The Holy Mountain of Estela is only four to five hundred meters high and is not very steep. However, the peaks are thick and majestic, just like the stone seat of the gods.
Shulot stepped on the dim light of the morning, held Alyssa's bare hand, and climbed steadily along the winding path. Dozens of warriors, carrying weapons and leather armor, spread out in front and on guard.
After hiking for several quarters of an hour, the scenery along the way is breathtaking. When you look down, you see vast mountains and rugged boulders; when you look down, you see beautiful trees and blooming flowers; when you look up, you see clouds steaming up, and a simple bluestone temple appears in the clouds and trees, already very close. 100 meters.
"The ancient Sun Temple, the inherited sacred fire..."
Shulot hummed softly, and Alyssa responded with a smile.
"The mountain where the original sun sets, the stairs where the Supreme God ascends, the turning point of the fifty-two-year cycle..."
The two looked at each other and smiled, then clasped their hands at the same time and chanted the last part of the sacrificial verse in unison.
"The Holy Mountain of Estella, witness the immortal miracles and make eternal promises!..."
Qingyue's singing sound drifted in the wind and spread far away. After a few breaths, a hearty laugh came from the Sun Temple.
"Haha! The condor flies from the sky and the egret falls from the clouds. It is such an auspicious day!"
A thin, middle-aged priest, wearing simple sacrificial robes and a long crown with eagle feathers, strode out of the temple. The middle-aged priest is handsome, with a warm smile and steady and powerful steps. In just a moment, he passed through the queue of warriors and came to the two men, bowing his head respectfully.
"Praise the Sun God! Respected sect chief priest, distinguished eldest princess, chief priest of the Sun Temple, Tonaya, greets you!"
"Praise the Sun God! Greetings to you, Priest Tonaya!"
Shulot smiled gently, pulled Alyssa, and together they returned the salute to the thin middle-aged priest. Then, Alyssa blinked and took an exquisite wooden box from the hands of the guards.
"Uncle Tonaya, Uncle Tonatiu knew that I was coming, so he asked me to bring some gifts and some food for you."
"Um?..."
Priest Tonaya took the wooden box, opened it slightly, and saw a precious jade necklace. His expression was slightly startled, but then he understood, the smile on his face became more cordial, and his words also changed the title.
"Thank you! Your Highness, Princess, the incense in the temple has been lit. Come with me and worship the holy fire together!"
"Thank you, officiant!"
Shulot responded with a smile, and went to the temple side by side with Alyssa. He thought for a moment, and several main priest families in the capital flashed through his mind one by one.
In the Mexica League, divine power and royal power coexisted at the same time, and the priestly group in the lake capital was very powerful.
The traditional capital priests can be roughly divided into five main priest lines according to the inherited divinity of the gods: the main god of Mexica, the sun god, the war god, the rain god and the fire god. In the high priest group, there are a total of twelve priests and elders, who are in charge of various educational affairs of the alliance. Six of the alliance elders come from various places in the Holy City and the Lake District, while the remaining six capital elders basically come from the five main priest lines.
The main god is the most important clan god. The priests of the main god line have always been noble, and their traditional function is to educate the ethnic group. In fact, they can intervene in all affairs. The former chief priest Kechar came from the lineage of the Lord God. After Kechar's death, the line of main gods gradually became marginalized. The current successor is the youngest priest elder, Akap.
The God of War is the incarnation of the Lord God, responsible for killing and punishing. Most of the priests of the God of War series have undergone strict warrior training and can lead the temple guards to fight. The priests and elders of Yazar are representatives of the God of War lineage. The chief priest, Yao Ke, is from another branch of the God of War lineage, and has been in charge of prisons for generations.
The rain god controls rainfall and floods. After the religious reform, the priesthood of the Rain God was also merged into the Supreme Lord God, but the inheritance of the Rain God priests still existed. There are many priests of the rain god family, who are usually responsible for praying for rain and harvest ceremonies, and have a great influence in the village. The fat priest elder Ugel comes from this lineage.
