The clear and cheerful sound of the flute penetrated the thick stone wall, accompanied by the neat drum beats with a distinct rhythm, echoing in the dark stone chamber. Shulot sat up and listened attentively. The little green snake swayed with his movements, faintly echoing the simple chants of the priests.
After a while, the little green snake swiftly crossed his chest, its cool tail swept across his neck, and disappeared in a flash. Shulot then raised his head and looked in the direction of the door. Sure enough, after a moment, the stone door rumbled open.
Under the weak candlelight, the elder nodded to him. He glanced at the shimmering light yellow potion on the ground, then at the intact young man, and then turned around and left. Shulot quickly stood up and followed behind the elder. The guard captain easily used his strength to close the heavy stone door. The three of them headed to the top of the palace.
After not taking action for a long time, Shulot's steps were a little unsteady. Fortunately, the elder walked very slowly, and the melodious flute played so slowly that it had already changed into ten different melodies. The beating drums were mixed with loud gongs, and there were crisp copper bells in the music. He gradually heard high-pitched chanting, thousands of singing voices, and hundreds of thousands of excited cheers.
Finally, Shulot finally reached the top of the palace and stood at the open window. He first closed his eyes slightly to adapt, then opened his eyes and looked down: From the temple of the Grand Temple down, in front of him was infinite light and a boiling ocean of joy!
Shulot looked down from a height of 60 meters. Under the dazzling sunshine, he saw a capital city of more than ten square kilometers and a crowd of 300,000 people celebrating. Countless small boats were docked at the outermost lake in Texcoco, and tens of thousands of villagers dressed in costumes came from dozens of miles away. Young men and women dressed in bright clothes, wealthy families waving the flags of the gods, singing and dancing, gradually gathered in the center of the city under the leadership of the village priests.
"The respected King Avit will ascend the throne today, and the new sun will protect the people of Mexica. Celebrate! Cheer! This is a festival between gods and humans!" The priests sang loudly as they moved forward.
As the crowd moved, Shulot's eyes came to the capital community in the back. There, the ceremony has begun.
Nearly a hundred communities in the north and south of the capital began prayer ceremonies in shrines at the same time. The scent of rosin and sandalwood filled the capital. The priests set up a altar outside the temple, chanted and danced sacrificial dances. Residents of the community gathered in circles, waved, danced, and sang loudly, praying for the protection of the patron saint and a good harvest in the coming year.
Enthusiastic young men and women were dancing in the circle. They carry strings of crisp stones, beautiful shells, or delicate copper bells. They kept colliding with each other in a happy dance, making jingling sounds. Accompanying the collective dance are boldly interlaced gazes and confidently displayed bodies. From time to time, young people recited impromptu poems dedicated to the girl in front of them.
"My soul longs for the nourishment of flowers, I endure the pain of music, and there is only God and you in my heart!" A young man boldly held the hand of the girl he admired and offered the most beautiful shell.
The crowd of onlookers burst into praise. The girl lowered her head slightly and withdrew her hand. He quietly pointed at the sun in the sky, made a falling gesture, and then pointed at the boat by the lake. The young man nodded excitedly and danced enthusiastically around the girl. There was another round of laughter all around. This is music for the common people.
Shulot was shocked and lost his mind. He continued to look at the beautiful inner area of the capital. More professional music, dance, drama and poetry are being performed in the capital's central square and surrounding noble courtyards.
The nobles and warriors built their own family stone platforms, and tried their best to place expensive jade and jewelry, bright feathers and shells, glittering gold and silver ornaments, gorgeous clothing feather fans, and majestic weapons and shields on the stone platform. . Of course, there are also fragrant flowers, a blessing to the gods.
Professional bands and dancers perform around the stone platform. The most popular instrument is the cheerful and melodious flute. Single-tube flutes have begun to use fifth notes, while double-tube and triple-tube flutes even have 16 adjusted tones. The sound of the flute sometimes flies in the sky, sometimes swirls low under the feet, but it always lingers in my heart. The aristocratic girls danced to the beautiful melody, with their skirts flying, and the clear singing and flute music harmonized.
"I am a jumping cardinal, singing a perfect note, just like the thrush's voice, waiting for you to lean in for a kiss." This is the music of the nobility.
