by Reinhard von Ritter after failing to pay his debts, but persuaded the mercenary captain to consider joining him if his voyage succeeded. Queen Isabella then summoned Columbus and approved his westward sailing proposal in principle.

• Reinhard threatened Columbus over his debt, then spared him and offered to kill the creditor's family if Columbus could pay two hundred gold Ducats.
• Columbus challenged Reinhard to join him if he discovered Cathay and India, and Reinhard told him to contact the mercenaries in Barcelona if he returned alive as an admiral.
• Royal knight Alvaro de Salamanca arrived and identified Columbus as the man the Queen had summoned.
• Alvaro told Columbus that officials Luis de Santangel and Alonso de Quintanilla had helped secure another hearing for his proposal.
• Alvaro informed Columbus that his plan to sail west had been approved in principle.

Columbus presented his second proposal for a westward voyage to the Castilian court, but royal scholars mocked his calculations and doubted he could reach Asia. The discussion revealed that the royal family backed the voyage largely to attract experienced navigators and keep France from pursuing Atlantic exploration.

• Columbus claimed that sailing west from the Canary Islands would reach Asia after only a few thousand kilometers, and promised Queen Isabella a new route to its riches.
• Pedro Martinez de Isko ridiculed Columbus's calculations, while scholars in the hall laughed at his proposal.
• Pedro and Juan Antonio de Urquia agreed that the voyage was far longer than Columbus believed and that the royal family mainly hoped he might find Atlantic islands such as Antillia.
• Antonio explained that the royal family also hoped its support would persuade experienced Portuguese navigators to serve Castile.
• Pedro learned that Columbus had considered approaching Charles VIII of France, and Antonio said King Fernando wanted to keep France from turning its attention toward the Atlantic.

As the navigation committee debated Christopher Columbus’s proposal, Juan de la Cosa argued that Spain could not use Portugal’s route to India and should pursue a westward Atlantic route instead. Juan pledged to join Columbus’s expedition with his carrack, the Santa Maria.

• Pedro criticized King Fernando’s political influence and alluded to Prince Afonso’s suspicious death, while Antonio urged him to stop.
• Antonio asked Juan de la Cosa for his view of Columbus’s proposal, and Juan described Portugal’s lead in opening a southern route to India.
• Juan argued that Portugal would bar Spain from its route, making westward Atlantic exploration Spain’s only viable option.
• Juan declared that he would sail with Christopher Columbus and contribute the Santa Maria to the exploration fleet.

In 1492, Castile’s crushing war debts led Sir Alonso and Sir Luis to push Queen Isabella and King Fernando to approve Columbus’s Atlantic voyage as a chance to discover mortgageable islands and improve the Crown’s finances. The proposal passed unanimously, and Sir Luis began discussing Columbus’s expected profits and returns.

• Sir Alonso argued to Father Talavera that Columbus’s voyage could uncover islands valuable enough to mortgage, while costing Castile little if it failed.
• Father Talavera weighed the potential financial benefits against the voyage’s great distance and considered ways to raise money by confiscating property from heretics.
• Father Talavera discovered that Sir Luis had maneuvered the hearing and questioned why Castile would pay most of the voyage’s expenses.
• Sir Luis called the assembly to order and asked whether anyone objected to Columbus’s proposal; the nobles and scholars, including Father Talavera, gave their assent.
• Sir Luis announced that Columbus’s proposal had passed unanimously, and Columbus thanked Queen Isabella and King Fernando.
• Sir Luis congratulated Columbus and proposed discussing the profits and returns if he discovered the new route.

In Granada, Christopher Columbus reviewed the maritime exploration agreement granting him sweeping hereditary authority and a large share of the profits from lands he discovered. Despite Talavera’s objections, Columbus refused to amend the terms and insisted on signing.

• In Mexuar Hall, Sir Luis presented Columbus with the agreement naming him Admiral of the Ocean Sea and granting him extensive rights over his expeditions and discoveries.
• Father Talavera read the agreement aloud, including Columbus’s hereditary governorships and claims to a tenth of the discoveries’ yields and a share of the profits.
• Talavera questioned whether Columbus would revise the terms to match Juan de la Cosa’s pledge of loyalty and service to Castile.
• Columbus rejected the suggestion, argued that his plan and labor merited the generous rewards, and demanded the agreement so he could sign it.

Columbus signed an agreement granting him command of an expedition to seek a sea route to Cathay and India, and left for Palos with a royal escort. Talavera and Sir Luis privately made clear that Columbus’s privileges could be overturned and that the Crown and Church were prepared to judge him if his voyage succeeded too well.

• Father Talavera handed Columbus the agreement, and Columbus signed it while Sir Luis watched and considered Talavera’s scripture.
• Sir Luis gave Columbus the fleet document, confirming that he would command the Santa Maria and the expedition, while the Queen ordered him to carry royal letters and gifts to East Asian rulers.
• Columbus left Mexuar Hall for Palos escorted by Alvaro and royal guards, while Talavera recited scripture about Saul resisting the goad.
• Sir Luis asked Talavera whether the Crown and Church were prepared to judge Columbus, and Talavera questioned whether Columbus deserved the grace he had claimed.
• Talavera said he would report the agreement to the Queen and told Sir Luis to brief the King, then left with the documents and Archbishop’s Scepter.
• Sir Luis warned in prayer that Columbus might face judgment if he returned with too great a harvest, citing his greed, foolishness, and humble birth.

Xolotl prayed and sacrificed his blood for his family before sending Irene and his newborn son Yanshan toward the Lake Kingdom. He realized that King Avet’s grand welcome and his appointment of Xhuasotl as heir were meant to remove Xolotl from the succession and keep him confined in the capital.

