Chapter 6 Going Home

The azure sky shed warm sunshine, and the wind on the Mexican Plateau was still cool, the moist air carrying the freshness of Lake Haltocan. Lake Haltocan to the south was connected to Lake Texcoco, and just a dozen kilometers down the east shore was the ancient holy city of Teotihuacan, where Xiulote was born.

Seeing Lake Haltocan, the team suddenly came alive, as if infused with some kind of vitality.

The samurai hastened to the lakeside, scooped up water from the shore, and drank greedily of the taste of home. Small boats plied the waters, and villagers going back and forth warmly greeted the samurai, inquiring about the bounty of their capture. Young girls, rowing closer in their boats and clad only in waistcloths, boldly displayed their youthful figures and sang love songs admiring the warriors.

Xiulote's face flushed, and he turned to look at the nearby village. Simple canals diverted lake water, feeding into the sprawling cornfields outside the village, where black beans and pumpkins were intercropped. The agriculture here was clearly far more developed, and the population seemed much denser.

Between the village and the lake were numerous small ponds with floating gardens of various sizes, the chinampas. The chinampas could be harvested 6-7 times a year, making full use of river silt nutrients in the water-rich, pest-light environment, yielding nearly ten times that of regular tilled farms. These chinampas were controlled by the nobility of the city-states, sustaining their affluent lifestyles. The Great Nobility often had chinampa gardens filled with flowers, herbs, and even cacao.

Xiulote's gaze lingered long over a pond near a village until Ters roused him, and the group set off once more. Soon, the grand and ancient city came into Xiulote's view.

Teotihuacan had no city walls; its walls were buried in the dust of history, along with most of the city. In distant antiquity, it was "City of the Gods," and also where the gods departed.

Xiulote entered from the west, crossing the subtle boundary of the city, presented with a grand spectacle that spanned millennia under the sun. A stone-paved avenue stretched north to south, about forty to fifty meters wide, seemingly leading to the edge of an era—the famed Avenue of the Dead.

At the end to the north was a stone plaza, two hundred meters square, with a four-sided sacrificial altar at its center. This was Moon Plaza, the sacred land of sacrificial rites, a place to please the gods. Xiulote had first witnessed the bright red converging into lakes here, a shocking memory so unforgettable it made him realize that he had left behind a bloodless modern civilization and arrived in this savage, brutal era of the jungle.

The samurai, with their terrified captives, marched along the Avenue of the Dead. North of the sacrificial altar was a majestic pyramid, thrice the width of the avenue and about forty to fifty meters high. As he looked up, the massive boulders formed into a five-tiered pyramid body, atop which stood an exquisite temple adorned with red and blue dyes highlighting ancient patterns etched with many moons, stars, jaguars, and snakes.

At the entrance of the temple stood four guards wearing wolf headdresses, clad in black leather with blue and yellow stripes, statue-still. The statuesque guards held half-meter square leather-covered wooden shields in their left hands and gripped obsidian-tipped staffs over a meter long in their right, the obsidian blades gleaming coldly.

Xiulote often thought of climbing to the top of the pyramid to find a way back, but was always stopped by the sculpture-like guards. This was the Moon Pyramid, a bridge connecting heaven and earth.

Directly facing the procession, to the east of the avenue was another colossal pyramid, facing the sun with a two to three hundred meter square base and similarly five-tiered, yet taller and more imposing. The top was open, with a sacrificial stone about half a person's height in the middle, and to the east was the semi-open Temple of the Sun.

In the temple stood a tall Sun God statue facing the East. Its crown was made of gold, its eyes of gemstones, and silver ornaments hung from its arms and waist, with a pure gold sun several meters in diameter at its back.

Sunlight now bathed the top of the Sun Pyramid, the dazzling golden rays temporarily blinding Xiulote's eyes. This was the most revered Sun Pyramid, where only the most sacred sacrificial ceremonies could take place, strictly off-limits at other times.

Olosh led the warriors to halt and knelt toward the Temple of the Sun to the east.

He prayed aloud with a solemnity Xiulote had never witnessed before, "Great Guardian God Huitzilopochtli, under your sunshine that illuminates all, we have completed this capture! As your eternally loyal warriors, we will offer you the hearts and blood of our enemies until we return to the earth and offer ourselves. May you bless our bodies and weapons, that we may win the next sacred battle!"

Xiulote also performed the prayer with proper semblance, and as he stood up, he saw Olosh ordering the captives to kneel before the Sun God, offering their faith. The captives, believing death was imminent, trembled with terror, crying out in disorder. Fear drained their strength, leaving them prostrate on the ground, a huddled mass.

Not far to the west of the procession was a magnificent complex of palaces and temples adorned with colorful paintings on the walls and fluttering on the pure white cotton curtains. Gods of heavens and earth, sacrificial rites for the fields, rainforest and lakes, tigers, leopards, snakes, and deer—all were vividly alive in the palaces. The paintings depicted the past and present of the Aztec people, their faith and way of life.

This splendid complex of buildings was the dwelling of priests and nobility, as well as the workplace of the servants of the gods.

Upon seeing the returning company, a young assistant priest hurried out from the palaces. The youth appeared to be around twenty, his features gentle and refined, like jade. He wore no feather crown; his upper body was draped in a white shawl, and he wore a short white skirt below, his chest bare. Around his neck was a common obsidian necklace, signifying his role as an assistant priest.

"Respected Olosh Samurai, oh, and little Xiulote," the assistant priest said with a smile, winking at Xiulote, "did the capture go smoothly?"

"Not bad, Acap. This time we ventured into Vastec territory and found a tribe of savages. The opponents were weak; none of our warriors were injured," Olosh nodded, his stern expression as if he had not yet recovered from the prayer, then pointed towards the crowd of kneeling people, "the captives are all here."

"Good." The assistant priest quickly counted the captives and glanced a few times at the damaged leather armors of the warriors standing at the rear. Acap smiled again, "The spoils of the returning warriors are quite impressive. Hand over the male captives to me, and you all can deal with the female captives. With twenty-five sacrifices, it seems every new recruit will be able to get a promotion."

Olosh also smiled, then turned to the samurai and roared, "You turkeys, I have good news for you. After this capture, each of you will be promoted to first level warriors, 'Captors'."

"Ters, Marley," Olosh continued to roar, "you two will be promoted to second level warriors, 'Vastec Hunters'."

Xiulote saw two faces both eager for battle, one cruel, the other pure.

"After I report to the elders, you can go to collect your new war clothes and cloaks tomorrow," the warriors let out a cheer of excitement. "But remember, your opponents this time were weak, you're still a bunch of turkeys! Only when you've captured a Tlaxcala or Tarasco warrior on your own, can you truly be called brave."

"Ters, Marley. Take the four-palm-sized women to South City, sell them to commoners without wives. The cacao beans you get in exchange should be shared among the brothers, and get your weapons and leather armors repaired!"

At this, the warriors cheered again.

"And remember, if it's one of our own, make it cheaper."

As Olosh spoke, he also patted Xiulote on the shoulder and laughed, "Xiulote, it's a pity you don't have a share in this! Of course, you're not lacking in that bit."

But Xiulote seemed unenthusiastic. The youth hung his head low, watching as the captives were led away like merchandise.

It was then that Acap took up the conversation, smiling, "Well, Olosh. Now that everything is arranged, you and Xiulote come with me. Captain Xiuxoke had given orders long ago; as soon as you returned, you were to see him immediately." With that, he led the two towards the magnificent palaces.