Vulcan controls mines and forging. Priests of the Vulcan family are responsible for temple construction, craftsman management and weapon production. Their sense of existence is not high, and their voice in the high priesthood is not strong. Their representative in the high priesthood is the priest elder Terquis.
The sun god shines everywhere and has a respected status. Priests of the Sun God line are in charge of the holy land, pass on the holy fire, and participate in sacrifices. They have a transcendent and noble status. Many of them even have royal blood. The Tonaya priest in front of him is the third-level chief priest of the Sun God line. The priests and elders of Tonatiu are the representatives of the Sun God lineage in the high priest group. In the Nahua language, "Tona" means sun.
If Tisoke had been captured and not executed by Avit, he would have ended up hiding in the holy mountain and the holy lake and became a royal priest serving the sun god.
In the capital's inheritance, in addition to the five branches of priests, there is actually a sixth branch, the Quetzalcoatl line. However, most of Quetzalcoatl's lineage came from the culturally profound city of Tlacopan, and the high-ranking priests were all implicated and executed during the purge that year. Their representative in the high priesthood was also replaced by another elder of royal origin, the Priest Elder of Como. This is also an important reason why Shulot's suggestion to erase Quetzalcoatl during the religious reform was adopted by the high priests.
Shulot's expression remained unchanged and his thoughts were complicated. He thought about the inheritance of the priests and the situation in the capital. The high priest has an outstanding reputation, is stern and decisive, is the leader of the priests in the holy city, and has the support of the immortal sun behind him, so he can speak for himself among the high priests. However, the main priest lines of the five capital cities have deep roots and control many priests and powers.
Therefore, the concentration of divine power is not easy. Just like the concentration of royal power, there are many obstacles. My grandfather wanted to integrate the divine authority, which was to use the high priesthood as the foundation to control the local priestly inheritance. The main priest families in the capital all need to win over and cooperate with each other.
"Praise the Lord God! Your Highness, Princess, this is the sacred fire taken from the divine city of Quechulco and passed down to this day!"
Hearing this, Shulot came back to his senses and was already in the Sun Temple. He looked around and saw that the Sun Temple was actually not large in area, with a simple style and traces of vicissitudes of life. Many of the statues and bricks have experienced weathering and have become somewhat mottled and peeled off, except for the main hall which is slightly more ornate.
In front of the main hall is an ancient pottery brazier. Under the brazier, there were large piles of gold, silver and ornaments left by the nobles who came to worship. And in the brazier, a bunch of holy fire is burning brightly and has not been extinguished for decades!
"Praise be to the Holy Fire! ...May the Holy Fire bless this holy union and our marriage!"
Shulot lowered his head and prayed quietly to the holy fire together with Alyssa.
With a solemn expression, Tonaia added some expensive spices to the holy fire and threw in an adult mountain eagle skull. After a while, he carefully took out the skull, inspected it slightly, and then his face lit up with joy.
"Your Highness and Princess, the holy fire brings blessings and protects the sacred wedding, which is a good omen!"
"Praise the Lord God! Thank you, respected Priest Tonaya!"
Although as a high priest, Shulot knows the origin of most good omens. But it is always a joy to receive divine wedding blessings. He waved his hand gently, and a warrior held a heavy cloth bag and offered it under the holy fire.
"This is a bag of gems produced in the Lake District. I want to express my gratitude."
"Praise the Lord God! Thank you for your devotion!"
Tonaia smiled sincerely and estimated the weight of the gemstone just by looking at it. He bowed his head in salute, then stretched out his hand to lead, turned around and entered the hall.
"Dear sect leader, please join me in praying in the morning!"
Xiuluo nodded and strode into the main hall, while Alyssa stayed outside the hall. In the center of the main hall is a tall sculpture of the Sun God. The sun god faces the east, which is very simple and simple, but also quite heavy and steady. His whole body is decorated with gold and silver, and his eyes are inlaid with gems, but his face is extremely blurry and difficult to distinguish carefully.
"Chief Priest Tonaya, this sculpture of the sun god... seems to be very old."