A little further out, an experienced musician picked up a rubber wooden stick, and sometimes beat the tepreztli, the solid wooden gong bang bang bang, and then switched to the shushutel, the hollow wooden drum bang dong dong. To this distinct rhythm, the warriors performed passionate war dances, waving edgeless war clubs decorated with gold and jade, rotating ornate shields made of shells, and generously singing the praises of war and death.
"A warrior should be like a fallen flower, watering the soil with blood and raising his soul to the Kingdom of God!" This is the music of the warrior.
At the highest level, professional actors performed dramas praising the gods and recited beautiful poems. The maids only wore short clothes to save fabrics, and danced gracefully around the actors. The distinguished parents and elders were sitting around and watching.
Wearing cloaks of jade and feathers, they drank tequila and fruit wine, and ate various exquisite snacks, including corn pancakes, sweet potatoes, grilled fish pieces, dried bacon, raw tomatoes, pumpkin seeds, and roasted algae. , grilled worms, and delicious and expensive ant eggs. Sometimes when the mood is high, the elders will personally perform a dance and then recite a poem, in exchange for everyone's applause.
"The eyes of the gods are fixed on the ancestors. He said, Mexica people, from lake to lake, from mountain to mountain, this is your home, your land, your country!" This is the music of the priests.
Shulot was fascinated by the gorgeous and beautiful celebration. And when his eyes looked inward again, there was another kind of blood-colored sanctity in front of him.
Within the walls of the temple area, there was also a dense crowd. These people were invited, dressed in their most formal attire, to participate in the coronation ceremony at the Great Temple.
Outside, there are foreign businessmen wearing all kinds of strange ornaments. Then there are noble poets, excellent temple craftsmen, Mexica military businessmen, high-level elite warriors, and popular representatives of the community. Most of them wore garlands and formal cloaks, communicated loudly with excitement and joy, and watched the fierce sacrificial ball game.
In the inner position, nobles of all sizes sat cross-legged on exquisite woven feather cloth blankets, wearing bright cloaks and blooming feathers on their heads. They discussed and exchanged in low voices, being served by servants and slaves, watching the rituals in the temple and watching the ball game in the corner.
There are stone stadiums at the four corners of the temple area, half built underground, four to five meters deep, with the top exposed for people to watch, shaped like a regular stone pit. There are two teams of 20 Otomi captives on each court, who engage in fierce batting competitions, competing for rubber-infused medicine balls.
In accordance with the requirements of the official competition, the prisoners wearing only short clothes each occupied a half of the field dozens of meters away, hitting the ball with their hips, and the two sides alternated turns. A point will be scored once the opponent touches the ball a second time, or if the opponent returns the ball out of bounds. There are priests who record the scores of both sides. Usually the game lasts for two hours, until both sides are exhausted and unable to provide a more passionate game, and the priest declares victory.
Unlike the Mayan rituals, the winner of the Aztec ball game would receive honor and wealth, while the loser would be dedicated to the gods. The implication of the sacrificial game itself is the endless struggle between the patron saint and his evil brothers and sisters. The sacrificial ball game was also the source of inspiration for later generations to create the "Quidditch" game.
While Shulot was watching, suddenly a deafening cheer came from the northwest corner. He turned around and saw a strong Otomi prisoner hitting a rubber ball weighing five kilograms hard. The medicine ball roared and hit the young prisoner on the opposite side squarely in the face. His mouth and nose immediately started to bleed, his facial bones were slightly concave, and he fell twitching. Next to him were two other companions with broken chests. It seemed that the opposing Otomi team was going to win this way.
The priest referee announced the score loudly, and the strong Otomi prisoner scored again!
The cheers from the crowd rang out again. A strong old warrior prisoner came up from the opposite side. He looked solemnly, pressed against the wall, repeatedly used his arms to measure, and finally turned sideways and hit the ball hard with his hip. The rubber ball draws an extremely precise arc, passing through a four-meter-high wall and passing through an unusually narrow ring.
The sky-shaking cheers were louder than any other time, and even attracted the attention of the warriors under the Great Temple. This was a decisive blow, a decisive blow that had been rare in several months! The priests and referees announced the verdict passionately and loudly, and the winner was put on a colorful cloak and escorted by warriors to be released outside the city. The losers will have their hands and feet tied with ropes and sent to the altar of the surrounding small temple.
The strong Otomi prisoner roared and resisted unwillingly, and was immediately hit by a dexterous stick from the Jaguar warrior who maintained order, and fell to the ground clutching his abdomen. The priest referee frowned, took out a small clay pot, and poured a few sips into the mouth of the strong prisoner. Soon, the prisoner smiled foolishly and was led obediently to the top of the tower, and then rolled down in another form, leaving long bloody traces.
