Post by Cate on Sept 5, 2012 20:34:05 GMT -5
These are the words of Langitlan of the tribe of the Pig, recorded by Tenachitl, priest of Mighty Delechoatl.
Wise priest, you saw the strange sign in the skies two darknesses ago. I have come to explain to you the meaning of this sign, for though I am but a humble herder and you are a wise priest, these things were revealed to me by Mighty Delechoatl.
I am a llama herder for the tribe of the Pig. I was returning from the market with my friend, Tiletlan of the tribe of the Pig, who grows maize, while Bright Solecoatl was descending from the sky two darknesses ago. This was before the strange sight which frightened us all that Light. Our produce had sold well, and so we were both in a joyous mood. When we got home, we thought we must have made excellent time, as Solecoatl had not journeyed far since we left. This increased our joy further. As there was still light, I invited Tiletlan to inspect my herd. He complimented me greatly on the excellence of my llamas, especially upon the quality of their fleece and their good health. However, he was curious about one, which seemed to him to walk differently to the others. He was correct in this assessment, that llama, I have named her Caticol, does indeed walk differently to my others. This is because she was born with her right foreleg shorter than the others. Rather than give up on Caticol because of her curse and kill her or leave her to fend for herself as best she could, I constructed a small wooden block and tied it to Caticol’s leg, so that she would be able to move about. Her fleece and milk are, after all, no less valuable because of her cursed leg. However, she is still not able to walk properly upon her block as a normal llama can on its own foot, walking on a block not being a natural thing for a llama to do.
Because of the extra care I have had to take of Caticol, I have grown fond of her, more than my other llamas. This is why I have named her, as I have not many of my herd. When I described her fondly to Tiletlan, his words were “It is strange that you are more affectionate towards this one llama, which is less strong than the others. If some of my maize needed extra tending, I would either leave it to die, or regard it with resentment, not tenderness.” To this I answered “I pity her, something I do not feel for the rest of the flock, and from that pity comes my affection. I care for her precisely because she needs me more than the others.”
By this time, we were starting to grow worried. We knew that Solecoatl should have completed his journey by now, and been resting so that He could end the darkness at the proper time. Instead, He was motionless just above where the land and sky kiss, covering the world in bloody light and long, deep shadows. This was most certainly an omen of some sort. We wondered if, perhaps, the gods were demanding a sacrifice, or pronouncing some great curse upon us. We decided to visit Natitl in the village, who is wise in such matters. Because it was not yet dark, we were not afraid to wander outside, as the dark spirits cannot work their evil so long as it is light. We decided to take the cart we share with us, in case Natitl demanded payment for his counsel. Halfway to the village, we met an old man, next to the Hill of Flowers. According the village elders, this hill has been covered in flowers since before anyone even remembers. At the very top of the hill, is the Sky Flower. This is the only plant of its kind known to our tribe’s elders. It has a thick stem, with thorns along it. It is a bushy plant, with many flowers, the petals of which are the bright blue of a clear sky after a summer rain.
We were suspicious of the old man, as he is not of our tribe, and so it was odd for him to be in our lands. However, we greeted him courteously with the respect due to an elder, and asked if he needed assistance, being that he was not in his native land. He did not answer for a few moments, and when he did, he ignored our question. These were his words, as he said them to me “The circle is broken. It is incomplete.” He waved his hand vaguely. Deciding that he was crazy, and best avoided, we said farewell and departed as politely as we could. The old man smiled and nodded. We had not gone far, however, when one of the wheels on our cart jammed and would not continue spinning. We stopped and inspected the wheel, trying to work out what was wrong with it. As we did so, we heard a strange noise back the way we had come. We looked to see that it was the old man, and that he appeared to be both laughing and coughing at the same time. He hobbled over to us, and gave us the words “It is broken, I told you. You need to respect your elders more, you do. Oh, you think you’re respectful, but respect is more than polite gestures. Behind your fancy words you sneer, and do not listen to what I say. Now, this is what you must do. Bring me some cheese, and a flower. That flower, in fact,” he said, pointing very specifically at the largest flower on the Sky Flower bush. Now, because of the incident with the wheel and the old man’s strangeness, we were afraid he might be a witch, and so we resolved to do what he said. We had some llama cheese in the cart, and so we cut a wedge from that and gave it to him. At this, he got very angry. “No, I need the whole cheese!” were his words. “It must be a circle. Give me the rest.” We gave him the rest, and he carefully placed the wedge back into the hole from which he had cut it, and the cheese was whole again. Then, he said “Go, now fetch the flower.” And so we brought back the flower he had pointed to, the biggest Sky Flower, though not without some misgivings. This was clearly a flower of great power, and the old man was unpredictable. We were worried he might use it for some evil spell. However, we were more afraid of what might have happened had we not given him the flower.