"Yes, Lord Priest of the Sect, this ancient sculpture comes from the ruins of the sacred city of Quechulco, dozens of miles away."
"The sacred city of Quechulco...that means it has a history of at least two thousand years!"
Shulot was surprised and a little unbelievable.
Tonaia also looked surprised when she heard the exact year. He took a deep look at Shulot and said with a smile.
"It's almost time. Dear sect chief priest, please stand on the throne and lead us in prayer!"
"Well, light the rosin and start your morning prayers."
The rosin ignites and a faint fragrance floats away. Shulot's expression was solemn for a moment. He lowered his head, chanted a few words in a low voice, and then praised loudly.
"Praise the Lord God! You must believe in my god Huitzilopochtli! He is supreme and powerful and omnipotent! He gives us sunshine and rain, harvest and food..."
“Praise the Lord God!…”
More than a dozen temple priests bowed their heads together and chanted the standard sacrificial verses in the Ali Sutra. Alyssa and the warriors also chanted in low voices. Soon, the devout prayers spread, resounding in the holy mountains and temples, speaking from the heart about religion and people's hearts.
Two quarters of an hour later, the strict morning prayers were completed. The solemn prayer ceremony was completed and everyone relaxed. Shulot straightened his clothes, bowed his head and bowed before stepping back from the statue of the Sun God.
"Your Highness, is this your first time on vacation in the Holy Mountain?"
Tonaia asked softly with a smile on her face.
"Yeah. I've been busy before and didn't take any time."
Xiulote nodded and asked with a smile.
"There are many hot springs under the holy mountain. The chief priest has been stationed here for many years. Do you have any suggestions for me?"
"Your Highness, do you want to go to Daquan or Xiaoquan?"
"The big spring is too noisy. If you meet other nobles in the capital and invite them to take a bath together, it will be difficult to refuse."
"That's Koizumi."
Tonaia nodded. He pondered for a moment and asked softly.
"Your Highness and the princess are here for their honeymoon?"
"Um."
"Then go to the southwest valley. Two or three miles away, there is a small spring for the private use of the priests. The small spring is connected to the geothermal heat and flows with the vitality of the God of Fire, which can prolong life. The scenery there is beautiful, the flowers are in bloom, and it is off the main road, and the trees are deep. Even if the sound is louder, there is no need to worry about being heard... Your Highness, I will instruct the temple priest to go to a different place when taking a bath and not to disturb you."
"...Thank you to the officiant."
Shulot was speechless for a moment and could only nod his thanks. The atmosphere of the alliance is such that the folk customs are simple and ancient, and they do not shy away from singing joyfully.
"Ha ha!"
Tonaia smiled heartily, blinked her eyes, and spoke in a low voice.
"Your Highness, there are many hot springs in the Holy Mountain, each with its own characteristics. There are also some hidden springs in the mountain, some hot, some slightly spicy. There are also priestesses who go to the mountain to practice asceticism, all with graceful figures, especially good at swimming fish in the water... .If the princess is not here, I can lead you to enjoy some unique and wonderful tastes!"
"Well..."
Shulot was slightly embarrassed and understood. Isn't it just the legendary hot spring trip...
"Chief Priest Tonaya...this, that's all..."
"Haha! Your Highness, I just mentioned it casually."
Seeing Shulot's embarrassment, Tonaia smiled. He looked solemn and spoke in a low voice again, but it was meaningful.
"Uncle Tonatiu has mentioned to me many times that His Highness Shulot's divine wisdom is destined to shine everywhere... Please stay close to me in the future!"
"Elder Tonatiu..."
Shulot's eyes moved. He nodded with a smile, reached out his hand, and patted Tonaia on the shoulder.
"Praise the Lord God! Get closer to us in the future and discuss theology and scripture together!"
"Haha, praise the Lord God!"
The hearty laughter spread far away and dispersed into the long wind of the sacred mountain. A majestic mountain eagle circled in the mountains. After watching it for a moment, it turned and headed west. The early sun rose, the clouds and mist drifted away, and a few eagle feathers swayed from the sky and fell into the temple without being seen by anyone.
