It seems to be equivalent to the fantasy species, but it is subtly different. In Tlaloc's words, it feels like the Rain God and the Left Hummingbird have descended to appear in person.
The Aztec warriors were not surprised by the appearance of the coyote Curtis. Instead, they seemed accustomed to it and made way for it. The huge coyote then lay down obediently beside Favia.
"... Could it be..." Bartolomé whispered in amazement, "A local mystery in America..."
"Yes, its name is Curti. In Indian mythology, this is the name of the patron saint."
"...Okay, I'll go with you." Bartolomé nodded heavily, "I'll go with you to bring the Indians back."
A faint smile appeared on Favia's lips again, as if to affirm the priest's bravery.
Then, the Aztec leopard warriors who were originally staying on the coastline and the Chichimecs who came with the coyotes boarded the ship that Favia came on and the ship brought by Hernan.
"Do you need help?"
Just as Favia was watching everyone board the boat, Tlaloc's voice sounded in his ears. It seemed that she, like Coyote, came here after learning about the situation.
"I thought you were going to walk up there without saying a word."
"You mean it's necessary? Okay, I understand."
The black-haired girl replied calmly, and then planned to go to the boat on her own, but before she could take a few steps, she was stopped by Favia.
"Forget it. There is no Aztec faith on the island of Cuba. Coyote and I are enough."
In fact, Tlaloc's strength at this moment is not as strong as when he first fought Favia. Due to the abolition of human sacrifice, the Central and South American world has been in a slow "destruction". In addition, the replacement of the rain god and the left hummingbird faith has made the black-haired girl, who can be called a living god, extremely weakened.
The destruction of the world and the decline of faith will naturally cause the strength of Moon Lake to slowly return to the level of elves rather than gods.
"......No, I will go." Tlaloc shook his head, "But it's not because I'm partial to you, it's because of the sun."
"sun?"
"Well, because Tlaloc is the Sun of the Third Sun, and as you said—"
The black-haired girl turned around and looked Favia straight in the eye. She straightened her chest and looked like she had a clear conscience.
"The sun is great because it can illuminate even the smallest dust. I am not so foolish as to deny the greatness of the sun just because I want to kill you. The Indians of Cuba are people who live in this cruel world together."
"Is that so... Is this what you, as the incarnation of Moon Lake, think?"
Favia's eyes were fixed on Tlaloc, and he moved forward slowly but steadily, one step at a time.
"Tenochtitlan is indeed an extremely beautiful city. Or rather, a city that existed and was born because of the Moon Lake cannot be anything but beautiful."
".......It doesn't matter. It's up to you."
"Okay...By the way, does Xiaoxi know what's going on here?"
"I see that Bawan Xi is still studying, so she hasn't told me what's going on here." Traloc paused and said expressionlessly, "Since you care about her so much, why don't you let her stay with you all the time?"
"That's true. Although I know things will eventually calm down, I can't predict the process because there might be chaos and unexpected things. Because it's unpredictable, I hope she can stay safe."
"...I don't understand. Won't Bawan Xi be angry?"
The black-haired girl suddenly said angrily.
"Because I made a promise to her that I would come back."
241: Light in North America (5k5)
When Geronimo was eight years old, the Spanish lords personally branded his slave mark on his forehead with a red-hot iron.
The temperature of a red-hot soldering iron tip can reach nearly eighty or nine hundred degrees Celsius. If such a high temperature comes into contact with the human body, the consequences can be imagined. Even an average adult cannot bear it, let alone a young child.
When he was first branded, Geronimo burst into tears due to the excessive physical pain, but as he cried, he gradually stopped feeling the pain.
It seems as if you have lost the feeling of pain. In fact, this is because such severe burns will cause the subcutaneous nerve tissue to be destroyed, and people will not feel too much pain afterwards. Only deep red and charred wounds that are difficult to subside or remain there forever will be left, representing that you are a slave.
In addition to the physical numbness, perhaps it was also because he had known this day since he was a child.
As the child of a slave, he was naturally also a slave. This was engraved deep in Geronimo's heart.
After the lord let go of the red-hot iron, Geronimo, who was sweating profusely, smelled a familiar fragrance wafting in the air.
He felt somewhat familiar with it, because it seemed to be the fragrance that the lord would sometimes emit when he ate food called meat.
He heard that some Indians had eaten meat in the past, but that was no longer the case now. Any wild animals hunted had to be handed over to the lord first, otherwise their scalps would be peeled off.
