Aztec Eternals

Pure sunlight falls from the sky, full of curiosity about the bustling world. When it falls on the left side of the Great Temple, it turns into the gentle Mayan blue of the Temple of Rain, and when it falls on the right side of the Great Temple, it turns into the thick volcanic red of the Temple of War.

It continued down, flying the gilt light spots shining in the noble palaces, the ancient black patterns condensed in the samurai courtyard, scattered on the generous white stone walls of the common houses, and then radiant and shining, blending into the long crown of the priest's green feathers, blending into the The gold and silver jewelry of the nobles, the obsidian staff of the warriors, and the white cloth robes of the civilians, reflected the light again, and fell into Shulot's black eyes, illuminating his brown pupils. The world of teenagers is so colorful!

Shulot walked in the solemn and impressive army, intoxicated by the beautiful scenery along the way. He walked along the white and wide bridge, crossed the sparkling canal, entered the border of the main city, and came to the garden area of ​​the nobles. Before his eyes, he saw a gorgeous and exquisite scene.

The breeze is blowing, the faint sweetness of rushes is wafting along the river, and the fragrance of Avivit pines and cypresses is beside the embankment. And when Shulot passed by the courtyard of the nobles, he always smelled the fragrance of different kinds of flowers, lingering in the hearts of passers-by. He looked over the low wall, and the tropical and magnificent flowers were competing for splendor within the wall. Behind the flower wall, he peeked at the fair lady of the warriors marching.

"Flowers fade to red and green apricots are small. When swallows fly, green water surrounds people. There are few willows blowing on the branches, and there are no fragrant grasses anywhere in the world!"

Shulot took off his helmet and nodded to the lady with a smile. The lady returned the salute with a smile, showing a pretty face without makeup and a neck wearing a turquoise necklace. This is a symbol of wisdom, and it also represents noble students who study in Kalmyakk between the ages of fifteen and twenty.

There are fragrant grasses on the road, and Lanzhi in the courtyard. The flower was a symbol of the life of the samurai, the garden was a sign of nobility, and the flower was a gift to the gods and venerables. Tenochtitlan is the city of the lake, the city of white stones, the city of temples, and the city of flowers.

The envoy of the Great Temple has been waiting here for a long time. According to the noble etiquette, the envoy respectfully presented Avit with a beautiful wreath and a bunch of bright feathers. The garlands are plucked from the botanical gardens by the lake and woven by the saints of the temple. The botanical garden is filled with all kinds of exotic flowers and plants for tribute, and it is also the favorite place for priests to collect herbs.

The feathers also come from the bird zoo in the city. It is located on a small island in the East Lake of the capital city. There are egrets, cardinals, hummingbirds, crested pheasants, swifts, and many brightly colored birds attracted by food. On the west side of the main island in the center of the capital lake, there is an exquisitely constructed animal zoo, which has clever tamarins, dexterous roe deer, cute guinea pigs, burrowing armadillos and tree-climbing bobcats.

On the north side of the beast zoo, west of the center of the city, there is a lake in the city of nearly 100 mu. The surrounding area is carved with white stone and divided into different small pieces. There are ornamental and edible freshwater fish, colorful tropical fish, and strange carnivorous fish from the far south.

According to the custom, Avet tied the feathers on the helmet, then put on a garland, and led by the messenger to the Temple of the God of Fire, Quesartesin, not far to the south. Immediately, the musicians of the royal family played loud and clear conch shells, stretched the alto horn, and beat the thick leather drums, singing the praises of the world from gods to kings to warriors.

On the way down, Xiulot saw many interesting street signs in the community, and Ugos explained them with a smile. "Tordenko", painted with rushes, near the waterway; "Acartan", painted with reeds, near the lake; painted with ponds, "Amanarco", recently filled in; and There is the community of "Ashui Donko" in the center of the island, which is painted with long grass.

These names represent what the ground looked like when the community was first established. But now, as Shulot looked around, on top of the soil and stones in the past, there were straight pines and cypresses, bright flowers, white stone bridges, painted houses, and bustling crowds saluting. There are also temples that can be seen everywhere, with statues of gold and silver carvings in the temples, rosin lingering in the distance, and the gorgeous singing of priests in the community, offering blessings to the returning king.

Accompanied by singing and rosin, the team headed southeast. Gradually stretching before the eyes, on the east bank of the capital, a long white embankment finally appeared in Xiulot's eyes.

