Tania, Ana, and Menrva appeared in a world that was strange and beautiful at the same time. It was a lovely meadow filled with flowers of many colors, with butterflies flying all around.
There were gigantic solitary trees, so tall that they vanished into the sky. And speaking of the sky, it was red, as if it were sunset. There was not a single cloud, and the stars could be seen.
Red mountains, whose end could not be perceived, poured greenish water, like jade, into the countless rivers throughout the area. In fact, rather than a meadow, it seemed like a place created from an infinity of islets.
Exotic and strange plants rose between the many islands, and on their branches, more islands could be seen. It was as if that strange world were formed from an enormous multitude of layers.
On the lowest layer were the countless rivers and flower-covered islands. But the next levels were formed by the branches of the trees and the strange plants. It was possible that more layers existed above the red mountains.
“Where are we?” Ana asked, confused as she looked at the bizarre and unusual world around them.
“Tamoanchan, or something like that,” Menrva replied. “Well, that is what I managed to hear from that woman.”
Gigantic birds could be seen flying across the sky as they sang with strange sounds. Their colors were far too varied to resemble anything ever seen on Earth.
“I heard a story about a group of men who unearthed the bones of a dragon in the desert, south of Libya,” Tania said. “I assume it must have been a creature like that.”
“The more important question is, how do we get out of here?” Menrva asked her two companions, who were still looking at the strange world.
“Didn’t the woman say this was the world of that Chichimeca queen we keep hearing about?” Ana asked.
“Ispapalon!” Tania said, trying to say the Chichimeca goddess’s name.
“I do not think that was it,” Menrva replied with a disapproving gesture.
“Well, if anyone can pronounce it better than me, raise your hand.”
“Yeah, no idea,” Ana replied, lifting her shoulders.
“The names here are simply too strange for me,” Menrva added.
“It is pronounced Itzpapálotl. ‘Itztli’ means obsidian, and ‘papalotl’ means butterfly. And when two words are combined, the suffix ‘tli’ is generally removed,” said a woman’s voice from behind the goddesses.
The three goddesses turned around. Sitting on a branch was the goddess Itzpapálotl, surrounded by several red-and-black butterflies. The goddess had her legs crossed and her face resting on her hand.
“Are you the one they call the queen of the Chichimecas?” Tania asked the goddess.
“Indeed. Moreover, I am now the ruler of Tula,” the goddess said with an air of elegance and malice. Her face could not be seen because she wore a skull as a mask.
The Chichimeca goddess then jumped down from the branch and stood.
“I wanted to invite you to my world because I wanted you to join my retinue,” the goddess said. “I know you are foreigners and have no affinity with the gods who once ruled this city.”
“Indeed. We came all the way to these lands to help our friend learn about his past,” Tania replied.
Ana tried to say something to Tania, but Tania interrupted her.
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“However, I also made a deal with Taloc and Chipetotek, where we would help them recover their city from your invasion,” Tania continued explaining.
“Tláloc and Xipe Tótec, Tania,” Menrva interrupted with an embarrassed gesture.
“Likewise, Cholo informed us about your extreme practices of human sacrifice,” Tania kept saying.
“Xólotl, Tania,” Ana interrupted, also with a disappointed expression.
“And on top of all that, we were promised the abolition of human sacrifices in this region in exchange for our help,” Tania finished. “I doubt you have a better offer than that.”
Itzpapálotl lifted her shoulders and made an indifferent gesture.
“You are right. I do not,” she said.
The goddess turned around and began explaining her intentions, the desire that had led her to join Huitzilopochtli in order to seize Tula.
“As you must know, many ethnic groups formed the ancient city of Puh, the utopian project of the Second Feathered Serpent to create a world of peace and harmony, where all of us would live in unity,” the Chichimeca goddess explained as she sat again on the branch of a tree.
“So far, we have met Nahuas, Mayas, and Otomíes,” Menrva answered.
“However, there was a group of people who did not agree with the union of ethnic groups, because we perceived that it would weaken our cultural identity. So, we decided to continue living in the north without involving ourselves in their cultural ideals,” Itzpapálotl continued explaining.
“You mean you and your group?” Tania asked.
The Chichimeca goddess nodded.
“After a few centuries, the people of Puh began to feel superior to us because their technology surpassed ours. They farmed instead of hunting. They did not follow wild animals in search of food. Even their rituals had become refined, and now they dedicated more time to leisure and hedonism than to community and work,” Itzpapálotl said.
The goddess then stood again. Though her face could not be seen, her demeanor had changed from cynical to aggressive and furious.
“When their farming lands were no longer enough for them, they began invading my people’s land. They justified it by saying our practices were barbaric, and they used that as a casus belli to rob and massacre my people,” the Chichimeca goddess said, almost shouting. But at that moment, she tried to calm herself.
“Why does none of this surprise me anymore?” Tania thought to herself.
“So I ordered the invasion of their empire. But those bastards sacrificed my son, who had decided to live in Puh, and used him as the Fourth Sun to fight against me and my people,” Itzpapálotl continued explaining furiously.
Then the goddess took a deep breath and calmed her voice.
“Even so, we won, and the city of Puh fell into ruins,” the Chichimeca goddess said. “But my people, seduced by the hedonistic lifestyle they had in Puh, turned their backs on me and created this new empire, the Toltec Empire.”
The goddess then raised her hand toward the sky.
“I am only reclaiming what was mine by right, and with Huitzilopochtli’s help, I achieved it,” she finished her story.
“You intend to rule your people even though they no longer follow your traditions?” Menrva asked.
“No,” the Chichimeca goddess replied. “I am going to raze this city and the others that form the Toltec Empire, so that everyone returns to the nomadic life they deserve.”
“So, basically, you just want to force your people to do whatever your whim demands?” Tania asked, bored.
“What do you mean?” Itzpapálotl answered with another question.
“We met a guy in the north named Buenabozo who had ideals similar to yours,” Tania said, though she made a disgusted face when remembering the Anishinaabe deity.
“Wenabozho,” Ana corrected her, but Tania completely ignored her.
“He also believed that people had become corrupted in the great cities and that they should return to the nomadic world again,” Tania continued explaining.
“However,” the Punic goddess said, annoyed, “he never forced people to follow him. He gave them the choice to change their way of life little by little… to experiment and decide for themselves.”
Then Tania pointed aggressively at the Chichimeca goddess.
“What you are doing is taking freedom away from your people!” Tania shouted aggressively, without stopping her pointing at the deity.
Itzpapálotl began laughing at Tania’s words.
“How much stupid shit can your mouth produce, foreigner?” the Chichimeca goddess said, still laughing as she stood again. “But I understand your refusal perfectly.”
Then the goddess raised her arms and looked toward the sky.
“It is a shame that you are nothing but ignorant fools,” she said. “I decided to bring you here so you could see this beautiful world and understand my own greatness, but you have chosen to die by my hands right here.”
“Die? Do not underestimate us,” Menrva said with a confident look.
But Menrva did not notice that the butterflies flying through that peculiar world had landed on her.
“It is a shame, because Mictlán is demanding your soul right now,” Itzpapálotl replied, and then she moved her right arm.
The butterflies then extracted Menrva’s soul from her body. Before the goddess or her friends could do anything, she fell to the ground and died instantly before Tania and Ana’s horrified eyes.
“What happened?” Ana shouted, frightened.
“She is dead. My soul butterflies have taken your friend to the other world,” Itzpapálotl said, lifting her shoulders indifferently.