Aztec Eternals

"Oh? An old tribal priest?"

Shulot looked at the camp with great interest, only seeing a dilapidated red crow banner and a low chief longhouse, and other places were full of traces left by the migration. He looked at it for a while, and then looked at Chief Red Frog beside him.

"Kaka, do you know this wasteland priest?"

Keka stared, looked at the camp flag, and nodded.

"It's Kakalo of the Red Crow Tribe. He is not only a priest inherited from the wilderness, but also the chief of the Red Crow Tribe. The crow is a wise bird, so he is also a person with wisdom and magic power. Chief, when you go north, The Red Crow Tribe was the first to sense danger and the first to escape!"

"Red crow tribe, the first to escape from the valley? Kakalo, the crow?"

Xiulot chewed on this Nahua vocabulary. In the culture of Central America, the crow is indeed a kind of divine bird, which can predict death and the future.

"Since he is the chief and priest of the Red Crow tribe, why didn't he leave with the tribe?"

"Great chief, the wasteland tribes are always on the move, and those who can't keep up with the migration will leave forever. It is the custom of the wasteland to abandon the old and weak who are numbered, no matter whether he is a noble priest or a chieftain."

Keka shook his head and said calmly.

"Actually, because he is a priest of the wasteland, Kakalo has lived longer than most people."

"Um."

Xiuluo nodded. He has always been interested in the wasteland priest. The king pondered for a moment, then decided with a smile.

"Since I am a priest of the wilderness and a rare old man, let me meet you! Botard, Keka, you all come with me."

The warrior commander nodded. He made a warning gesture, and several personal guards were fully armed and entered the leader's long house to check. After a while, the guards came out again, returned a normal gesture, and then guarded around the longhouse.

Only then did Xiulot move his steps. He lowered his head slightly and got into the low longhouse. Sunlight penetrates through the gaps, illuminating the dirt floor. Scattered on the ground are various animal skeletons, wooden sculptures, and stone engravings. A scent of medicinal herbs pervades the room, and a slight sniff can make people feel peaceful.

In the corner of the longhouse, there is a priest with gray hair. He was wearing a priest's costume, with a gray and old face, and he sat on the ground weakly, holding a wooden board in his hand. Looking carefully, the old priest's clothes were stained with blood, his eyes were slightly closed, and he seemed to be asleep.

The king moved his eyes, looked at the sculptures of the moon and the wolf, and reached out to pick up a board painting. On the small stone surface, dense figures are engraved, and in the middle is a stone container with square flowing water and flames. On the left and right sides of the container are dense flowers and fruits; above and below the container are extended grass and roots. Further outside, there are human-shaped trees.

"Ahem. Respected Chief Death God. This is the inheritance board painting of the wasteland priests"

Kakalo spoke with difficulty. His personal guards had informed him of the visitor's identity.

"Oh, inheriting the panel painting? Dear Priest of the Wasteland, can you explain a thing or two to me?"

Shulot smiled gently, approached the old priest, and sat down cross-legged. Berthard held the bronze sword and stood guard beside the king. Coca looked complicated, looking at the dying Kakalo.

Kakalo opened his cloudy eyes, looked at the death chief in front of him, and was immediately surprised by the youth of the other party.

"Ahem. Chief Death God, you are so young! I have heard your name for a long time. It should be fate to meet you before you die."

Kakalo sighed lightly, then coughed again. Shulot took out a cotton cloth from his pocket and handed it to the old priest. The other party took it with difficulty, covered his mouth, and soon dyed the cotton cloth red.

"Ahem! Don't worry, Mother Wasteland is calling me, she is always impatient."

The old priest smiled with difficulty, and looked at the painting in the king's hand.

"Chief Death, I would like to tell you about the spirit of the wasteland, and I beg you to treat the people of the wasteland well. The tribes that migrated to the south did a lot of killings, but they did not kill for the sake of killing, but just to survive. Survival is the eternity of all tribes in the wasteland. The pursuit is also the kindness and cruelty of the wilderness mother."

Shulot lowered his eyes slightly, and did not make any answer, but just listened patiently.

"Ahem. We were born in the wilderness. We believe in animism. We love the sky and the earth, the sun and the moon. We believe in the balance and circulation of the world. Priests of the wasteland respect the way of nature and believe in the coexistence and balance of nature."

"Chief Death, please look at this panel painting. The side of the wilderness is the unity and derivation of all things, the coexistence of nature! The stone container symbolizes the tolerance of the earth and the restraint of nature. Even flowing water and flames can Coexistence in a narrow container. Water brings life, fire brings light and heat, and the earth breeds vitality. When water, fire, and soil blend together, dense grass can grow, deep roots can be planted, and gorgeous flowers can bloom. , to bear the fruit of the harvest. Grass, roots, flowers, and fruits are the symbols of life and prosperity."

Having said that, Kakalo paused, trying to suppress the fishy smell surging in his throat. Then, he continued to speak.