The sacrificer in the small temple did not have the preferential treatment of informing his name, so he died without any notice. Then, amid the cheers of the audience, the next sacrificial ball game started again.
Under the great temple, the noble battle groups lined up neatly and performed a majestic dance before the gods. A thousand fierce jaguar warriors, wearing the ringing tiger teeth and animal bones, performed war dances for the God of War. Thousands of gorgeous eagle warriors, covered with bright and swaying colorful feathers, perform animal dances for the rain god.
Beside dozens of large and small temples, priests lit distant sacred incense and chanted neatly and lowly. Shulot listened carefully, this was a poem praising the patron saint.
"The patron saint of the Mexica rises in the sky to replace the original sun. He fights the evil moon and the night, sucking power from the heart and blood..."
Then, at the top of the Great Temple of War, a high-pitched and resonant priest chant sounded: "Owadenel, the nobleman of Otopan City, goes to the kingdom of the God of War! Salute him!"
When Shulot heard the sound, he saw a blue corpse rolling down from the top of the 60-meter-high War Temple. The sacred liquid flowed vigorously from the large hole in his chest, drifting down along the way until it was blocked by the recumbent sculpture of the moon goddess Koyol Shahki at the bottom of the temple.
In mythology, the Moon Goddess leads her brothers and sisters, who symbolize the night, to hunt down their mothers who were conceived for no reason. At the critical moment, the patron saint Huitzilopochtli jumped out of his mother's womb, defeated his brothers and sisters with a waving lightning rod, killed his evil sister, and cut him into several pieces to prevent resurrection. The sculpture truly reflects the dead form of the Moon Goddess, and also foreshadows the subsequent fate of the sacrifices.
From the big temple downwards, a long blue procession of sacrifices stretches. Escorted by the heavily armed war priests, they took another step forward. In today's sacrificial ceremony, 365 Otomi nobles will be sacrificed at the Temple of War, symbolizing the 365 days of the Habu solar calendar. Every day, the Sun God needs the blood and heart of a noble descendant to keep the world running.
In this era, under the control of Tlacaelal, the scale of the sacrifices was not large. The ceremony emphasizes the sacredness of the sacrificial process and the nobility of the bloodline of the sacrificial offering. It emphasizes the quality of the sacrificial offering rather than simply expanding the quantity. The vast majority of ordinary captives were invested in costly infrastructure construction. Mayan blue is the dye of the gods and symbolizes the sacrifices sent to the kingdom of gods.
Listening to the familiar voice, Shulot looked towards the level-height War Temple and saw the chief priest Kechar who was presiding over the sacrifice.
Kechar, wearing a feather robe and divine crown, is smiling and throwing the fresh things in his hand into the fire as a sacrifice to the sun god. Then the next blue offering arrives. It was a young nobleman from Otomi, with a wild tattooed face. He straightened his chest and faced the coming death with determination.
"Child, what is your name?" Kechar smiled kindly.
"I am a descendant of Coyote, Honestmaker of Parmus. Descendants of Coyote are never afraid of death, and I will continue to fight in the Kingdom of God!" Honestmaker replied proudly.
"My child, you are very good. You will fight against the darkness in the Kingdom of God for four years. Then your soul will fall to the mortal world and turn into a rare bird. You can choose to become a hummingbird, an oriole, a yellow bird or a white butterfly, sucking The nectar of various flowers. What do you hope to become?" Kechar smiled and praised the warrior's courage.
Honasmaker blinked slightly, recalling the good memories, and then smiled.
"I want to turn into a white butterfly, dance in the valley of my northern hometown, and collect wild flowers in front of her grave."
"You will! Don't worry, kid, your wish will come true soon!" Kechar smiled kindly, soothing the young noble's heart like a spring breeze.
Although it sounds unbelievable, in the belief of the Aztecs, the warriors who fought with blood and fire and the sacrifices going to the kingdom of God would float in the sky and fight for the sun for four years. Then they will fall into the mortal world and transform into all beautiful things, including birds and flowers.
Next, Honasmaker lay flat on his back on the sacrificial stone, exposing the coyote tattoo on his chest. Kechar was in charge of the operation, while the other four members of the chief priest group grabbed his limbs respectively, while Ugel wrapped his big, fat hands around his neck. This is also the reason why the group of chief priests is composed of six people by default.
