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Chapter 1 ¨C The Genesis of the Aztec Empire
Last night a panther came to Montezuma¡¯s dream. Its eyes shone forth like glowing embers, its coat as black as the onyx stone. In a deep roar it spoke, ¡°Montezuma, the almighty serpent God Quetzalcoatl has sent me and bides that your tribe to cease their aimless wondering, instead to settle down in this fertile valley, to grow corn and malt, offer up sacrifices of your livestock, and decorate his temple with glowing metal from that northern mountain in the distance, so that he will be pleased with you. You shall call this settlement Tenochtilan, and your people will be known henceforth as the Aztecs.¡±
¡°Are you going to obey his supreme command?¡± The panther stared at him with those hot glowing eyes. Montezuma trembled, prostrated to the ground, and nodded his head in agreement, while no word could have escaped from his mouth. It continued, ¡°You have chosen wisely, Montezuma, and to remind you of our covenant, you shall it remember it by this mark¡±. Its claw dig into his arm, the pain felt like been scalded by burning fire and was more than he can bear. He woke up in a start and in cold sweat, with sunbeam streaming into his chieftain tent, then saw a new long red scar on his left arm, still throbbing with pain. Next to him on the bunk, his wife Mitrena slept serenely, oblivious to the recent revelation.
Montezuma sat in a dazed perplexation till morning. After the morning meal, he told his second in command Tlatico to gather all the people under the giant mangrove circle, and he told them that the serpent God Quetzalcoatl has revealed that constant migration and foraging for food is no longer required, instead he has blessed them with abundant fertile land in this valley. They shall settle down, raise crops and animals, and offer regular sacrifices to the God. He commanded the Eluck family to go and farm the corn field to the east, the Peratol family to mine those shiny rocks on the mountain to the west, and the Utomo family to start construction on a temple to Quetzalcoatl in the middle of the new town.
A neighboring Utek tribe came to pay tribute and asked to join their town, to which they agreed, and a talent woodsman came forward. He said, ¡°My new chief, my name is Bilatek. I am experienced in the ways of the wood and I have lived in this valley for all my life. I have heard of great riches to the south, so I will go explore the new territory for you.¡± Montezuma agreed and helped him on his journey with extra food provisions and a sturdy club for hunting. Meanwhile, Aztec¡¯s scout Ferdago travels north to get a better idea of the feature of this rich valley.
Throughout their journey, the scouts braved many attacked by wild animals, but using their courage and resourcefulness, they were able to defeat those nasty beasts and continue on their missions. Bilatek eventually met a tribe called the Greeks to the south. Their city was located on icy patch of land where no crop grows, but their coastal water teemed with abundant fish and clams. Their leader Alexander treated Bilatek lavishly with delicious seafood and pheasants, and offered pretty handmaidens to wash his feet and give soothing massages. Then Alexander asked the same question, all in different words, as to where our settlement is located. Bilatek, a cunning young man for his age and a good judge of character, sensed that this chief was not to be trusted, so he did not give him any accurate information. Next morning, he thanked his host, bade them farewell, and continued on his exploration. On the north, Ferdago encountered another tribe, the Mitsol people, who contributed a youthful explorer, Pela, to assist him in his travel. Outside their tribe, they were attacked by a group of black bears and lions in quick succession. Ferdago was badly mauled and eventually succumbed to his mortal injury. With tears, Pela gave Ferdago a proper burning ritual to send him to the great spirit in the sky, and vowed to continue his friend¡¯s quest of exploring this vast unknown land. He eventually met a settlement of people called the Romans, who have a rather peculiar custom of wearing loose fitting fabrics, imagine that, that cannot be possibly as warm or comfortable as our animal skin garments. Their leader Julius Caesar was curious with this new visitor from afar, invited him to have a dinner of green leafs, which they call salad, along with roasted venison.
At home, people were discontent and had sense of malaise, they want to know more about the spirit world and the many gods that control their life and fortune. Therefore, the chief requested for his priests to examine this deep spiritual issues and come up with answers in expedient time. One day the chief soothsayer came and said, ¡°O chief, I have seen in my mind¡¯s eye that a distant tribe has discovered Gods that grant serenity and wisdom from meditation, and they call their new religion Buddhism¡±. Montezuma waved him off, thinking that this religion is rather strange, why would a man want to waste time meditating and be serene when he can be out hunting and settling new land. After another length of many months, the priests reported that they have discovered the wisdom of many gods, to which they call Hinduism, but that the Aztecs cannot claim this religion as our own since a distant tribe had discovered these same gods one year before them. Montezuma expressed his annoyance in fit of rage but was appeased when priests inform him the people would be happier now knowing that multiple Gods exist to help them in their daily lives.
In the midst of this meeting, Tlatico bursts in and exclaimed, ¡°Chief Montezuma, we have reports from our advance sentry that many wild jungle men are heading our way, burning crops and kills our peasants along the way. What¡¯s more, their men outnumber our warriors by many folds.¡±
Montezuma was aghast, stood up from his throne, and questioned, ¡°Whatever shall we do?¡±
Tlatico thought carefully, then offered, ¡°Chief, we can only ensure the survival of our settlement by better defense. Our crafts master Wuzzak has been experimenting with a device that can shoot sharp wooden missiles, ensuring our braves can kill many enemies before they can break through our town pallisade.¡±
¡°Excellent, my trusty second-in-command, send our urgent request to Wuzzak to make many of these devices, and train our warriors to use this new weapon¡±, Montezuma replied.
¡°Your wish will be done, my great chief¡±, Tlatico bowed and quickly ran off to the crafts master¡¯s workshop.
