Aztec Eternals

The sun sank below the horizon, the long daylight giving way to night. But the sky remained faintly lit, like a pale gray dusk. The moon on Whale Island in the Arctic was equally intriguing, so different from that of the Central American highlands. A half-circle of pale moonlight hung distantly in the southeast sky, never rising too high, yet appearing a full circle larger than in the tropics. In the night sky, faint, rolling clouds resembled light纱, gently drifting with the sea breeze blowing towards the continent, sometimes gathering, sometimes spreading, as if chasing that bright moon, forever unable to reach its end.

“Hoo! May the Chief God bless me! This 'Night Banquet by the Returning Sea' is finally finished!...”

Beneath the pale moonlight, Chimel stood before the tree-stump easel, gazing at his golden “masterpiece” with a satisfied nod. This was his painting dedicated to the Chief God, destined to hang in the 'Whale Island Temple,' or even the 'Royal Capital Temple,' forever recording his maritime achievements!

And this kind of 'bold stroke' that could truly leave a mark was often more 'intimate with the Chief God's altar' than any amount of 'hard work' or 'desperate voyages.' It could even be included in the 'Biography of Saints,' passed down through generations.

Therefore, Chimel was indeed putting his heart and soul into continuously creating 'religious paintings,' having accumulated dozens of them by now. This was similar to Micky's 'religious poetry creation' during his maritime explorations, truly achieving the same goal through different paths. The two could be said to share the same stance, 'cherishing each other.' They both knew that with the other's 'political acumen' and 'first-mover advantage,' their future was limitless and worth befriending as 'comrades'.

“What a pity, what a pity!... This path of priesthood focused on divinity is not something anyone can just walk! Without that divine inspiration bestowed by the gods, no matter how hard you try, it's impossible... Losanda, you serve His Majesty faithfully and call me 'teacher.' I'll point you to a difficult but passable path, which will be considered fulfilling my duty...”

Chimel looked pensively towards Micky's wooden house, where whale oil candles had been lit, and faint smoke was rising. Since Losanda had entered, the two had been talking in secret from noon until late at night. Although he didn't know the specifics of their conversation, the final result was already predetermined.

As a Level Four Chief Priest and representative of the Maritime faction, the erudite Micky would inevitably return with the fleet from the Western Sea, carrying the merits of the Western Sea, to compete for the position of Chief Elder in the Royal Capital. And Level Three High Priest Losanda would exchange places with Micky, leading the support fleet, resolutely crossing the Western Sea again to complete the support mission ordered by His Majesty.

The difference in status between the two was too great, their backgrounds as different as heaven and earth. And with their future and life at stake, Micky had already made up his mind that as long as Chimel didn't interfere, Losanda would have no choice in the matter. The only difference was the process of the conversation, whether it would be coercion or enticement, or whether they could maintain some goodwill, and how much? And he, Chimel, standing on the position of the entire Maritime faction, would he interfere?...

Chimel smiled, shifted his gaze, and looked up at the chasing clouds and moon in the faintly lit night sky. After a long while, he finally gathered enough poetic inspiration, turning the emotions in his heart beneath the night into a few ethereal verses.

“Chasing the clouds, chasing the moon. Colorful clouds chasing the moon... What is reality? Only the faint glimmer. The mysteries of the gods, hanging in the sky, who can speak of them?”

“Tlāzohcotl (chasing) in mixtli (cloud), tlāzohcotl (chasing) in metztli (moon). Tlein (what) in nelli (reality), zan (only) tlān ēchicoliz (faint glimmer)? In teōtlic (of the gods) huehca (distant) īhuīcpa (above), Amo huel (no one) mihtozceh (can say)?”

“The Chief God is watching from the heavens... This worldly pursuit is nothing more than colorful clouds chasing the moon... Colorful clouds chasing the moon, ah!...”

After reciting these verses, Chimel smiled and shook his head. His descriptions were detached and refined, like an immortal banished to the mortal world under the moonlight. He could abandon the enjoyment of the Lake Kingdom, silently guarding the wealth of nine tons of gold on the desolate Whale Island in the far north, and indeed had no 'worldly desires.' What could interest him was only the vast divine realm and the novel world.

He gazed at the moon for a moment, then picked up his paintbrush and, in the corner of the 'Night Banquet by the Returning Sea,' next to the two large and small spheres, finally drew an even smaller spinning sphere, then outlined a few strokes of clouds.