Soon, the ancient and sharp obsidian dagger fell, and the coyote tattoo split his head. Kechar's cuts are incredibly precise and fast. Honestmaker just opened his eyes suddenly, shook his limbs violently and feebly a few times, and then became motionless.
Kechar then raised the beating life high with his right hand. This action was for the God of War to enjoy. He chanted loudly again in a praising tone.
"The brave Coyote of Parmus, Honasmaker went to the land of the God of War! He fought fearlessly for four years, turned into a beautiful white butterfly, and went to collect wild flowers from the mountains of the north!"
There was a burst of praise and cheers from the Great Temple. This praise is a recognition of the courage of the sacrifice, and he retained the most beautiful demeanor of the samurai!
Then, Parmes' heart fell into the flames and was dedicated to the sun god. His body rolled down the stone steps and landed in front of the Moon Goddess. His blood returns to the earth. In the Mexica's simple view of life and death, this is the most perfect return.
"Child, what is your name?" Kechar smiled as always, facing the next sacrifice.
"I am Talavera of Herotepec. I will face death calmly, but my soul will not go to the kingdom of the god of war. The original god Ometeotel will definitely pick me up!" Lavela's face was calm, and his eyes were full of conviction.
Kechar maintained his smile: "Maybe." He said no more and just continued skillfully.
Talavera lay down, closed her eyes, then shook violently, then couldn't stop, and finally rolled away in the wind.
"The devout nobleman Talavera of Herotepec is going to the kingdom of the God of War! Four years later, his soul will fly freely according to his own wishes!"
There was another burst of warm cheers, everything was natural and natural. The Mexicans simply praise death.
"Next." The blue sacrifice staggered over.
"Child, what is your name?" Kechar looked at the other party, a slightly fat young nobleman, kindly.
He gritted his teeth and suppressed the tears in his eyes, but remained silent.
"Child, leave your name and I will show you the way to the Kingdom of God." Kechar was gentle and persuasive.
The noble remained silent and did not open his mouth, as if this way he could escape death.
Kechar frowned slightly. "Continue." He waved his hand, indicating that he would proceed directly to the next step.
The fat noble was pressed on the sacrificial stone, with his chest spread flat. He collapsed instantly and cried loudly. Wu Geer squeezed his throat with his thick big hands, and the crying suddenly disappeared, leaving only tears flowing.
The obsidian dagger struck down again, cutting. Soon, the crying stopped completely. Then the fat body, with the sacred liquid flowing, rolled down the steps again.
"Ossantos, the noble of Otomi, goes to the kingdom of the God of War!" Kechar chanted briefly, adding a name at will without comment.
This time, there was no cheering. A weak warrior deserves no praise. In the martial society of the Mexica, cowardice is the greatest original sin.
The sacred sacrifices continued. Whether it is bravery, calmness, or crying, in the sacrifice of the gods, the outcome has already been determined.
The sacrificial ceremony must be presided over by a priest who can communicate with the gods, and this high-level ceremony needs to be presided over by the chief priests personally. Kechar's movements are precise and fast, making him the best operator.
The sacrifice of each Otomi noble takes 1-3 minutes, and 365 nobles will spend a whole day. The sacrifices in the great temple begin in the early morning and end at dusk, during which six chief priests take turns performing the sacrifices. We cannot arrange too many people for high-level sacrifices because the physical strength of the priests and elders cannot keep up.
The number of people sacrificed in Aztec temples has a special meaning, which corresponds to astronomy and guides human affairs.
The auspicious numbers include: 13, the month of the Tzolkin calendar; 18, the month of the Habu solar calendar; 20, the number of days in each month; 52, the intersection of the Tzolkin calendar and the Habu solar calendar once every 52 years, symbolizing the next The beginning of reincarnation; 140, the number of days for corn to mature in this era, is usually used for harvest sacrifices.
200, the base number in traditional concepts, the quantitative unit of the samurai squad. 260, the number of days in the Tzoljin calendar; 365, the number of days in the Habu solar calendar; 400, the number of evil moon goddesses and brothers and sisters of the night; 584, the cycle calendar of Venus, symbolizing huge disasters; 800, this is already Extremely rare sacrifice numbers, usually only once every 52 years in the Year of Destruction.
