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Tzekel-kan might ordinarily have objected to Jaguar later declaring that they would not bother capturing any men from across the sea to be respectfully sacrificed as befit their status as warriors.

If, that was, Jaguar had not been visibly utterly livid as he made the declaration.

Knowing when it was not the best time to press for details in matters of the divine, Tzekel-kan instead made sure to praise Chel's rapid advancement in learning everything that the high priest had to teach.

... That was not particularly surprising, to be honest. Tzekel-kan was a cold and cruel man who lived for his faith and who took joy in sacrificing blood and lives to his gods. He was also not particularly old or decrepit. As such, until Jaguar's incarnation, the students and trainees that he took were often more nuisances than anything else, competitors that might overthrow him and claim his position if they learned too much or too well. Or they were slaves, who humbly did the scut work and more menial labor involved in their worship. Either way, Tzekel-kan had seldom hesitated to make them into an offering, whether it was strictly needed for a given ritual or ceremony or not.

That was obviously not something that he was going to be able to get away with now, with Jaguar's focus on Chel. There would be no room for accidentally losing her, as he had been rid of too-talented underlings in the past. Ultimately, of course, there was nothing he could do if his god directly wished him to be replaced before he was no longer able to serve... and Tzekel-kan was the sort of zealot that would gladly sacrifice himself on the altar to become a part of divine glory, with none of the last-minute second thoughts that even the willing sacrifices would sometimes have.

So instead of plotting how to get rid of the woman who held his god's favor, he instead boasted about how well she was learning compared to 'the rest', gladly accepting some of the glory that splashed off in his direction for being her instructor. He even willingly admitted that he had never considered teaching women to do more than wash, feed, and tend to potential sacrifices, and that was something that he was reconsidering now.

It was mostly because it stung Tannabok, who was a generally pleasant man but also one who very strongly felt that women should cook and men should eat. Not strongly enough to refuse to hire women warriors for not being men, of course... they were typically cheaper for a similar level of skill and experience in battle, the cost of going against the generally accepted way of things, and like any competent political leader, Tannabok was more than capable of keeping what he actually felt to himself as he instead did what was expedient and convenient.

If the man had been given the time to think and make plans himself rather than being given instruction to carry out quickly, well, Tzekel-kan suspected that he would have at least considered proposing the destruction of the entrance to their city... if he didn't just go and do it, before he could be told not to. Isolate themselves completely in the small and hidden mountain valley, and never mind that they would eventually run out of game animals and have to find ever more ways to stretch limited natural resources as the population expanded and found there was nowhere for them to go. That would be a problem for some leader decades in the future, after Tannabok was probably dead, after all, and they could always dig the passage open again later to find out what had happened outside.

But he hadn't. And Jaguar clearly wanted more than that. Expansion, with the golden city becoming most prominent in a golden empire! Where Tannabok craved stability, and would hope and act to keep things more or less as close to the same as he could, forever, Tzekel-kan exulted in the chaos to come at this dawning of a new era... the age of the Jaguar! It would not be marked by great and massive tributes of blood, but in many ways this was even better!

Secretly, Tzekel-kan hoped that Tannabok's disquiet with Lord Jaguar's actions would build up over time, until he eventually acted out in some way to vent it in a manner that would see him replaced with someone of more... vision. But, if nothing else, the man was probably the best at governance that they had... for now. And he was likely going to keep his personal sexual ideals inside of his own household and bedroom, if Tzekel-kan set what he hoped to happen aside and considered instead what realistically would.

No matter his affectations Tannabok hadn't become chief by being stupid, after all, and ignoring your god when he was telling you to your face how things would be? That was stupid, to the core.

For Tzekel-kan's part, he would be embracing the new. And who knew? Chel, that clever girl, had clearly demonstrated that there were ways to earn their god's favor. If it came down to it, and if the hints of Lord Jaguar's... open-mindedness on such matters proved fruitful, then it was something that Tzekel-kan himself could consider. Not for the act itself, but he imagined that he would be far from the first, even among men, to offer his body in exchange for power and favor.

"Once Chel has learned everything you can teach her, I will apply the Falna to your back and hers both, Tzekel-kan." Lord Jaguar said, at the end of his explanation of how the woman's studies were going. "It is not ideal for one who is not a warrior... it is in fact greatly slanted to most benefit those who raise up weapons and fight directly on the battlefield. But that does not mean that it holds no benefit to others. As the blessing grows and advances, it will extend your lifespan, and it can be taught to provide assistance to those who support and act indirectly as well as direct combatants. And, of course, it will still leave you stronger, swifter, and more durable than an ordinary man in addition."

