The members of Orniskem spent the entire morning discussing what they had to do and the decisions they would have to make.
Epona, however, was melancholy. Ana also could not hide her displeasure the moment Rodrigo spoke about it.
“I have to stay here for a while,” the young man finally confessed.
“But those were not Athena’s orders!” Menrva protested furiously at those words.
“I know, but… it is something I simply cannot tell you yet. I only ask for your understanding,” Rodrigo replied, ashamed. “When the time comes, I will join you again.”
“Rodrigo-san, if you decide to stay, I believe it would be prudent for one of us to remain with you,” Susanoo interrupted. However, Rodrigo opposed it by shaking his head.
“Is this about something you discussed with that Quetzalqual fellow?” Tania asked, confused.
Anpiel was about to correct her, but Epona gestured for him not to. It was not the right moment.
“At present, I possess one of the most dangerous weapons: knowledge,” Rodrigo replied. “Even so, the Feathered Serpent has not given me all the details, only a small portion of what he discovered.”
At that moment, Rodrigo stood and looked toward the ceiling.
“You must take advantage of this now, since the Little Horn is asleep. But when he awakens, he will come for me, and a war unlike anything seen before will begin,” Rodrigo said cryptically.
“The… Little Horn?” Tania asked, confused.
“It is the Eye That Sees All. Nothing in the universe goes unnoticed,” Rodrigo said. “But right now, it sleeps, and that is why we have been able to move freely.”
“Are you talking about the god El?” Ana asked sharply.
“I do not know,” Rodrigo finally replied. “I am only mentioning what I saw, but I cannot explain anything more.”
“The Eye That Sees All is a symbol used to represent the Eye of the Trinity,” Anpiel said. “If you are referring to an eye inside a triangle, it is very possible that you are referring to the symbol of the Eye of God, according to Christianity.”
“Yes, I learned that it was a symbol used in alchemy,” Loki added. “I think every one of us has seen that symbol at some point in our lives.”
“It is possible,” Rodrigo replied. “But the Eye is closed at the moment.”
“Then, when the Eye opens and finds you, will it try to destroy you?” Epona asked nervously.
“As long as I remain on this continent, I will be able to pass unnoticed by its gaze,” Rodrigo replied. “The Feathered Serpent thought of that solution, and that is why he commanded Lel to kill him.”
“But with Anat trapped inside Jotunheimr, no one will know your whereabouts on this continent, right?” Freyja asked.
Menrva took a deep breath then.
“We must find Athena before Anat is released from her prison,” the Etruscan goddess said.
“Even so, we have lost quite a lot of time, and without Rui’s power, we will not be as strong,” Ana said, disappointed.
“No, Ana,” Rodrigo interrupted. “You are very strong.”
“I hate admitting it, Rodrigo… but I think your power is on Anat’s level,” Tania confessed, blushing and somewhat annoyed.
“Especially against the power of Heracles, the guardian of the entrance to Olympus,” Menrva said. “We would need your power to face him.”
Then Epona stood angrily.
“Rodrigo is not your tool!” the equine goddess shouted furiously at Menrva.
The Etruscan goddess realized what she was doing and chose to remain silent.
“I… am tempted to stay with Rodrigo,” Epona replied. “But I know I must not. I know we have to continue our mission.”
Then Epona turned to look at Rodrigo with a determined gaze.
“However, I know that what Rodrigo carries on his shoulders is something more dangerous than what Athena may represent to Lel,” the Celtic goddess continued, and at that moment, she closed her eyes in frustration.
“Epona, if you want…” Rodrigo said, but the goddess interrupted him by shaking her head.
“I will be more useful there than here,” Epona replied. “Besides, I know this will not be goodbye, only farewell for now.”
Rodrigo wanted to mention to Epona the promise they had made in Ibiza, where both of them had decided to stay and live a quiet life. But both of them had grown enough to leave their dreams behind because of the responsibility they now carried on their shoulders.
At that moment, two Toltec soldiers approached the entrance of the room and informed them that the god Tezcatlipoca wished to see the members of Orniskem.
They agreed.
The gods presented themselves before the king of Tollan, inside the room where, months earlier, he had met with Anat. The god was seated on his throne, and beside him, Tláloc and Xipe Tótec stood.