In fact, in the more than ten years that Xiulote has experienced, the sacrificial rituals in each Mexica city-state have been very restrained, and each sacrificial ritual is complicated and symbolic. The God of War sacrificed with weapons, the God of Rain with water, the God of Fire with fire, the Goddess of Earth with stones, the God of Corn with flesh and blood, and the God of Death with skin.
In the fifty years since the rise of the Mexica, the total number of sacrifices could not have exceeded twenty thousand. This was not like the thousands of bloody and cruel events later recorded by the Spanish. That kind of exaggerated description was either to discuss the natural legitimacy of the Spanish conquests and boast that they brought civilization to the indigenous people, or it was because the illiterate soldiers were not good at math.
In Hulot's view, the nature of this widespread sacrifice is more like an artificial adjustment to the Malthusian population trap. To reduce the contradiction between limited land production and unlimited population growth. It is similar to the cycle of chaos and chaos in the Celestial Dynasty.
Shulot's eyes turned away from the Temple of War. He heard the woman's cry of "wuwu" and the sweet jingle of the ring. So, he looked at the Rain God with the same specifications. Two hundred and sixty Otomi girls alternately cried and danced in front of the Rain Temple.
260 is the number of days in the Tzoljin calendar. 365 and 260, warrior and girl. There is no doubt that these girls were part of the sacrifice. The rain god sacrificed water. The girls were captured from the early days of the Otomi War and underwent ritual training for more than a year, allowing them to face death calmly.
Today, they will wear gorgeous and light clothes, sing songs of harvest and praise, and perform the most beautiful dance for the great rain god.
The girls will portray the smile and fury of the goddess Tlaloc. Their arms wavered like floods, their bodies undulated like hailstones, and their delicate feet whirled like storms. At the same time, the crying on the face symbolizes the falling of precious rain. At dusk, they will take a small boat and sail to the center of Texcoco's sacred lake, where they will automatically fall to the bottom of the lake and remain peacefully silent forever. Sacrifice to water.
In this sacred ceremony, the sacrifice requires professional and lengthy training to complete the beautiful ceremony under the pressure of death. This is why the scale of the Mexica's sacrifices is not too large.
Shulot closed his eyes slightly, sighing at the fate that was destined to happen, and lamented the greed of the Mexica gods. The call for religious reform grew stronger in his heart. The time passed in cheers and singing, until a burst of cheers came.
He opened his eyes and saw the familiar giant bear warrior Stanley. He wears strong leather armor, a strong eagle helmet, and gorgeous eagle feathers. His right hand is a sharp war club, and his left hand is a wooden shield intertwined with rattan and feathers. He stands majestically in front of the Rain Temple.
Opposite Stanley was a middle-aged Otomi warrior wearing only commoner shorts and holding a bladeless wooden stick. This is the highest-ranking noble among the captured Otomi people and has the noblest bloodline.
Shulot then understood that the samurai duel ceremony was about to begin. This ritual is supposed to be performed at the Temple of Death. But for the king's coronation ceremony, it was still placed in the most conspicuous Rain Temple to add more exciting aspects to the ceremony. The high priests are actually very flexible in their religion, and their faith is more like a tool.
"I am Stanley, the royal nobleman of Tenochtitlan!" Stanley bowed his head in greeting and placed his war stick across his shield. He was still huge.
"I am Oyeto, a divine noble from the city of Herotepec!" Oyeto also bowed his head in greeting, holding the wooden stick in front of him.
"You are my beloved son." Stanley looked at Oyeto seriously. This is a ritual that has been passed down for hundreds of years and is also a celebration of fearless warriors.
"You are my beloved father." Oyeto looked at Stanley equally seriously, expressing his respect for the enemy warrior.
The two immediately began to duel. Although, the gap in force and equipment made the outcome of this duel determined from the beginning.
In order to make the fight as long and exciting as possible, Stanley kept defending during the long prelude. Occasionally, Oyeto's wooden stick would hit Stanley's leather armor with a loud bang. Stanley would cooperate and show a painful expression. There was a burst of praise and cheers from the temple.
Oyeto was indeed an elite warrior. He kept switching steps and attacking Stanley's unshielded right side. Stanley simply blocked with his war stick, or stepped sideways and defended with his shield. The Otomi girls then whirled gracefully around the two of them, dancing with brisk steps. Sometimes they cry in a low voice about the perishability of life, and sometimes they sing loudly in praise of the bravery of the warriors.