This majestic long embankment stretched across the north and south for more than ten kilometers, like a long whip waved by a patron saint, directly dividing Lake Texcoco into two halves. On the west side is a well-developed freshwater lake. The lake water is drawn from the Prepecha Highlands along the 100-kilometer long canal, watering the Chinanampa along the way and supplying hundreds of thousands of citizens in the capital.

On the east side is a saltwater lake with thousands of boats, and merchant ships from all over the world, leading to a wider north-south water system, until the Caribbean Sea. The long embankment regulates the salinity of the east and west lakes, and also protects the capital from floods in the rainy season. This is the masterpiece of the chief architect of Mexico, similar to the grand design of Dujiangyan.

On the east and west sides, light blue or dark blue, rippling with beating melody, at the same time flashing silver light in the sun, and then connecting with the distant sky, into the garden of the gods.

"Smoky willows and painted bridges, wind curtains and green curtains, there are hundreds of thousands of families. Clouds and trees surround the embankment and sand, raging waves roll in frost and snow, and the sky has no boundaries!"

Facing the beauty and magnificence of this world, what can Xiulot say. He just smiled unconsciously, chasing Sanqiu osmanthus and ten-mile lotus in his memory. Then thousands of troops gathered around, waiting for a certain day to drink and get drunk, to get drunk, listen to the flute and drum, and enjoy the haze!

After walking for more than an hour, I passed through more than a dozen communities. The army finally came to the Temple of the God of Fire, Quesartesin, a flat-topped pyramid more than 20 meters high, and the temple is located on the top of the tower. Quesalteszin is the Mexica god of fire, lord of turquoise, and elder god. His other name is Wewet Otter, from which the meaning of "Weiwei" Elder comes from.

The Fire Temple is not tall, but it is extraordinarily wide. The wall is made of red volcanic rock, which is extremely strong and durable, like a small fortress. At the outer entrance of the core area of ​​the capital, there are four arsenals, which protect the core area of ​​the Great Temple, the Royal Palace area, the mansion of the great nobles, and the capital market.

This is the northern armory and the strong northern stronghold. The Southern Armory is the Temple of the God of Death, the corresponding location, the Western Armory is the Civilian Military Academy of Telpochkali, and the Eastern Armory is the Southern Star Temple in the southeast. There are usually several squads of warriors stationed in the armory, guarding the order and security of the capital, and also guarding the core ruling class. The temples and military academies are tall and strong, and they are natural megalithic fortresses.

However, in half a century since its establishment, the four armories have never played the military function of strongholds. Because with the establishment of the Aztec Empire, no more enemies could invade the capital. The wars in Mexica always unilaterally expanded outwards, bringing back countless tributes, and watering the blooming capital city in the lake.

In the temple is the statue of Vulcan several meters high. Vulcan is a rock-carved strong man, wearing a gold headband marked with a flame symbol, his face is red and black, with silver teeth protruding from both sides of his mouth, his upper body is bare, and he wears numerous turquoise inlays on his chest Butterfly ornaments, behind is a brightly colored obsidian long knife.

Under the guidance of the priests of the temple, everyone entered the temple and saluted the Vulcan in batches. The Vulcan priest offered Avit a pectoral of turquoise and tied it on the king's chest. Shulot also saluted and made a wish, praying for the wisdom enlightened by turquoise.

Next came batch after batch of directly subordinate warriors. They prayed in small groups, wishing the end of the war and a safe return. When the solemn prayers were finished, the warriors paid homage to Avit, and then temporarily disbanded and returned to their communities. Next, the army will not enter the core of the capital.

According to the norms of the Mexica military society, the core temple area has the most noble majesty, while the palace area is not open to ordinary warriors. This is the prestige of the royal family and the Great Temple, and should not be damaged at will.

After returning to the capital, Gilliam has contacted the intelligence agency again to confirm that Elder Traka Elel does not object to Avit's ascension to the throne. Along the way, the welcome etiquette of the Great Temple is also the level of the king. Therefore, after a brief discussion, Avit disbanded the legion in the armory in accordance with political rules, leaving only the newly replenished 2,000 family warriors.