Before the god were two goddesses. The first was Ixchel, and Rodrigo knew the second one; she was the goddess who had introduced herself to him as Tlazolteotl.
“We have come as you requested, Lord Tezcatlipoca,” Anpiel said in Nahuatl, bowing before the group of gods in front of them. Everyone else also slightly lowered their heads.
After the bow, Rodrigo stared directly at the king of Tula. Although they had agreed to fight together, a certain tension could still be felt in the air.
“Quetzalcóatzin!” Tlazolteotl shouted with laughter, and all the other Toltec gods began to laugh.
“What?” Rodrigo asked, confused, as he turned and saw that both Tul and Anpiel were laughing discreetly.
“We spent all of yesterday thinking about what nickname to give you,” Tezcatlipoca said, laughing. “And we came up with adding a ‘tzin’ at the end of my brother’s name.”
“Indeed, you are not Quetzalcóatl, but you are definitely a miniature version of him,” Tláloc added.
The members of Orniskem turned to look at Anpiel and Tul, and they explained that “tzin” was a way to make words diminutive.
“Well, you may call me whatever you wish, but I would prefer to be called Rodrigo,” the young tannin explained. “It is the name my mother gave me, after all.”
“But that word Rodrigo sounds strange to us,” Tlazolteotl explained as she approached the young man and began caressing his face sensually. Epona and Ana were furious.
“Hey, lady, don’t you think you’re going too far with Rodrigo?” Epona asked, annoyed, to the sensual goddess.
“Oh, so you are his couple?” the Huastec goddess asked with a malicious smile. “Do not worry. He will remain in my care now.”
“Rodrigo! I forbid you from staying with that woman!” Epona shouted furiously. Ana timidly joined the argument as well.
“Do not worry, Epona. She is a good person,” the young tannin replied innocently. Those words only angered the equine goddess even more.
At that moment, Tania interrupted the spectacle.
“Do you already know Rodrigo is staying with you?” the Punic goddess asked the king of Tula.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
“Not exactly with us, but he will travel farther south, toward the kingdoms of Mayapán. There, he will meet one of the disciples of the First Feathered Serpent,” Tezcatlipoca replied.
“Forgive me,” Rodrigo confessed. “It is something I mentioned to Tezcatlipoca before I saw you again.”
“And I am the goddess Tlazolteotl, though you may call me Teem,” the sensual goddess said. “My Huastec people have served as a bridge between the kingdoms of Tula and the kingdoms of Mayapán for years.”
“Does that mean chan Rodrigo will be able to meet Kukulkán?” the rabbit goddess asked in surprise.
Ixchel nodded.
“Very few people are worthy of meeting great Kukulkán, but Rodrigo has more than proven his worth,” Ixchel replied.
“However, for security reasons, the location of the world where the Feathered Serpent lives is unknown. No one present here knows where it is,” Teem explained.
Tul, excited, embraced Rodrigo.
“Not even I know him! It is a great honor, chan Rodrigo!”
“But Tul, did you not say Rodrigo looked like the Feathered Serpent of your country?” Tania asked, confused.
“I have only seen him in paintings,” the rabbit goddess replied. “It is even rare for a god of Mayapán to have an interview with him.”
“I met him only once,” Ixchel added. “He is a person who lives somewhat like a hermit.”
Tlazolteotl then embraced Rodrigo again while pressing the young man’s face against her breasts. But to her surprise, it was no longer Rodrigo, but Loki, who had swapped bodies with the young man.
“Well, what can I say? Opportunities only come once in a lifetime, red-faced beauty,” the dark god said as he took the Huastec goddess’s chin sensually.
“You are not cute!” Tlazolteotl shouted furiously and violently hurled Loki into one of the walls. It collapsed with force.
“Loki, someday you will die because of your dick,” Ana said, disappointed.
“Damn it, Tlazolteotl! Now they will have to repair that wall because of you!” Tezcatlipoca shouted furiously while everyone else laughed.
Then the king of Tula stared directly at Tania. The goddess knew he wanted to speak about the matter of human sacrifices and adopted a serious gaze.
“Well, we have fulfilled our promise. No human sacrifices have been performed since Itzpapálotl’s defeat,” the king of Tula said.
“However, the people are very restless, and we have heard rumors that they intend to rise in arms if they are not allowed to sacrifice the Caxcan gods and soldiers captured in the catacombs,” Tláloc added.
