Aztec Eternals

The grand and bloody New Year Festival lasted for a whole day from sunrise to sunset in the rainforest. Eyes of the gods, sky fire and thunder, divine sacrifice, blood oath conversion... under the personal auspices of Shulot, the kingdom's conversion ceremony almost brought mystery and shock to the extreme, even surpassing this era!

Under a series of spiritual shocks beyond recognition, the leaders and messengers from the southern jungle all knelt down in front of the priest of the Lord God with awe from the bottom of their hearts. They drank the blood wine of the descendants of the Moonwater God, swore a blood oath to convert to the Lord God, and also carved the Lord God's emblem! And when they return to their respective tribes, they will spread all the "miracles of the Lord God" they saw today among the jungle tribes, laying the foundation stone for the subsequent missionary work of the Lord God priests!

And when the sunset falls, it is a grand dinner for the envoys from various ministries. Although it is named after a dinner party, the core of this gathering is for the heads of tribes to formally express their allegiance to the king and establish an alliance of masters and slaves.

For this crucial gathering, the ancient temple of the Olmec era was renovated and opened. On the highest altar in the center of the temple, there is a two-meter-high human statue of the main god, surrounded by shining jade, gold, silver and bronze objects. Blazing torches were held high in the hands of the kingdom's warriors, while hundreds of guards were guarding inside and outside the palace. On the mottled stone walls around the temple, there are still faded murals of the gods, with reliefs of eagles, snakes and jaguars, indicating the sacredness of thousands of years ago.

The distinctive features of the Olmec god murals are the very abstract faces of the gods and the very complicated decorations of the gods. The decorative runes surrounding the gods are like layers of intricately overlapping petals. And each petal is blooming with various abstract patterns: there are simple divine symbols, representing the sky, clouds, wind, thunder, fire, mountains, all the great power of nature that expresses divinity; Similar life symbols, including eagles, snakes, wolves, monkeys, birds, jaguars and human faces, are the life created by the gods...

"Your Highness, look at this painting of a half-human, half-leopard-headed god. That is the earliest 'god' worshiped in this ancient city! And look at the decorations on this painting, including the jade eternal mask, the turquoise The wisdom necklace, the obsidian sun-viewing mirror, the turquoise death axe... all show the respect of the gods!"

The old witch doctor Kani's white eyebrows trembled, and his face was filled with a leisurely and solemn smile. As a local wise man who was proficient in the ancient Jiao people's culture, he looked at His Highness' expression and made a suggestion to imitate the gods.

"Your Highness, as the incarnation of the gods in the human world, when you meet these tribesmen from the jungle, you can put on the attire of the gods: put on a leopard skull helmet, a jade mask, a turquoise necklace, then hang an obsidian hanging mirror, and hold a Dark green stone hand axe! In this way, you are like an ancient god walking out of a mural, full of divine majesty, and you will surely make the leaders of various ministries fear and obey..."

"Wise Carney, you have to understand that this is the ancient god of the Olmecs, but it is not the god of the Olmecs in the eyes of us Mexica... let alone the supreme god of the Mexica! We revive the Olmecs The Holy City is to establish the majesty of the Lord God and establish the common ancestors of all tribes, not for the Olmecs who have long since turned to ashes..."

"So, I will not change my attire! I will still wear a three-color feather crown on my head, an obsidian necklace on my neck, hold an emerald scepter, and wear the black Mexica chief sacrificial robe... And what you need to do is to let The ancient tradition of the Olmecs meets the needs of the Kingdom and the Alliance!”

After hearing Carney's suggestion, Shulot raised his brows and shook his head seriously. His meaning is very clear. Ancient myths, history, and gods all need to be in line with this era and the needs of the kingdom...it must be "the gods pay attention to me" rather than "I pay attention to the gods."

"Witness the Lord God! Wise Kani, what you have to do is to reconstruct the ancient rituals of the Jiao people and arrange an 'ancient' audience ceremony! You must establish ancient sacred rituals according to the myths of various tribes, and obey the ancestors' rituals and follow In the name of sacred tradition, let the leaders of the tribes really bow their heads! Their obedience must not only be reflected in the ceremony and be seen by everyone, but also be engraved in their hearts and have the minimum binding force!..."

"Ah! Rebuilding the ancient ritual of Jiaoren? Bowing, obeying and restraining?...Well, that's it!...Praise you, Your Majesty the Divine Enlightenment, I understand what you mean!..."

So, when the night was completely covered, the leaders of the tribes walked through the corridor of the torch warriors and came to the main hall in the bonfire and shadow. At a glance, they saw the towering statue of the main god on the altar, and the Mexica wearing Mexica beside the statue. Under the Temple of Death in sacrificial robes. Shulot wore a feather crown, held a divine staff, and sat on a stone throne, which was taller than everyone else. His face was expressionless, looking at the leaders below, and nodded slightly. Seeing his cold and ruthless gaze, and remembering the rumors of the God of Death, many leaders of the jungle tribes lowered their heads in awe.

"Blessed by the Lord God! All tribes will gather together! Perform the ancestral etiquette of bonding people!..."