• Xolotl prayed at Cloud Snake Fortress and offered his blood to the Main God for the alliance, his family, and his children.
• Xolotl confirmed that Irene, Yanshan, and envoys bound for Colima had departed by ship for the Lake Kingdom.
• Xolotl recalled the names he had chosen for his children, including unborn Feiling and Feiyu, and prayed that his sons would not fight one another.
• Ekat reassured Xolotl that Avet had sent a thousand nobles to welcome him, that Alisa had written to him, and that Xhuasotl had been named Son of the Sun God.
• Xolotl concluded that Avet intended to make Xhuasotl the alliance’s first heir and deprive Xolotl of his own succession rights, leaving him to live under guard in the capital.

Xolotl traveled from Cloud Snake Fortress toward the Lake Capital under the escort of Stanley the Giant Bear and a large royal force. At Teotihuacan, he climbed the Pyramid of the Moon to perform a sacrifice, where a brush with death stirred an uncanny sense of homecoming before thoughts of Alisa brought him back to himself.

• Stanley the Giant Bear arrived with orders to escort Xolotl to the Lake Capital, and Xolotl agreed to leave Cloud Snake Fortress.
• Xolotl left one thousand Imperial Guards to reinforce Cloud Snake Fortress, then departed with Stanley and four thousand Royal Warriors.
• On the journey west, Xolotl studied the mountain routes and identified Shensuo Pass as a key approach to the Mexica homeland.
• At Teotihuacan, Xolotl persuaded Stanley to let him perform a one-day sacrifice on the Pyramid of the Moon.
• Xolotl danced near the pyramid's edge, felt death was close, and wondered whether it might be a new beginning.
• After hearing Alisa's name, Xolotl regained his composure, claimed the ancestors had told him to return, and agreed to continue to the Lake Capital.

Xolotl returned to the prosperous Lake Texcoco region after his Eastern Expedition and learned that Avet planned to grant him a religious title and responsibilities for developing the capital. The chapter ended as Xolotl entered the Lake Capital to meet the Divine King.

• After Xolotl’s sacrificial dance, Stanley the Giant Bear tried to reassure him that Avet favored him and planned to name him Wolf Father of the Death God.
• Xolotl recognized that the title could place him beneath Avet’s direct line of solar succession, but praised the Divine King and agreed to serve him.
• Xolotl and his troops traveled through the thriving lake region, where roads, fields, and waterways reflected the Alliance’s prosperity.
• Stanley told Xolotl that Avet expected him to oversee construction and infrastructure in the Lake Capital, much as The Elder had done for Montezuma.
• At the lakeside village, most of Xolotl’s troops stopped, and a royal messenger escorted Xolotl and his selected guards toward the Divine King’s Palace.

Acap welcomed Xolotl to the capital with a display of the Alliance’s military power and hinted that the Divine King feared Xolotl’s growing reputation. As they approached the Divine King’s Palace, Xolotl recognized that his friendship with Acap had been overtaken by political ambition and distrust.

• Acap escorted Xolotl through the capital, where sixteen thousand Royal elites lined the road to display the Divine King’s authority.
• Xolotl praised the Royal Legions and recognized that Avet was using the welcome to impress him with the Alliance’s military strength.
• Acap praised Xolotl’s conquests and hinted that the Divine King might make him the God of War’s incarnation and vice-king, while Xolotl credited the Alliance for his campaign’s success.
• Crowds cheered for Xolotl and called for a divine war against the People of the Clouds, and Acap said the timing of the Divine King’s campaign depended on Xolotl’s performance.
• Xolotl addressed Acap with a formal honorific and realized that their former friendship had given way to political distance as they neared the Divine King’s Palace.

Prince Xolotl entered Ahuitzotl’s newly built pyramid-like Divine King’s Palace, where cannon fire, disciplined warriors, and gathered nobles displayed the God-King’s power and reach. Acap announced Xolotl’s arrival before Ahuitzotl, as Xolotl spotted his wife and son among the royal family and prepared to perform the grand rite of obeisance.

• Ahuitzotl’s sixty cannons fired beside the Great Temple as nobles and warriors praised the Main God and God-King.
• Acap led Prince Xolotl into the Divine King’s Palace, where Xolotl observed the armed guards and military nobles saluting him.
• Xolotl saw the assembled nobles of the Alliance’s eleven states and recognized how fully Ahuitzotl’s authority reached across the realm.
• Acap guided Xolotl to the third level, where the Priest Elders, commanders, royal descendants, Xolotl’s wife Alisa, and his son Xiuhua stood near Ahuitzotl’s throne.
• Acap announced Xolotl’s arrival to Ahuitzotl and called for the grand rite of obeisance.

Xolotl returned to the Divine King's Palace after conquering the Coastal Lands and presented Avet with trophies and sacred relics. After reuniting with his son Xiuhua and promising to stay with him and Alisa, Xolotl was ordered to swear before the Alliance's nobles that he would protect the two suns.

• Priest Elder Acap led the assembled court in kneeling before Avet, while Xolotl remained standing until he paid homage to the Divine King.
• Xolotl reported his victories over the Tlaxcala remnants and Totonac tribes, then presented Atlcoyotltzin's head, a Feathered Serpent staff, and an Olmec Jade Mask to Avet.
• Avet praised Xolotl's campaign and promised a grand sacrifice, then called him forward to meet his grandson Xiuhua.
• Xiuhua greeted Xolotl and asked him to stay with him and Alisa, revealing that Alisa missed him and often cried at night.
• Xolotl solemnly promised Xiuhua that he would protect him, keep Alisa company, and never leave again.
• Avet held Xiuhua on the divine throne and ordered Xolotl to swear before the nobles and priest elders to protect the two suns.