“I suppose it is a very difficult tradition to change,” Tania said, disappointed.
“But despite everything, I have come to believe that you are right, that all of you are correct,” the king of Tula confessed and stood.
Xipe Tótec looked on with disdain, while Tláloc made a parchment appear in his hands.
“We have decided to put in writing an alliance with your group, Orniskem, in which we pledge to gradually reduce human sacrifices until they disappear,” the Toltec god continued.
“In exchange, we will ask for protection against Lel, or that you continue preventing the arrival of the humans from the other side of the world until we have the proper conditions for the cultural clash,” he added.
Tezcatlipoca brought the parchment to Tania. The goddess did not understand what it said, so Tul read it to her.
“Then I accept,” Tania said.
“I hope you understand,” Tezcatlipoca said, “that we are placing our future completely in your hands. If something were to happen to you, it would be impossible for us to continue this agreement.”
Tania nodded.
“We will fulfill our promise,” the Punic goddess said.
Tezcatlipoca then cut his index finger and made a blood mark on the parchment. Seeing this, Tania did the same.
“It is done,” Menrva said then. “We will fight to prevent foreign intervention in these lands.”
“We will continue fighting against the threats we may face, such as that bastard Xólotl,” Xipe Tótec added.
“That is true. What happened to them?” Anpiel asked, confused.
“Both Xólotl and Nanahuatzin had already disappeared by the time the war ended,” Xipe Tótec continued explaining. “It is very likely they only sought to observe the weakness of our defenses, taking advantage of the chaos.”
“I do not think so,” Rodrigo confessed.
Everyone looked strangely at the young man.
“I think Xólotl was truly worried about this sacred city and came to help them… in his own way,” Rodrigo said. “Something inside me tells me that, after all, he was Quetzalcóatl’s brother.”
Silence filled the hall at that moment.
“In any case, he will remain a latent threat to our kingdom,” Xipe Tótec concluded.
“Even so, with the fall of Itzpapálotl and the Caxcan warriors, we can secure a period of peace,” Tezcatlipoca declared as he sat down again.
After another moment of silence, Anpiel finally bowed his head before the king of Tula.
“Your Majesty,” Anpiel said. “We would like to remain in this meeting, but we have already consumed much of our time in rescuing one of our companions, and we would like to leave these lands as swiftly as possible.”
“I suppose, then… this will be the farewell,” Rodrigo said timidly.
At that moment, Epona ran toward the young man and embraced him.
“Our promise still stands, Rodrigo, all right?” the equine goddess said with a smile and tears in her eyes.
Rodrigo nodded and kissed the Celtic goddess on the lips. Afterward, Ana appeared behind him and embraced him.
“Rui, take really good care of yourself,” the Irish goddess said.
“I truly apologize for not being able to accompany you to save Athena,” the young man replied.
Ana shook her head.
“I am sure my master knew something like this would happen,” she confessed.
Then she kissed Rodrigo on the cheek.
All the other members of Orniskem embraced Rodrigo and wished him good luck. All except Loki and Susanoo.
The eastern god stood before Rodrigo and bowed.
“Thanks to you, Rodrigo-san, I have finally become a slayer of Ryujin,” Susanoo said. “But that does not mean our rivalry shall end thus. I shall yet become totemo strong.”
Rodrigo nodded.
“We did not get to know each other that much, kid, but I’m sure you’ll soon have the power to change the fate of this multiverse,” Loki said as he approached Rodrigo.
Rodrigo nodded again.
“One moment,” Tezcatlipoca abruptly interrupted the members of Orniskem.
“What is it?” Menrva asked, confused.
“Exactly how are you going to leave these lands?” he asked.
“We are going to Adlivun, and there we will take a ship that will return us to the other side of the world,” Tania said.
“Once outside the shield, we will teleport,” Menrva explained.
“You need not worry about that,” Tezcatlipoca explained. “When you have finished your pending matters and are ready to depart, return here.”
The members of Orniskem did not understand why, but they agreed.
Then all the members of Orniskem held onto Menrva and Loki, and after saying farewell, disappeared before Rodrigo and the gods.
Just as Epona had proposed, the members of Orniskem briefly visited the people who had helped them up to that point in the New World, bringing some gifts.
Fortunately, everyone was in good health.