The disbanding of the Legion took several hours. Kuluka, Barda, and Bergire all bid farewell to Shulot in turn. They will return to their long-awaited home, hug their loved ones, thank the God of Death for leaving them alive, and thank the God of War for allowing them to return victorious. Only Berthard, who was alone, was still with Shulot, and the vicissitudes of life were imprinted on his quiet face, just like the volcanic rock outside the temple that has been refined for thousands of years.

When two thousand warriors surrounded the king's flag and headed south again, the sun had already set to the west. The further you go to the core of the city, the more open the terrain is, and the river gradually disappears. This is the center of the big island in the middle of the lake, where the Mexica capital city was first established, and where the temple area is located.

The vast temple area is neatly surrounded by three-meter-high stone walls. These once tall stone walls are now too small to be worth mentioning, crawling at the foot of the Great Temple. It is worth mentioning that the stone wall is full of vivid serpentine reliefs, which form a neat square, and the length of each side is 365 meters. It is perhaps a striking coincidence that this symbolizes the 365 days of the year in the Mayan solar calendar.

The Temple Quarter contains dozens of different temples. More important are the east and west corners, where there are two single pyramids with a height of 40 meters. One is dedicated to Kechalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent God. He has the incarnations of the gods of wind, sky, and stars, wearing a mask in the shape of an eagle head, hanging ornaments of curved shells on his ears, and wearing a shining conch on his chest.

The other is dedicated to the primordial sun Tezcatlipoca, who is also the god of night, magic, divination and fortune, has a black face and body, yellow headband, changing mirrors instead of feet, different weapons surrounded by him.

And the center of the temple area, the center of the capital city in the lake, the center of the Aztec Empire, and even the center of the Mexica world are the projections of the kingdom of God in the world, the sanctuary where people and gods communicate, and the 60-meter-high The Twin Pyramids, the incomparable Great Temple!

Shulot walked through the wall. He tried his best to raise his head, let the long feathers on his head hang down, and then he forgot to say anything. He could only quietly watch this spectacle of the classical era, and his heart was filled with turbulent emotions.

The majestic Great Temple is like a mountain, towering into the clouds, occupying all sights. The base of the Great Temple is two to three hundred meters long and wide, and is built purely with white boulders, supporting the majestic upper platform. Above the base is the Twin Pyramid, consisting of four inclined steps, each about ten meters high, connected by a passage in the middle.

Climb up the four steps along the passage to reach the top of the pyramid, a huge platform. The platform is 100 meters long and 80 meters wide, like a throne bearing the gods. And above the flat top is the temple high in the sky.

The temple is 20 meters high, and on the left is the Mayan Blue Rain Temple, dedicated to the god of rain, agriculture, and Tlaloc, the god of storms. On the right is the volcanic red Temple of Ares, which is dedicated to the god of war, the sun god, and the patron saint Vizilopochtli. The blue of the temple represents the rainy season and the summer solstice, and the red represents blood and war.

These are the two most important gods in the belief of the Mexica: Tlaloc bestows a good harvest on the farmland and prevents the flood of the lake, while Vitzilopochtli bestows victory in the war and brings light to the world. Along with the belief of the two gods, agriculture and war, like the instincts in the body, are engraved into the flesh and bones of the Mexica, guiding the advancement of the empire.

There is a huge brazier in front of each temple, and the holy fire is constantly burning all year round. The tinder comes from the end of the previous 52-year cycle, the doomsday ritual in 1455. On the last day of that year, the then High Priest climbed to the top of Mount Estella and waited for the appearance of the Pleiades. Then, he lit the holy fire on the chest of the god-born sacrifice, and was escorted by the best warriors all the way until the holy fire of the Great Temple was rekindled. This means the world will turn again for the next 52 years.

Warriors of the Empire always have a visceral sense of urgency. They must continue to wage wars to please the gods in the sky and avoid the doomsday. War thus became part of the life of the samurai, as death followed.

The entrance to the temple is guarded by hundreds of temple warriors. And among the warriors who are silent as sculptures, there are real sculptures of outstanding warriors of all ages. They held a banner several meters long and wide in a solemn posture, and two gods with different postures were flying on the banner. This represents the loyalty and dedication of nobles and warriors to the gods.

Shulot looked carefully, and the flag was vivid. Tlaloc has a mask that covers its eyes, a headdress of heron feathers, jaguar fangs, and holds a golden cornstalk or symbolic lightning rod in one hand and a rain-giving jug in the other. His background is a sacrificial jaguar.