"When life flourishes to the extreme, there will be trees and people, as well as surrounding animals and wind. People are the love of Mother Earth, and they should live like trees, embracing the wind, rain and sunshine from high places. Water, fire, soil, grass roots, flowers and fruits, Trees, animals, wind and people. All things are born from the same source and coexist with each other! They all have strengths and weaknesses, so they will depend on each other”

Hearing this, Shulot's eyes flickered. Water, fire, earth, wind, flowers, plants, trees, animals and people. It sounds like "one life is two, two is three, and three is all things".

Kakalo looked into Shulot's eyes, pondered for a while, and then pointed to another panel on the pile of bones.

"Chief Death, please look at this painting."

Shulot looked up and was startled.

In the middle of the board painting, there is a huge round hollow ball nest. There is a gap in the hollow ball nest, and the inside is the shape of the combination of petals and ovary. On the inner wall of the ovary, there are human heads and bodies. The combination of these human heads and bodies formed a newborn canine, holding a bow and arrow, and walked out of the gap in the ball nest. And the old canine will return to the ball nest, blend into the inner wall, let go of everything, and turn into a scattered body again.

In the center of the ball nest, the newborn and the dying are talking, greeting and saying goodbye to each other. At the gap in the ball nest, the priests of the wilderness are presiding over the ceremony, welcoming new life and praising death. On the periphery of the ball nest, there are busy dogs, spending their youthful time.

"Chief Death, the side of the wasteland is the cycle of new life and death, the balance of nature! Mother Earth is a hollow cactus ball. She conceives new life and accepts old death. Life is in a constant cycle, He walked out of his mother's womb, young and healthy. He traveled through the wilderness, planted, hunted, reproduced, and sang. He returned to the nest where he was born, old and weak. He returned his life to the earth, his body disintegrated, peacefully To die. The spirit of the wilderness tells us that laughter is the opposite of birth, and silence is the opposite of death. New life and death are both part of nature, both the end and the starting point, and there is no need for gods to control them! Cough cough!"

Hearing this, Xiulot looked solemn. This kind of natural thought, which contains the philosophy of life, is the enemy of divine religion. The king looked at the old priest and said calmly.

"Dear Priest of the Wasteland, what you said is very good! I like the inheritance of the wasteland very much, and I also respect the spirit of nature. However, in the whole world, including this boundless wasteland, rebirth and death must be the supreme authority of the gods, given by the gods A gift from man! My name is Shulot, and I am the incarnation of the god of birth and death!"

"Ahem!"

Kakalo coughed, with a pained look on his face. He stretched out his hand with difficulty and said to Shulot.

"Chief Death, the wasteland priests have no intention of challenging your authority. The inheritance of the wasteland can be modified, as long as it can continue. I implore you, please be merciful!"

The old priest coughed violently, and blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, which could not be stopped at all. He trembled all over, let go of his hands, and the wooden plank he was holding rolled down and landed at the king's feet.

Xiulot glanced at the wooden board, his heart beat rapidly, and his pupils shrank sharply. On that piece of wood, engraved with a black wolf's head symbolizing the god of death, there are also three neat Chinese characters: "Xiulote".

Bertard followed His Highness's gaze, and his expression suddenly changed. He pulled out the bronze sword, stepped forward suddenly, and pressed Kakalo's chest.

"Say! Who taught you these three words!"

"Ahem. Three words?"

"It's the wolf's head and words engraved on the wooden board! That's His Highness's emblem and real name, and it's impossible for outsiders to know it!"

Botard showed killing intent, and put the bronze sword on Kakalo's neck.

"Say it!"

"Ahem, the real name of Chief Death God?!"

Kakalo looked shocked. He remembered the origin of the wolf head and the text, couldn't help laughing hoarsely, and even forgot to cough.

"It turned out to be so! So it is! Haha!"

"Are you exercising witchcraft and spying on His Highness?!"

Berthard clenched the bronze sword angrily, almost beheading Kakalo on the spot.

"Bertard, let him finish."

Shulot's heart was full of ups and downs, but his face was as calm as a flat lake. Only then did the warrior commander let go of his hand, and stepped back slightly.

Kakalo wrinkled and shook, showing a strange smile. He stretched out his hand and pointed at Shulot, but his body was facing east.

"Haha! Life is a rotating circle, and many destinies intersect in the circle! The shadow of death comes from the south, but it actually contains the hope of life, but it is not known to ordinary people. The hardships and challenges lie in the east, which is The difficult journey is also a node of fate! Alan, the soul you have been looking for is in the place you try to stay away from, and it is destined not to be seen! Cough, cough, cough!"

After finishing these mysterious words, the old priest coughed violently again. Then, he fell to the ground suddenly, a large ball of blood flowed out of his mouth. Soon, his body trembled a few times for the last time, and under the horrified eyes of everyone, he became completely motionless.

The two chichimaker paintings mentioned in this chapter are placed in the easter egg chapter, and you can see them after the review.