Geronimo had never eaten meat. He had only eaten various foods made from corn ground into powder, corn itself, and a drink made from cactus fruit and water that the lord gave them when he was pleased.
That would have been delicious.
Then, a little more than five years passed after he was branded.
The most noble people on the island of Cuba are the Spanish lords. As slaves, we cannot and will not refute this. This is the concept that has been instilled in Geronimo since he was born, and he has always regarded it as the truth.
But Geronimo still remembers what happened that day when a group of people with the same skin color as him launched a massive attack.
The Spanish, who had long regarded the indigenous people of Cuba as inferior "black pigs", originally thought that after so many years, these Indians no longer dared to resist. However, the reality was not as they thought. The local indigenous people still had the flames of resistance.
Therefore, in 1513, some indigenous people on the island of Cuba launched a massive uprising.
"Run away! You can run to the jungle or somewhere else, just run away and stay alive! Find a boat and leave! Just leave here!"
Geronimo felt confused when he was yelled at by a stranger who suddenly appeared. Therefore, he chose not to listen to the man, but ran back to the simple house where the Spanish lord let them live.
At that time, the news of the uprising had just spread throughout Cuba. Upon hearing the news, the Governor of Cuba immediately formed a large Spanish army to suppress the Indians.
Due to the gap in strength, the uprising came to an end within a few days, and the sound of firearms announced the end of the rebels.
Perhaps in order to intimidate the Indians who survived the uprising, the Governor of Cuba did not choose to kill them all at once, but instead let the surviving Indian slaves see the consequences of resisting them.
"Stupid black pig, you really don't know that innocent courage means nothing in front of educated bullets."
The Governor of Cuba said this with a smile when he ordered his slaves to scalp the previously captured rebels one by one in front of many Indian slaves. The Spaniards who had followed the Governor to suppress the uprising and received rich rewards also laughed.
Only the Indians fell silent. Even the Indian slaves who were scalping their compatriots in the name of the Governor of Cuba could not help but tremble.
"Sol, Sol, Sol, Sol, Sol, Sol, Sol..."
However, when the rebels were scalped by their compatriots, they all laughed and shouted like this.
Incredibly, they all looked very happy.
In fact, they did not want to die under the insult of the Spaniards. If they had to die, they at least wanted to die with their compatriots who had died on the battlefield before.
There were no records of any casualties in this massacre because the Spanish did not consider them human and therefore did not intend to record them.
It was not until many years later that this reality was revealed in the book "Narrative of the Destruction of the Indies" written by Father Bartolomé, who participated in the massacre and hated this act and thus embarked on a path opposite to colonization. Therefore, as a humanitarian, Bartolomé was hostile to the authorities and vested interests in Spain throughout his life.
However, according to the writings of another Spanish eyewitness, the conquest of "America" was a different story.
In "The Undisputed History of the Conquest of New Spain" written by del Castillo, who followed Hernán Cortes to conquer the Aztecs, the story is narrated from a soldier's perspective. When reading the first few paragraphs, you will feel as if you have walked into the wrong theater, and what you see before you is the scene of Robinson Crusoe, with islands, savages, and tribes.
This book has a very good description of the customs and people of the Aztec region, but the massacres mentioned in the book were all because the Indians intended to murder the Spaniards, and the Spaniards only did it in self-defense; or the massacres were carried out without Hernan's knowledge; or they were caused by hatred among the indigenous Indians.
In short, Hernan would never massacre unless it was absolutely necessary; similarly, Hernan would not take the initiative to plunder gold. He would only accept the gold if the chiefs came to him and insisted on giving it to him, and he would do so only when he could not refuse, and would exchange it for glass beads, a specialty of Spain; even the beautiful Indian women, Hernan was forced to accept them.
It also said that Hernán Cortes was a gentleman, an upright Spanish citizen, and a faithful believer in America, a gift from God.
After all, due to different standpoints, the focus of historical documents written will also be different.
Ultimately, in the conquerors' self-portraits, they are the 'heroes' who liberate evil, the myth of defeating a huge ancient empire with only insignificant force.
However, Castillo still said at the end of the book, "Every one of us went to New Spain for gold." The reason he said this at the end might be because he felt guilty.
At night, in the gold mines on the island of Cuba, countless Indians were bending over and digging for gold under the supervision of supervisors.
There was only dim, almost non-existent light in the gold mine, which looked no different from pitch black. Each small hole was like a dog hole, and the Indians could only bend over and curl up to dig for gold. This was a working environment that ordinary people could not endure, but for them, any complaints or resistance would result in beatings or cruel treatment by the Spaniards.