After we had given him the cheese and the flower, he examined each closely, muttering to himself the whole while. Then he got up, walked over to our cart, and rubbed the cheese around the wheel. After that, he held the cheese in line Solecoatl, squinting at it, and held the flower above that. Then, he slowly lowered them both, and said “There. The circle is fixed. Go home now, I need rest. And respect your elders better in the future.” As we were not sure what had happened, only that things were getting stranger by the moment, Tiletlan and I decided to continue on to see Natitl before we returned home. However, as we moved off towards the village, our cart wheel now working perfectly, the old man starting hurling abuse and pieces of cheese at us, until we turned around and went home. As we got home, we realised that Solecoatl had resumed His journey, and was now about to rest beyond where the heavens and the world meet. We went inside our homes, where we would be safe from the spirits of night, and went to sleep.
The next morning, I was unsure if the events of the last night had been a dream, because they were so strange. I resolved to discuss it with Tiletlan. If we both remembered it, then surely it was real. As I met with him and began to ask him about it however, the air grew thick with smoke, through which the silhouette of a winged snake was visible, floating in the air. I recognised it to be Delechoatl, and Tiletlan and I fell prostrate before Him. Then he spoke these words: “Langitlan, Tiletlan, the events you remember of last night are true. Thanks to you, Solecoatl was able to complete His journey, and The Bloodlight has been prevented once again. Now go, tell my priest Tenachitl in the city Madatzan of these events so he may record them.” After that, we of course went straight to you, a journey that took until now. On the way here, we saw a very curious thing. In the spot where we found the old man, there was new Sky Flower plant, just as large as the other one on top of the Hill of Flowers.
Wise priest, you saw the strange sign in the skies two darknesses ago. I have come to explain to you the meaning of this sign, for though I am but a humble herder and you are a wise priest, these things were revealed to me by Mighty Delechoatl.
I am a llama herder for the tribe of the Pig. I was returning from the market with my friend, Tiletlan of the tribe of the Pig, who grows maize, while Bright Solecoatl was descending from the sky two darknesses ago. This was before the strange sight which frightened us all that Light. Our produce had sold well, and so we were both in a joyous mood. When we got home, we thought we must have made excellent time, as Solecoatl had not journeyed far since we left. This increased our joy further. As there was still light, I invited Tiletlan to inspect my herd. He complimented me greatly on the excellence of my llamas, especially upon the quality of their fleece and their good health. However, he was curious about one, which seemed to him to walk differently to the others. He was correct in this assessment, that llama, I have named her Caticol, does indeed walk differently to my others. This is because she was born with her right foreleg shorter than the others. Rather than give up on Caticol because of her curse and kill her or leave her to fend for herself as best she could, I constructed a small wooden block and tied it to Caticol’s leg, so that she would be able to move about. Her fleece and milk are, after all, no less valuable because of her cursed leg. However, she is still not able to walk properly upon her block as a normal llama can on its own foot, walking on a block not being a natural thing for a llama to do.
Because of the extra care I have had to take of Caticol, I have grown fond of her, more than my other llamas. This is why I have named her, as I have not many of my herd. When I described her fondly to Tiletlan, his words were “It is strange that you are more affectionate towards this one llama, which is less strong than the others. If some of my maize needed extra tending, I would either leave it to die, or regard it with resentment, not tenderness.” To this I answered “I pity her, something I do not feel for the rest of the flock, and from that pity comes my affection. I care for her precisely because she needs me more than the others.”
