Rodrigo looked in surprise at the newly appeared Ehécatl.
“Yes, I heard your voice when I was on Mars, but after that, I never heard you again. I assume you were the one who healed me back then,” Rodrigo said.
“Indeed. I was entrusted by the great Quetzalcóatl with escorting you to his temple in Cholollan, south of here,” the wind god replied.
“Wait a moment. Does that mean you’ve always been with Rodrigo, ever since he wore your totema?” Epona asked.
“Indeed. Since that day, I have not ceased watching over him, to protect him in case he required my assistance,” Ehécatl said, finishing his bow and looking at the goddess of horses.
Epona blushed.
“Do not worry, Lady Epona. I have not observed you in your private moments. I am not a pervert,” Ehécatl said, then began to laugh.
“So you know our names too?” Tania asked.
“Indeed, Lady Tania. Ever since I found Rodrigo, I have also heard your conversations,” Ehécatl replied. “Thanks to my ability to become atoms, I have been able to remain hidden within the totema.”
“Wait a moment,” Ana interrupted. “Rodrigo’s been in danger lots of times, and you didn’t help him.”
“In truth, only three: in the cave of dreams, when facing Tezcatlipoca, and finally when you faced Coyote,” Ehécatl answered.
“However, Lady Tania managed to save you in the cave just as I was about to intervene, and you saved him when Tezcatlipoca attacked you. In both cases, you prevented my intervention. With Coyote, matters were more complicated, for I could not intervene in Lord Rodrigo’s nightmare. But Lady Epona awakened him at that moment, so I thank you as well,” the wind god explained.
“So you finally appeared when Xólotl was about to attack us again?” Menrva asked.
“Indeed, Lady Menrva. I underestimated Xólotl’s abilities during the first battle, but I could not wait for him to attack you again, for you would not have been able to win,” Ehécatl said, then turned and looked directly at Rodrigo.
“Lord Rodrigo,” Ehécatl said. “Would it be acceptable for us to depart there immediately?”
“Before heading there, why do you not speak of our past and my brother’s in Puh?” a voice was heard behind the gods.
When they realized it, it was Xólotl who, despite his wounds, had managed to reach the box where they all were.
All the members of Orniskem went on alert, but Xólotl raised his hand.
“I no longer intend to stop you. I surrender,” he said.
“The matter between Xólotl and myself is personal, and it does not involve you,” Ehécatl said as he wrapped the Zacateco god in a tornado.
“Wait, there’s no need to kill him!” Tania shouted furiously, but Rodrigo stopped her.
“It’s the same technique he used on me to heal me when he found me,” Rodrigo said, calming her down.
“I regret that I could not teach you this technique, Lord Rodrigo, but despite being a Venus, you have no affinity for healing techniques,” Ehécatl said as he dispersed the tornado around Xólotl, and the god appeared completely healed.
“Then why does he want to take Rodrigo to Cholollan?” Anpiel asked. “Also, what does this Quetzalcóatl want with our friend?”
“As I told you,” Xólotl interrupted.
“It would be best to speak about us when we lived in Puh, or as the Toltecs now call it: Teotihuacán,” he concluded.
“I believe you are correct,” Ehécatl said.
Then, with a motion of his hands, the god created a kind of fluffy cloud and placed them over the seats in the stands.
“Please, lie upon them,” the wind god said.
The moment Rodrigo and the others lay down on the clouds, they felt great relief throughout their bodies, as if the clouds were giving them a pleasant massage.
“After the beatings we took in that game, this makes all my aches and sorrows fade away,” Freyja said very cheerfully.
However, Tul was the only one who did not sit. The Maya goddess continued looking at Ehécatl with a defiant gaze.
“Forgive me, Lady Tul, but I have not come to reopen old wounds between your kingdom and mine,” Ehécatl said with a sorrowful look as he saw the rabbit goddess’s challenging expression.
“I’d rather stay here and heal myself with my own stuff,” Tul said, sitting on the floor with her knees folded beneath her. The goddess then began taking medicine out of her bag.
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At that moment, Tania stood and hugged Tul.
“Come with me. Do not be a rebellious child,” the Punic goddess told the rabbit goddess.
“Really, ch’úupal, I’m okay here,” the Maya goddess said, refusing. But Tania dragged her to the cloud where she was lying and laid her down beside her.
“Remember, Tul. This journey is so all of us can break stigmas and grudges between one another,” Tania said.
“I do not know what past you have with the gods of Tula, but he is someone who has helped Rodrigo until now, and we can trust him,” she explained.
Tul took a deep breath and smiled at Tania.
“Okay, ch’úupal. I’ll stay here with you,” she said.
Tania stroked her head while also congratulating her for the excellent work she had done on the playing court.
The god Ehécatl also sat on a fluffy cloud and joined his hands to begin speaking about his history.
“More than eight hundred years ago, we began governing the city of Puh, which was the most important city in the region,” Ehécatl began.
Using his cloud powers, he created a model of what the city looked like in those days.
“The city was an attempt to create a unified government among the different gods of this region. There were Nahua or Toltec gods, Otomí gods, Totonac gods, Zapotec gods, and Maya gods. The objective was to make peace with the different empires that were arising in the region and, in that way, create a global capital where each of us could discuss the needs of our peoples in a civilized manner,” Ehécatl continued explaining.