Soon, the leaders were led by the kingdom's warriors to the high altar of the main god. The altar is symmetrical on the left and right, and there are two ancient dark green stone braziers. The carvings on these braziers are very old, and they are obviously ritual vessels from the Olmec era. The fire basin was burning with orange-red fire and a hint of blue that symbolized death. In the middle of the blue and red brazier is a large golden magical instrument that symbolizes the main god of Mexica. It is a bronze tripod cast by the Kingdom of the Lake and has never appeared in Central America!

"The Lord God came from the ancient Olmec era and became a descendant of the human world. He also looked at the people he created!..."

The old witch doctor Kani wears the sun hummingbird's main god amulet and ancient eagle feather clothing. He held up a dark green stone ax symbolizing death in one hand and an obsidian dagger symbolizing sacrifice in the other hand. In front of many leaders, he danced the traditional sacrificial dance of the jungle tribe. The carols he sang were also in the oldest Olmec tune, first in Totonacnahua and then in Sauk Maya, singing alternately.

"The Lord God descended from the sky and gave the ancestors nine, the first corn kernels! The ancestors bowed to the Lord God, ate five corn kernels on their fingers, and buried the remaining four kernels in the soil! They dripped their own blood and buried them in their own bodies. Hair, as nourishment for life, waiting for the corn to grow!…”

Upon hearing this familiar ancient myth, the expressions of the leaders of the jungle tribes became solemn and their eyes changed slightly. Soon, the priests of the kingdom brought many ancient clay pots, containing soil from the ancient Olmec holy city. Then, the priests brought many silver plates with nine corns and an obsidian dagger.

"Under the Supreme Death Temple is one of the incarnations of the Lord God in the human world. He follows the most sacred ancient ritual and gives you nine corn kernels! You should follow the example of your ancestors, kneel down and worship five times in sequence, and eat one kernel after each worship. Then , bury the last four in the soil, and then bury them in your black hair, dripping with your vital blood!"

"."

The leaders of the various tribes looked at each other, not knowing how to respond for a while. In the traditional culture of Mesoamerica, blood and hair contain part of the soul, and they are also the medium through which priests can bless or curse. They can accept worshiping the main god of the Mexica people, throwing their hair and blood into the fire to burn, and accepting sending their souls into the sky in advance and handing them over to the gods who are not on earth... But now, let them bury their hair and blood in clay pots? Doesn't that mean they are required to keep the medium of their souls here as a guarantee of the covenant? ! …

"Witness the Lord God! Leaders of the jungle tribes! In this oldest sacred place, in this most ancient temple, you leave your hair and blood, and I will also leave the medium of the soul! Our clay pots will contain Together, under the towering statue of the Lord God!…”

"The Supreme God will protect us, bless us, and will witness our alliance! And this is the most ancient and sacred alliance between the Kingdom of the Lake and the tribes of the jungle!..."

Shulot stood up from the throne, raised the staff in his hand, and chanted an oath that could not be refused. Then, with his cold and stern eyes, he looked at the jungle Totonak tribes that had already surrendered.

"Chief Milu of the Linlu Tribe, your tribe is closest to the ancient holy city and is a true descendant of the Olmecs. You were also the first to send envoys to express your allegiance to the kingdom... Let's start with you!..."

Hearing this, Linlu Chief Mi Lu opened his mouth and wanted to refuse, but nothing came out. His Linlu tribe is located in the jungle two hundred miles south of the ancient holy city, in the mountain pass area connecting the Totonac coast and the Zapotec coast, very close to the kingdom's military front.

At present, the Kingdom in the Lake has taken control of the ancient holy city, destroyed the grass mandala, and there is no longer any obstacle between it and the southern mountain pass. And with the kingdom's powerful military force, it couldn't be easier to defeat his Linlu tribe, which has about 10,000 people! What's more, looking at the current situation, if he doesn't do what the leader of Death says, he may never get out alive...

"Ah, yes! I listen to you, the leader of the God of Death, who is as powerful as a giant deer in the forest!..."

After pondering for a moment, Linlu Chief Mi Lu looked around at the bronze ax warriors holding torches, and had no choice but to kowtow in submission.

"Kowtow! Stand up! Eat!...Kowtow! Stand up! Eat!...The ceremony is completed! Bury the seed, cut the hair, drop the blood!...Carve the name!...Swear again!..."

Accompanied by the singing and shouting of the old witch doctor Kani, Mi Lu knelt down respectfully in front of the altar, kowtowed once with all five limbs on the ground, then stood up, took a hard corn kernel, put it into his mouth, chewed it and swallowed it.

After doing this five times, Mi Lu buried four more corn kernels in the soil of the clay pot, picked up the obsidian dagger, cut off a large patch of hair, and buried it around the corn. Then, he cut his palm and dropped four drops of blood into the soil. Finally, with a tense look on his face, he carved his "name" on the outside of the clay pot, which was the chief's pattern that symbolized his identity... After everything was completed, Mi Lu took a long breath and respectfully turned to the Xiu beside the altar. Lot bowed his head and saluted. And his salute this time was more sincere than any other time before.