For Geronimo, such a difficult life was already commonplace. Even at a young age, he had a hunchback and a curved spine due to long-term bending over and working, and there was no muscle in his body that did not hurt.
However, in this small and dark cave, this might be the first time for Geronimo to do this.
Because of the pain, his eyes were filled with tears.
So when he came, he secretly asked his fellow countrymen who were digging for gold nearby.
"Why do they say 'sun'?"
The word "Sol" that the rebels kept shouting before their death means "sun" in Spanish.
Geronimo didn't understand why he was shouting at the sun, and he quite hated the sun because when the sun came out, the weather would be very hot and he would be very tired.
"Because the sun is not only 'Sol' but also 'Apo'."
".........Apo?"
"This is the pronunciation of the sun in our language. In our language and in legends, the sun has always been protecting us."
Later, Geronimo learned from the old Indian some myths that he himself did not know.
Various animals that are the embodiment of nature will bring peace, protection and glory.
It seems that in more distant places, there is a myth that the gods who were forced to leave love the existence of humans.
It is like a kingdom that has used the glory of the leopard throughout its life after the departure of the god who loves human peace.
And among all this, the sun is always supreme and will always shine on all things, as if it is protecting them.
Because of this, Geronimo's eyes were filled with tears at this moment.
Because he understood that the 'sun' he knew was different from the sun they knew.
The sun is the patron saint of their nation.
However, those who became slaves at a young age and were influenced by the Spaniards had no such awareness.
Both the knowledge of their own people's great admiration for the sun and the experience of being treated as human beings were too unfamiliar to them.
The only thing I remember is the life in the cramped gold mines and the hard life, being treated like a human beast, and the high and mighty people called Spain who created this environment.
The only thing Geronimo had in common with them was a 'fate' that was destined to happen, a 'destiny' that had been engraved long, long ago, and that would arrive at an unknown time.
Even if you look up at the sky countless times, seeing the vast, blue, unchanging sky and the sun that always emits dazzling light, you cannot change this cruel reality.
Then, six years after the massacre, at noon one day in 1519, Geronimo, who was bending over in the gold mine as usual to dig gold for the Spaniards, heard shouting from outside that seemed to have happened many years ago, so he subconsciously quietly retreated from the small hole that was like a dog hole, wanting to see what was happening.
The moment he stuck his head out and looked at the sun-filled world outside the gold mine, he squinted uncontrollably because of the intense sunlight, and felt from the bottom of his heart... disbelief or perhaps unbelievability.
Many warriors wearing leopard masks and men using bows and arrows, those using spears, and gigantic coyotes...
The scenes from the Indian myth suddenly appeared before the eyes of the tortured Cuban natives.
The unimaginable excitement and excitement made countless Indians on the island of Cuba tremble all over.
I don't know whether it was because of the joy of being rescued or the fear of another massacre by the Spanish, or maybe both.
In an instant, Favia, who walked into the gold mine, became the focus of everyone's attention.
Even though he was wearing the leopard mask that the Smoke Mirror had given him, which was so dazzling and terrifying in the sunlight, all the Indians opened their eyes wide and stared at him without blinking.
"I'm here to pick you up."
For a moment, the blue eyes seemed to conflict with the ferocity of the leopard mask.
It was as if the blood and black marks engraved deep in the hearts of many hard workers were firmly bounced away by blue eyes as blue as the sea and sky.
"Ouch!"
Coty, the giant coyote known as the patron saint of the Indians, also let out a roar that was enough to shake the gold mine, as if he was cheering.
I don’t know if it’s because when Favia was born in this life, he was raised by many animals and fed by a she-wolf, but in any case, Coty obeys Favia’s words very much, which makes Tlaloc really unable to understand.
Soon, with the landing of the Aztec Empire warriors led by Favia on the island of Cuba, the Cuban Indians, of which only one in ten remained, had the opportunity to leave Cuba and go to the Indian tribes in the Aztecs.
"...Why don't you leave?"
For some reason, Geronimo did not leave with his compatriots in the gold mine, but instead stood there motionless and watched in silence.
This was naturally noticed by Favia and Tlaloc beside him. Tlaloc, who was a little confused, asked before Favia could speak.
"I don't quite understand what you mean. Why should I leave?"
The estrangement and confusion in Geronimo's eyes came from the heart.
“Aren’t you a native of this place?”
"I am, and so are my parents."
"Well, they all left, why didn't you leave?"
"There's no reason. If I have to explain, it's because my sun is different from theirs, so I have no right to leave."
