reign of blood

Passed down to you by Cuauhtemoc, Eagle Warrior of Tenochtitlan. An omen appeared above the forest, the shape of an ear of corn, but blazing like daybreak. It seemed to bleed fire, drop by drop, like a wound in the sky. I am a warrior, not a priest, and knew not what to make of such a sign.

I consulted with the seers and magicians to see if another great war was coming, but they answered only in riddles. ‘The gods want more sacrifice,’ was their answer. That was always their answer.

Much of our empire of rain forests and volcanoes has been conquered in the name of sacrifice. The magicians tell us that we must make a sacrifice every single day for the sun to continue to rise.

It took the relay teams two full days to carry my message the two hundred miles to our city of Tenochtitlan. After two more days, my uncle, Montezuma, emperor of the Aztecs, sent his reply.
Montezuma’s priests foretold that the god Quetzalcoatl might soon return from his long exile. How else to explain the omen?

Montezuma ordered my warriors to increase their efforts to consolidate the rain forest between our lands and those of our enemies. We must establish control over four shrines that are sacred to Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent.

Because the Aztec Empire is mighty and constantly expands, we have made many enemies. We must defend these shrines from our enemies in order to prepare for Quetzalcoatl’s eventual return.