“'The moon is a smaller stone sphere, rotating around the earth, blocking the sun to create day and night'... This is the true mystery of the divine realm, eternal divinity! It's a pity, I don't know how to create the 'Moon-Viewing Divine Mirror' that His Majesty spoke of? And where can I find such a huge, transparent crystal?~~”

The night was short, and many people did not sleep soundly. When Losanda reappeared the next morning, he was closely following behind Micky, his face full of respect, and he had changed his address.

"Good! Excellent! Losanda, you have brought back great craftsmen and physicians, as well as 'cattle, horses, and birds,' and new crops. You have truly performed a great service for the kingdom!"

"Ah! This is all… it is His Majesty's divine revelation guiding me, and also your support, Teacher… Oh! I also wrote a special booklet to record all the fleet's cargo… Teacher Miki, please take this booklet and give me some guidance!…"

"Hahaha! Good, good, good!… You are truly thoughtful… Well, I will take the booklet to check the fleet's situation! Yes, please also invite Chief High Priest Chimel to witness it together!…"

Soon, with Losanda calling him "Teacher" at every turn, the sound of "clattering" hooves rang out, reaching all the way to the ship at the seaside. On the West Sea continent, Zuvaro had him call him "Senior Brother," but after returning to the North American coast, Miki had him recognize him as "Teacher." But Zuvaro and Miki were considered brothers who had "gone through life and death" together, which was truly interesting.

Next, the three high priests in charge of the port and fleet carefully checked the harvest brought back by the two ocean-crossing ships, and Chimel wrote down the records.

"One Korean physician, eleven Wa craftsmen, three Wa farmers, two Jurchen horse breeders, two horses offered to His Majesty, a pair of breeding cattle, two pairs of fine hounds, six pairs of chickens, ducks, and geese, and various seeds…"

Chimel looked carefully for a long time, especially at the two "horned beasts," which made him yearn to ride them. He smiled and said to Miki.

"These two four-legged riding beasts must be brought back to the Lake Kingdom to be offered to the God-King and His Majesty… I think this pair of four-legged plowing beasts should be left on Great Whale Island to be raised with the horse herd?…"

"Hmm…"

Miki's eyes flickered, and after pondering for a moment, he smiled and replied.

"The Main God is our witness! The far north is bitterly cold, and there is very little land for cultivation. There is only one pair of these plowing beasts, so they should be transported back to the Lake Kingdom as soon as possible to breed properly… However, these three types of 'turkeys' are said to produce delicious 'eggs.' Why not leave one pair of each on Great Whale Island, and also leave a West Sea farmer to take care of them… Chimel, what do you think?…"

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Hearing this, Chimel understood instantly. "Cattle" were what His Majesty specifically requested, and transporting the first pair of plowing cattle back would be an extraordinary achievement. Miki, that fellow, seemed to want to take all the credit upon himself to offset the loss of the great ocean-crossing ship, so that his promotion to chief priest would be justified and without any obstacles!

"The Main God protects us! That makes sense… These four-legged plowing beasts should be transported back as soon as possible!… And the fleet going to support the West Sea must also set off as soon as possible, preferably within seven days…"

Chimel smiled, and Miki nodded gratefully. The two then looked at Losanda, and the Level Three High Priest was silent for only a moment before bowing respectfully and loudly promising in front of everyone.

"Yes! Praise the Main God! Within seven days, Losanda will lead four great ocean-crossing ships across the six-thousand-mile God-Revealed Island Chain to support the West Sea front!…"

"Good! Praise the Main God! High Priest Losanda, the Main God will surely see your hard work!…"

"Indeed, the Main God watches over everything! The priest corps in the royal capital will surely know of Losanda's achievements!…"

The arrangements for the fleet were thus settled. Losanda, who had come east full of hope, could only rest for ten days before gratefully setting off again to cross the tens of thousands of miles of life-and-death waves to the west. Since Miki had taken over Losanda's returning fleet, he was not in such a hurry and had to ensure the safety of all the "achievements." He had to make sure that the two newly arrived horses were well rested, and let the old blacksmith master recuperate, even if it meant returning in mid-August.

In the following seven days, Losanda was not idle. He stayed by the side of the two chief high priests all day, explaining the situation in the West Sea continent and the various tribal forces that the kingdom had contacted in detail, and marking them on the West Sea map. The origin of this map originally came from "prophetic revelations" and only had a rough outline. But now, after being filled in, it was much more detailed than before, and it was even likely to be the only complete "Northeast Asia map" in the Nava world!

And as the two chief high priests surrounded the map, listening to Losanda's detailed explanations, the snowfields, forests, and large islands of Northeast Asia on the West Sea continent, the diverse nomadic, hunting, and farming tribes, and the unimaginably powerful kingdoms, finally lifted their veils for the first time in the Nava world after the ethereal prophecies!…