"You speak of it growing stronger, My Lord." Tzekel-kan asked, before Tannabok had the chance to think it through and speak himself. "How might that happen?"

"Through achievement." Jaguar replied. "For warriors and combatants, this is a simple thing. They need only fight, and fight, and fight, and seek out battles where they could lose... perhaps, that they should lose... and win regardless. Many will die in making the attempt, of course, but those who survive the method will see their blessings grow. For crafters, metalworkers, artisans, and anyone else who does not directly take the battlefield to slay and to die? Finding such achievements will be both an easier and more difficult thing. They will be less likely to die seeking their glory, in going beyond what they should be able to do... but they must still make an achievement that others might consider impossible. Something that is worth telling the story, even a hundred years hence. And being stronger, more nimble, and a better combatant... that will not help in such attempts to advance."

Jaguar shrugged.

"Most of what we will have, my Jaguar Warriors, will be combatants. This is likely to lead to issues in times when we are not at war, naturally. It is best that methods to assure this can be managed are considered now, before it may become a problem." Jaguar continued. "I am afraid there is only so much that I can assist, in this or other matters. I might bring masterful devices from other worlds, shaping the face of society directly. I might bring great artifacts of mighty and terrible magics, to burn alive invaders as they step upon our shores, or to call storms to sink their ships at sea weeks away from their arrival. I might capture and bring war-beasts without compare for your use. But the results must always be considered. Can the devices be stolen by an enemy? Will those beasts be something you can learn to make use of and bring to heel, before they can slay and eat too many of those who try? Above all else... how much can I do, slipping one small advantage after another into your hands, before others respond with objections... or worse, in kind? I must know the right time and the right way before I can act, and ensure a quick, clean victory to take the greatest prizes. But advances, discoveries, tactics that you make, mortal men in the face of other mortal men... that is none of the concern of gods. Not something to... raise the stakes over."

Jaguar smirked.

"I will certainly be acting all the same. But the method of how I act is every bit as important as that I act. Perhaps, like this Falna, I will bring a blessing and boon to chosen beneficiaries. Perhaps I will place a curse for a specific individual to overcome, and grow stronger by it. Or die. Or perhaps I will introduce or re-awaken powerful creatures to stand in opposition to you, to be suborned or slain by mighty warriors... or kill them." Jaguar said. "It may well seem at times... that I am bullying you. Simply enjoying cruelty, for the sake of it. But then, whatever is more feline and excusable than that? Surely, none can object to how I toy with my own people.... But for now, I would hear your thoughts on long-term management for my Jaguar Warriors in a time of peace."

Tannabok's eyes slid over to Tzekel-kan for a moment before he spoke.

"Well, though it might be more Tzekel-kan's area of expertise... we could always hold a ceremony and sacrifice them in your honor, when the wars are over." he half-joked.

Ooh, that was good. Very cutting. Propose an idea that might well have come from Tzekel-kan's own mouth, but a stupid one, that would leave them needing to recruit newly blessed warriors for the next war that happened. A way for Tannabok to float the idea that whatever immediate urgency brought the selection of woman warriors, he would just as soon be rid of them and have things go back to normal once the crisis passed... and with the advantage of being able to point the finger to Tzekel-kan and say 'no, of course I wouldn't want to go through with it, but...'

Tzekel-kan could hardly leave that sitting and not respond to the jab intended to undercut him before his god!

"You think too small Tannabok. Surprising." Tzekel-kan said, taking a moment to pointedly look down at his vast girthiness. "But consider this. If we are not uprooting the system of kings and nobility as the empire forms, but instead fixing ourselves at the head of it, those kings will still have all of their own petty grievances against each other and still have all the same reason to bring their disputes to violence."

Tzekel-kan extended his hands, palms up.

"Why not allow the Jaguar Warriors to settle those grievances? Allow them to petition the blessed warriors and arrange for a field where champions for either party may meet in a ceremonial battle and allow who is right to be determined through bloodshed before the eyes of the gods and men alike." Tzekel-kan proposed. "This would reduce the number of more ordinary warriors lost in petty conflicts, keep the Jaguar Warriors fit and occupied, see some of them sacrificed for our Lord's glory in the process, and provide opportunities for the blessing upon the Jaguar Warriors themselves to grow."

Tzekel-kan knew that he had scored a victory over Tannabok as Jaguar's eyes gleamed over his grin, like a hungry beast in the jungle.

"There would be further details to clarify and stipulate, for such a tradition to take form..." Jaguar hummed. "But indeed. The Falna cares only about challenge and achievement. It matters not from where the blood flows, in the end, so long as the battle is glorious, and struggle is overcome."

And that was a blessing that Tzekel-kan could get behind!