"The most powerful Lord God witnesses! I swear by my soul to be loyal to you, the powerful leader of the Death God!..."

"Okay! Very good!... Improve his soul pottery by one level and place it on the second stone step of the temple!..."

Everyone heard the sound and went away, and then they saw that in the shadow of the back wall of the temple, at some point, four stepped stone steps were built. Each step was half a person tall, like a miniature pyramid. Soon, an intermediate priest of the kingdom carefully picked up Milu's "soul pottery", stepped onto the stairs on the back wall, and placed it on the second level of the four stone steps.

These four levels of stone steps are actually the levels assigned to these jungle tribes based on the kingdom's third-level noble titles. The leader of a large tribe of 100,000 people is located on the second level of stone steps. The leader of a medium-sized tribe with 10,000 people is located on the third level of stone steps. As for the leaders of small tribes with thousands of people, they are at the bottom...

What, you ask the top layer? The top stone steps are naturally prepared for the "Great Chief", "Great Talker" or "King of the Alliance" at the level of Shulot.

"The Lord God protects and watches everything! Come on, it's your turn!..."

"Kowtow! Stand up! Eat!... The ceremony is completed! Bury the seed, cut the hair, drop the blood!... Carve the name!... Take another oath!..."

Under Shulot's cold gaze with murderous intent, the leaders of the Totonak tribes in the jungle first expressed their submission. Then came the chiefs of the small tribes of the Jungle Sok tribes...

The last ones who were forced to bow their heads were the two envoys of the large jungle Sok tribe, the Sok Goddess Water God Snake from Pingshui City, and the Sok Goddess Water God Eagle from Yuanshui City. They completed the ceremony in silence. One carved a twisted snake on the pot, and the other carved a sharp eagle head.

After a while, they watched their "soul pottery" being placed on the second stone step, gritted their teeth for a while, and sighed lowly. And with this silent sigh, facing the cold-hearted Shulot, they tried their best to straighten their backs, and finally couldn't help but bow, as if they were suddenly bearing some invisible burden on their bones, bearing the pressure from The same pressure deep in the soul.

"Very good! Witness the Lord God! Witness our common Olmec ancestors!...I will also drop my blood, leave my clay pot, and make a soul covenant with you!..."

Under the solemn gazes of many leaders and envoys, Shulot solemnly stretched out his hand and buried nine corns into a purple clay pot. Then, with a calm expression, he buried a tuft of hair in the soil, cut his palm, and dripped nine drops of blood! Finally, with a solemn look on his face, he carved an abstract divine wolf on the surface of the purple clay pot, and then carved the name "Xulot"!

"Blessed by the Lord God! Your Highness will be at the top of the stone steps! Like the gods at the top of the sacred mountain, watching all the descendants of the gods who surrender!..."

The old witch doctor Kani chanted loudly, raised Shulot's "soul clay pot" and placed it on the top of the four stone steps, which was also the only highest one. At this moment, under the highest stone steps, there are already one or two hundred "soul pots" densely packed!

Buried in these simple and gray clay pots are the blood and hair of many leaders, as well as the "soul medium", just like ancient witch funeral rituals. And the surfaces of those large and small clay pots are engraved with the graphic names of the jungle leaders and messengers, arranged neatly in rows.

If you look carefully, you will see that these hundreds of clay pots form small pyramids that rise one above another, like densely packed ancestral tablets. This strange and gloomy scene, in the eyes of everyone, was inexplicably cast with a sense of mystery and solemnity, and a bit of ancient and true divinity!

No matter what disrespectful thoughts these leaders had in their hearts, now they see their "soul pots" placed in the oldest and most sacred ancestral temple, under the statue of the main god... It's like someone A kind of guarantee to cut off one's soul to make a vow that transcends life and death. Even the most unruly leader has to be afraid and worry about the fate of his soul after death...

"The Lord God witnessed it! The ancestors witnessed it! ... The ceremony has been completed! The distinction between superiority and inferiority has been made! The covenant has been completed! ..."

This complicated etiquette of sticking people together lasted for two or three hours. By the time everything was completed, it was already late at night. Everyone was already hungry and dizzy, but they were in awe of the divine and solemn atmosphere in the hall, and no one dared to speak. At this moment, a kind of ethereal, but also some real fear, awe and obedience, and even a weird sense of closeness flowed silently in the hearts of everyone in the temple. Accompanied by the mysterious and solemn ancient ritual of Jiaoren, their souls seemed to be really close to each other on the rows of stone steps, clearly visible up and down...

The old witch doctor Kani looked around, watching the effect of this "ancient ritual" on people. He observed the solemn expressions on the faces of the many leaders, and also observed the changes in their expressions when they looked at the clay pots and under the Temple of Death. After a few breaths, he raised the corners of his mouth confidently, smiled imperceptibly on his old face, and sang loudly for the last time.

"Everyone has a feast! Raise a toast!... One cup to the gods! One cup to the ancestors! And then to the king!..."