By this time, we were starting to grow worried. We knew that Solecoatl should have completed his journey by now, and been resting so that He could end the darkness at the proper time. Instead, He was motionless just above where the land and sky kiss, covering the world in bloody light and long, deep shadows. This was most certainly an omen of some sort. We wondered if, perhaps, the gods were demanding a sacrifice, or pronouncing some great curse upon us. We decided to visit Natitl in the village, who is wise in such matters. Because it was not yet dark, we were not afraid to wander outside, as the dark spirits cannot work their evil so long as it is light. We decided to take the cart we share with us, in case Natitl demanded payment for his counsel. Halfway to the village, we met an old man, next to the Hill of Flowers. According the village elders, this hill has been covered in flowers since before anyone even remembers. At the very top of the hill, is the Sky Flower. This is the only plant of its kind known to our tribe’s elders. It has a thick stem, with thorns along it. It is a bushy plant, with many flowers, the petals of which are the bright blue of a clear sky after a summer rain.
We were suspicious of the old man, as he is not of our tribe, and so it was odd for him to be in our lands. However, we greeted him courteously with the respect due to an elder, and asked if he needed assistance, being that he was not in his native land. He did not answer for a few moments, and when he did, he ignored our question. These were his words, as he said them to me “The circle is broken. It is incomplete.” He waved his hand vaguely. Deciding that he was crazy, and best avoided, we said farewell and departed as politely as we could. The old man smiled and nodded. We had not gone far, however, when one of the wheels on our cart jammed and would not continue spinning. We stopped and inspected the wheel, trying to work out what was wrong with it. As we did so, we heard a strange noise back the way we had come. We looked to see that it was the old man, and that he appeared to be both laughing and coughing at the same time. He hobbled over to us, and gave us the words “It is broken, I told you. You need to respect your elders more, you do. Oh, you think you’re respectful, but respect is more than polite gestures. Behind your fancy words you sneer, and do not listen to what I say. Now, this is what you must do. Bring me some cheese, and a flower. That flower, in fact,” he said, pointing very specifically at the largest flower on the Sky Flower bush. Now, because of the incident with the wheel and the old man’s strangeness, we were afraid he might be a witch, and so we resolved to do what he said. We had some llama cheese in the cart, and so we cut a wedge from that and gave it to him. At this, he got very angry. “No, I need the whole cheese!” were his words. “It must be a circle. Give me the rest.” We gave him the rest, and he carefully placed the wedge back into the hole from which he had cut it, and the cheese was whole again. Then, he said “Go, now fetch the flower.” And so we brought back the flower he had pointed to, the biggest Sky Flower, though not without some misgivings. This was clearly a flower of great power, and the old man was unpredictable. We were worried he might use it for some evil spell. However, we were more afraid of what might have happened had we not given him the flower.
After we had given him the cheese and the flower, he examined each closely, muttering to himself the whole while. Then he got up, walked over to our cart, and rubbed the cheese around the wheel. After that, he held the cheese in line Solecoatl, squinting at it, and held the flower above that. Then, he slowly lowered them both, and said “There. The circle is fixed. Go home now, I need rest. And respect your elders better in the future.” As we were not sure what had happened, only that things were getting stranger by the moment, Tiletlan and I decided to continue on to see Natitl before we returned home. However, as we moved off towards the village, our cart wheel now working perfectly, the old man starting hurling abuse and pieces of cheese at us, until we turned around and went home. As we got home, we realised that Solecoatl had resumed His journey, and was now about to rest beyond where the heavens and the world meet. We went inside our homes, where we would be safe from the spirits of night, and went to sleep.
The next morning, I was unsure if the events of the last night had been a dream, because they were so strange. I resolved to discuss it with Tiletlan. If we both remembered it, then surely it was real. As I met with him and began to ask him about it however, the air grew thick with smoke, through which the silhouette of a winged snake was visible, floating in the air. I recognised it to be Delechoatl, and Tiletlan and I fell prostrate before Him. Then he spoke these words: “Langitlan, Tiletlan, the events you remember of last night are true. Thanks to you, Solecoatl was able to complete His journey, and The Bloodlight has been prevented once again. Now go, tell my priest Tenachitl in the city Madatzan of these events so he may record them.” After that, we of course went straight to you, a journey that took until now. On the way here, we saw a very curious thing. In the spot where we found the old man, there was new Sky Flower plant, just as large as the other one on top of the Hill of Flowers.
and that kills me