“From what I heard, Puh was the name the Maya gave that city, and it was chosen because it was the easiest name for all the different ethnic groups to remember,” Tul interrupted.
“Indeed. Quetzalcóatl and I were born in that city and grew up there. My master was the son of one of the principal gods of the first great empire, so he was raised as a prince. I, on the other hand, always grew up as his butler, though we always shared a bond of friendship rather than one of master and servant,” Ehécatl continued his story.
“But there is no such thing as utopia. The Chichimeca kingdoms, fearful of Puh’s great influence in the north, began launching raids against the kingdom of the gods,” Xólotl interrupted.
“Added to that were power disputes among the different ethnic factions, which began ending in bloodbaths,” he continued explaining.
Tul then closed her eyes and wore a frustrated expression.
“Lady Tul has every reason to be upset,” Ehécatl said. “Several Maya were murdered by my people, the Nahuas, who grew jealous of the progress that group continued to make.”
“Some caciques in Mayapán keep making deals with Tula, saying those conflicts are already things of the past, but lots of us still carry those memories fresh in our hearts,” Tul said very sadly.
Tania embraced the rabbit goddess maternally, trying to make her feel better.
“Taking advantage of the chaos within Puh, the queen of the Caxcanes, who led most of the Chichimeca kingdoms, the terrible goddess Itzpapálotl, was finally able to attack our city. Therefore, it became necessary to defend ourselves against her invasion,” Ehécatl said.
“Yes, and that was when you decided to use Nanahuatzin and Tecuciztécatl as solar weapons to fight in favor of our civilization,” Xólotl said. “We call that event the Fourth Sun.”
“The Fourth Sun?” Anpiel asked, puzzled.
“It is a term we use in these lands,” Ehécatl answered.
“When a civilization is on the verge of meeting a catastrophic end, that civilization defends itself by creating one or more sun gods through self-immolation or the genocide of an entire ethnic group,” he explained.
“When I was in Cahokia, I faced the king of that region, and by performing thousands of human sacrifices, he became a sun,” Tania interrupted.
“You met the king of Cahokia?” Xólotl asked in surprise.
“Not only that… I defeated him,” the Punic goddess said.
“That cannot be. If you were unable to defeat me, then it would be impossible for you to defeat a New Sun,” the Zacateco god said, puzzled.
“That is because the battle took place outside this continent’s barrier,” Ehécatl said. “Beyond this land, that young lady would tear you apart in three seconds.”
Xólotl made a gesture of surprise, but continued explaining the story.
“Nanahuatzin managed to become a New Sun through self-sacrifice. However, Tecuciztécatl hesitated before throwing himself into the fire, and his transformation was incomplete. Thus, since I was the first possible candidate if the sacrifice failed, Ehécatl attempted to kill me,” Xólotl said bitterly, pointing at the wind god.
“I was merely following orders, Xólotl,” Ehécatl replied. “No one could have known you would lose your nerve and flee to our enemies.”
“And does that justify the genocide you committed afterward to create, failed though it still was, the next sun?” Xólotl asked.
Ehécatl looked down with a pained expression.
“That is why I cannot take your life, Xólotl. Because I, too, am a sinner because of the decisions of our former leader, the Second Feathered Serpent,” he said.
“Did you know that Nanahuatzin was the son of Itzpapálotl, and that you wished to use him to fight against his own mother?” Xólotl asked.
“We did not know, but I understand why he chose to follow you,” Ehécatl replied.
“Furthermore, it was the Empire of Puh that began pushing the Chichimeca kingdoms northward. Combined with a terrible climate change, it caused the perfect storm,” Xólotl continued.
“The Chichimecas were forced to move, both to defend themselves from Puh and to survive the enormous drought in the desert,” he explained.
“Quetzalcóatl had reflected deeply upon the crimes committed by the Second Feathered Serpent and had attempted not to repeat the same mistakes,” Ehécatl replied.
“Yes, I am aware of that,” Xólotl said. “However, that does not mean I can forgive you, even if this concerns the blood of my own brother,” he concluded.
“Well, then, what happened in the end to the city of Puh?” Rodrigo asked, puzzled.
“Well, Puh fell, and its inhabitants scattered throughout the region,” Ehécatl replied.
“However, Quetzalcóatl decided to take these invading Chichimeca peoples and create a new civilization based on principles similar to those of the great city of Puh. This is the kingdom of Tollan, of which you have heard so much until now,” he explained.
“Obviously, Itzpapálotl did not agree, but they managed to expel her north once again, where she has been plotting revenge ever since,” Xólotl said.
Then the Zacateco god asked Rodrigo if he remembered the town he had seen from atop the pyramid over Tlacuitlapán.
Rodrigo nodded.
“Those are the kingdoms of the Caxcanes. Their queen is this Itzpapálotl, possibly the second most powerful deity on this continent,” Xólotl said. “She grows stronger and stronger through massive human sacrifices and cannibalistic practices.”
“That’s horrible!” Tania said, horrified.
“At this very moment, she is the one sitting as regent of Tollan,” Xólotl said. “That is why the great empire fell into her hands.”