Last night a panther came to Montezuma¡¯s dream. Its eyes shone forth like glowing embers, its coat as black as the onyx stone. In a deep roar it spoke, ¡°Montezuma, the almighty serpent God Quetzalcoatl has sent me and bides that your tribe to cease their aimless wondering, instead to settle down in this fertile valley, to grow corn and malt, offer up sacrifices of your livestock, and decorate his temple with glowing metal from that northern mountain in the distance, so that he will be pleased with you. You shall call this settlement Tenochtilan, and your people will be known henceforth as the Aztecs.¡±
¡°Are you going to obey his supreme command?¡± The panther stared at him with those hot glowing eyes. Montezuma trembled, prostrated to the ground, and nodded his head in agreement, while no word could have escaped from his mouth. It continued, ¡°You have chosen wisely, Montezuma, and to remind you of our covenant, you shall it remember it by this mark¡±. Its claw dig into his arm, the pain felt like been scalded by burning fire and was more than he can bear. He woke up in a start and in cold sweat, with sunbeam streaming into his chieftain tent, then saw a new long red scar on his left arm, still throbbing with pain. Next to him on the bunk, his wife Mitrena slept serenely, oblivious to the recent revelation.
Montezuma sat in a dazed perplexation till morning. After the morning meal, he told his second in command Tlatico to gather all the people under the giant mangrove circle, and he told them that the serpent God Quetzalcoatl has revealed that constant migration and foraging for food is no longer required, instead he has blessed them with abundant fertile land in this valley. They shall settle down, raise crops and animals, and offer regular sacrifices to the God. He commanded the Eluck family to go and farm the corn field to the east, the Peratol family to mine those shiny rocks on the mountain to the west, and the Utomo family to start construction on a temple to Quetzalcoatl in the middle of the new town.
A neighboring Utek tribe came to pay tribute and asked to join their town, to which they agreed, and a talent woodsman came forward. He said, ¡°My new chief, my name is Bilatek. I am experienced in the ways of the wood and I have lived in this valley for all my life. I have heard of great riches to the south, so I will go explore the new territory for you.¡± Montezuma agreed and helped him on his journey with extra food provisions and a sturdy club for hunting. Meanwhile, Aztec¡¯s scout Ferdago travels north to get a better idea of the feature of this rich valley.
Throughout their journey, the scouts braved many attacked by wild animals, but using their courage and resourcefulness, they were able to defeat those nasty beasts and continue on their missions. Bilatek eventually met a tribe called the Greeks to the south. Their city was located on icy patch of land where no crop grows, but their coastal water teemed with abundant fish and clams. Their leader Alexander treated Bilatek lavishly with delicious seafood and pheasants, and offered pretty handmaidens to wash his feet and give soothing massages. Then Alexander asked the same question, all in different words, as to where our settlement is located. Bilatek, a cunning young man for his age and a good judge of character, sensed that this chief was not to be trusted, so he did not give him any accurate information. Next morning, he thanked his host, bade them farewell, and continued on his exploration. On the north, Ferdago encountered another tribe, the Mitsol people, who contributed a youthful explorer, Pela, to assist him in his travel. Outside their tribe, they were attacked by a group of black bears and lions in quick succession. Ferdago was badly mauled and eventually succumbed to his mortal injury. With tears, Pela gave Ferdago a proper burning ritual to send him to the great spirit in the sky, and vowed to continue his friend¡¯s quest of exploring this vast unknown land. He eventually met a settlement of people called the Romans, who have a rather peculiar custom of wearing loose fitting fabrics, imagine that, that cannot be possibly as warm or comfortable as our animal skin garments. Their leader Julius Caesar was curious with this new visitor from afar, invited him to have a dinner of green leafs, which they call salad, along with roasted venison.
At home, people were discontent and had sense of malaise, they want to know more about the spirit world and the many gods that control their life and fortune. Therefore, the chief requested for his priests to examine this deep spiritual issues and come up with answers in expedient time. One day the chief soothsayer came and said, ¡°O chief, I have seen in my mind¡¯s eye that a distant tribe has discovered Gods that grant serenity and wisdom from meditation, and they call their new religion Buddhism¡±. Montezuma waved him off, thinking that this religion is rather strange, why would a man want to waste time meditating and be serene when he can be out hunting and settling new land. After another length of many months, the priests reported that they have discovered the wisdom of many gods, to which they call Hinduism, but that the Aztecs cannot claim this religion as our own since a distant tribe had discovered these same gods one year before them. Montezuma expressed his annoyance in fit of rage but was appeased when priests inform him the people would be happier now knowing that multiple Gods exist to help them in their daily lives.
In the midst of this meeting, Tlatico bursts in and exclaimed, ¡°Chief Montezuma, we have reports from our advance sentry that many wild jungle men are heading our way, burning crops and kills our peasants along the way. What¡¯s more, their men outnumber our warriors by many folds.¡±
Montezuma was aghast, stood up from his throne, and questioned, ¡°Whatever shall we do?¡±
Tlatico thought carefully, then offered, ¡°Chief, we can only ensure the survival of our settlement by better defense. Our crafts master Wuzzak has been experimenting with a device that can shoot sharp wooden missiles, ensuring our braves can kill many enemies before they can break through our town pallisade.¡±
¡°Excellent, my trusty second-in-command, send our urgent request to Wuzzak to make many of these devices, and train our warriors to use this new weapon¡±, Montezuma replied.
¡°Your wish will be done, my great chief¡±, Tlatico bowed and quickly ran off to the crafts master¡¯s workshop.
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