Vitzilopochtli wears a blue-green hummingbird helmet, with sun-blown feathers in his hair, yellow and blue stripes on his face, and a scepter that looks like a snake and a mirror in one hand. Spear, with an eagle-feathered shield in one hand, is always ready for battle. His background is the sacrificial bipedal offering.

This is the most outstanding painter using the most expensive paints, with the greatest reverence and fear, to depict the gods in the hearts of the Mexica. As for what the real gods look like? But the decision is in the hands of immortals.

From the temple to the plinth, the entire Great Temple is covered in thick black stripes and colorful paintings. The sinuous snake is the most common image, followed by the jaguar, favored by the god of rain, and the eagle, favored by the god of war. The side facing the god of rain is dotted with simple strokes of corn, beans, pumpkins and cacti, while the side of the god of war is painted with various captured birds and beasts.

The Great Temple is like a sacred mountain that came down to the world in mythology, high in the center of the capital city in the lake. Legend has it that Tlaloc, the god of rain, came from the mountain of the gods, and the god of war conquered the other gods on the mountain of snakes. The mountain is the source of the image of the Great Temple. Generations of monarchs have been constantly expanding the scale of the mountain.

Since it was first completed in 1325, the Great Temple has been expanded four times, each time by recreating a larger megalithic outer layer on top of the original temple. In other words, within the twin pyramids in front of you, there are four nested temples. Now, the fifth expansion is underway, this time the expansion will continue to expand the outer wall of the pyramid, but keep the temple unchanged. Every time the expansion is completed, it means a large-scale sacrifice on an unprecedented scale. From the favorite animals of the God of Rain to the necessary sacrifices of the God of War.

In front of the majestic Great Temple, there is a long canal that extends across several channels and leads to neatly arranged storage pools. Under the golden light of the setting sun, the top of the Great Temple turned into a dazzling heaven, and the reflection of the temple shone in the long canal, like a bright world!

An unparalleled solemnity and mystery descended on the hearts of worshipers. The praying crowd, with the setting sun behind their backs, prostrated devoutly at the foot of the great temple, trembling, feeling the light of God. Among them are even hundreds of family warriors.

Shulot looked up at the great temple in front of him, and he really wanted to chant two lines of poetry.

For example, "The red clouds in the palace hold the purple emperor, and the river Qingdian hugs Xiuxiang."

Or "the mountain is steep into the sea of ​​clouds, the building is high into the misty sky, I don't know where the palace is, and I look eastward." But I always feel that something is wrong.

After thinking for a while, Xiulot finally understood the reason. In Chinese culture, gods are not worshiped as supreme objects. And the so-called temples in this world, all the magnificence exists only for the gods, not the feelings of the world.

So, the young man lowered his head slightly, facing the temple of the god. His full of feelings turned into an ancient praise:

"Greatly praised in the city of our God, on His holy mountain!"

Beyond the clouds and mountains. His eyes flicked across the mountains.

And not far away at this time, on the east side of the great temple, which was dyed red by the setting sun, in the palace of the chief minister, there was an unusually old man. With the gaze of a god, he glanced at the gate of the palace and the king's flag approaching not far away, without any emotion.

Beside him is the kind-eyed, chief priest Kechar, who is wearing an obsidian crown and the highest priest's costume, with a gentle smile. Behind him was Ugel, the elder priest with a round face and slightly plump, standing with his arms tied, respectfully accompanying him. In the end, dozens of elder guards remained silent. In the lead was a samurai with a statue-like face, holding a small clay pot in his arms.

"Dear elder, please take a look." Kechar bowed his head and pointed to the center of the team. There was an unusually young boy with a handsome face, looking at the temple in the sky in shock.

The chief priest then smiled slightly: "The king's death should be caused by that child!"

I was exhausted writing this chapter of orz, and I felt like I was going to lie down. This week we recommended it again! Rolling around for support! Then there's the weekly thank you. Thanks to "Jian Xiao Hanzhou" for the 1666 reward, thanks to "Strong Tangerine" and "Waiting on the Left" for the 500 reward, thanks to "Ajia Delno" for the 200 reward, and thanks to "Future without desires and desires" "If you have something to say, you have to" Say "100 rewards! Finally, I wish all readers a happy reading and a beautiful dream! Thank you everyone~