The strength of the warrior and the softness of the girl, the intensity of the battle and the soothingness of the dance, are perfectly combined. The distinguished poets in the square were inspired and began to chant loudly.
"I long for warrior flowers that never fade! Where can I find beautiful flowers and melodious tunes? I search under the eyes of the gods, but the earth will never create the gentle spring!"
A warrior's physical strength is always limited, just like a flower that only blooms for a short time. Soon, when Oyeto could no longer attack, Stanley stopped defending. His swift attack cut countless shallow wounds on Oyeto's body, and the opponent's movements gradually slowed down due to blood loss. Stanley quickly cut Oyeto's throat with a horizontal slash. Then he quickly raised his shield to block it, and bloody flowers bloomed on the shield.
The cheers under the temple reached its peak, and the girls fell on Oyeto's gradually cold body, crying "woo woo" for the passing of the warrior, and also weeping for their own similar fate. The fragrance of the girl is mixed with the blood of the warrior. This is the beauty and death of the Mexica people.
The shocking duel was over, and Stanley glanced at King Avitt, who was sitting and waiting in the Temple of War. He bowed his head respectfully in that direction. Then, he and the priests left with Oyeto's body. Next, there are the steps to tour the city.
Behind him, there are girls crying and singing: "Rain God, may your tears water the earth and let all things grow strong, and we will be buried deep under all things!"
The samurai's tour has not yet begun, but the god's tour is in progress. Starting from the northern city of Tlatelolco, a cheering procession came to the melody of ocarinas and conch shells, accompanied by the singing of priests.
The marching crowd carried a wooden platform, and on the platform was an extremely handsome young man. He was dressed in the garb of a god and played a beautiful flute. Looking at the yellow headband on his head and the shining obsidian mirror on his body, Shulot knew clearly in his heart: This was the incarnation of Tezcatlipoca, the original sun.
Surrounding the young boy were four beautiful girls. They wore costumes that symbolized the goddess and nestled next to the boy. Crying, with a look of love and reluctance. They caressed the boy's chest gently, and kissed his handsome cheeks affectionately. Along the way, countless capital residents screamed and cheered from the bottom of their hearts.
This was the annual Primordial Sun Ceremony, also incorporated by the priests into the king's enthronement ceremony. The handsome young man played the role of the original sun for a year. A month ago, four beautiful girls were sent to his house. In the sad lingering, he knew that the most beautiful bloom was not far away.
Soon, the high platform reached the walls of the temple area. The young man played the flute and walked in gracefully surrounded by the girls and the crowd. His appearance attracted all the attention, and the nobles and warriors looked at him seriously. This was the last day of the old god. The ladies sighed sadly, leaving behind tears of lost beauty.
After a moment, the girls fell to the ground crying and said goodbye, and the handsome boy smiled and said "Farewell!"
In front of the magnificent bloody temple, he climbed up the long stone steps alone, smashed the flute in his hand, and the earthenware pipe made a clear cracking sound. The priests' songs rang out, welcoming the return of the original sun. The sacrifices in the War Temple were temporarily suspended, and even the girls in the Rain Temple stopped crying. At this moment, he is the only protagonist.
"Original Sun, thank you for giving way to the God of War. In the name of the Sun God, I welcome you back to the eternal Kingdom of God!" Kechar bowed his head respectfully, smiling like a friendly spring breeze. Wu Geer just bowed slightly.
The young man nodded gracefully. Then he took off his gorgeous divine robe, revealing his perfect figure, and lay quietly on the sacrificial stone.
"My child, soon. You will soon go to the Kingdom of the Sun and enjoy peace and beauty forever." Kechar smiled and poured a small cup of powerful holy water into the boy's mouth. Soon, the young man showed an uncontrollable beautiful smile and happily waited for his return.
This time the obsidian dagger's stroke was accompanied by overwhelming cheers and high-pitched and passionate prayers. The heart of the old god was once again offered to the new god. The corpse of the old god was given preferential treatment and was reduced to dust in the flames. And tomorrow, a new and beautiful primordial sun will be elected again, and so on every year.
The sacred ceremony finally reached its climax. King Avit wore a full bloody sun suit and walked majestically from the Temple of War. The coronation is now!
Shulot stood at the level of the chief palace, watching all this with emotion. This is the splendid and bloody Aztec civilization! This is the Mexica of flowers and beauty, dance and poetry, war and sacrifice, sun and blood!