In Tlálocan, the gods visited Chalchiuhtlicue again and shared a cup of chocolatl with the goddess. She promised them that when they needed her help, she would gladly support them.
In the Rarámuri villages, the gods briefly visited the people who had cared for them.
In Chaco, they spoke briefly with Talking God. Unfortunately, Epona could not thank Grandmother Spider because she was purifying the precinct for Cuerauáperi’s ritual. However, they left a message with the Tzintzuntzan goddess, telling her that Tula had returned to normal.
In Cahokia, the gods saw Wenabozho again, who received them with great joy, though Tania continued behaving in a hostile manner when she saw him kiss Tul’s hand. Part of Cahokia’s population had abandoned the cities and begun living as nomads.
In Onondaga, they found that Hé-no had assumed command of the Iroquois kingdom once again, and peace talks had begun between his kingdom and the empire of Cahokia.
In Denendeh, they found the giant Yamozha still celebrating a feast that had lasted for months together with the women, the wolves, and the beavers. The enormous god was very happy and invited the members of Orniskem to join his feast. In the end, the god pledged to help Orniskem in the future.
In Haida Gwaii, Y’aahl reiterated the debt he owed to the Viking people and said that, if they needed warriors in the future, they should not hesitate to contact them. Much of the city had already been rebuilt.
Finally, in Adlivun, they met Queen Sedna, who was extremely worried about Orniskem. She was glad to know that everything had turned out well.
“I had to make a decision between you and my kingdom. I hope you understand,” the polar goddess said, but the members of Orniskem did not mind.
After saying farewell, the gods of Orniskem returned to the temple where Tezcatlipoca was waiting.
“Very well. I have spoken with all the principal gods of this continent,” Tezcatlipoca said. “Each of them possesses a key. When all of them are used at the same time, we will deactivate the barrier for a few seconds, and you will be able to leave this place.”
“Before anything else,” Ixchel said, and she approached her disciple and embraced her.
“I suppose there is no way to convince you to stay, is there?” the Maya goddess asked, discouraged.
Tul shook her head.
“I want to know the world, kaansaj, together with my new family.”
Then Ixchel removed a serpent ornament from her head and gave it to the rabbit goddess. Seeing this, Tul flatly refused.
“I cannot accept this, kaansaj. It is… your teotonli,” the rabbit goddess said, embarrassed.
“You have now become my heir, Tu’ul-Uj. I would even say you have surpassed my power,” the Maya goddess said.
“That will never be possible, kaansaj,” Tul said, crying, but Ixchel then embraced her and placed the serpent upon her head.
“I am certain you will fill me with pride throughout the universe,” the Maya goddess said. “Tu’ul-Uj, representative of Mayapán.”
Tul continued to refuse, but Tania approached and convinced her while stroking her head. Finally, the rabbit goddess accepted while purring.
Unfortunately, Rodrigo and Tlazolteotl were no longer in the room, so Epona felt enormous sadness at the thought that perhaps she would never again see that young man, the one who had sacrificed his life to protect her and whom she had loved from that moment onward.
“This is not goodbye, Rodrigo… it is only until we meet again,” Epona thought, and she recovered herself.
“Very well,” Tezcatlipoca interrupted, and using a communication crystal, the voices of various gods began to be heard. Several of them were familiar.
“Do not dare lose, kids,” Sedna said.
“Return soon so we may hold another feast in your honor,” Yamozha said.
“Warriors from the other side of the world, thank you for teaching us true power,” Y’aahl said.
“We will be eternally grateful. May the Great Spirit protect you,” Hé-no said.
“Even if a thousand years pass, I will never be able to repay the debt I owe you, kids,” Wenabozho said.
“On behalf of Grandmother Spider, I wish you peace and prosperity,” Talking God said.
“Well, if my brother chose you, I have no choice but to wish you luck,” Xólotl said.
Other gods also spoke, but their voices were not known to Tania and her companions.
At that moment, the shield disappeared completely. For the first time, they could feel a lightness in their bodies as the barrier was deactivated.
“All right, kids. We will take care of Quetzalcóatzin and the girl who arrived shipwrecked. You go and kick Lel’s ass!” Tezcatlipoca shouted excitedly.
“Of course we will!” Tania replied, and everyone nodded.
At that moment, the members of Orniskem disappeared, and the dimensional shield enveloped the continent once again.
At last, they had left the New World.