After a suffocating silence, Montezuma II spoke.

He said, "Did he say anything about me?" ”

Rames shook his head and said, "The gods didn't mention you, Your Majesty. ”

Montezuma II touched his chin, thoughtful.

The presence of the suspected Quetzalcoatl God mentions the temple, the priesthood, the customs and order, but not the current ruler.

Those who disobey God will perish, and those who serve God will die.

This is a saying that has been passed down by the Aztecs for hundreds of years, but there is more than one deity, which one should be served?

The god of war was not only the ruler of the world, but also the patron saint of the Aztecs.

According to Aztec legend, it was the god of war Vizilopochtli who led them to the rich land of Lake Texcoco, where they reclaimed the lake and created an island to establish Tenochtitlan.

It was also the god of war, Viczilopochtly, who blessed them with victory after victory and became the overlord of the whole of Central America.

What would the nobles and priests think about abandoning the god of war in favor of Quetzalcoatl? Will the soldiers and civilians accept it?

What kind of wrath will the god of war be? What is the attitude of the other gods towards the return of Quetzalcoatl?

These were all factors he had to consider, and Montezuma II felt that his head was starting to swell.

Still, he remained silent, waiting for the fish to bite the hook on its own.

The fish really couldn't wait, and the high priest took a step forward and said, "Your Majesty, the era of the reign of the Quetzalcoatl God has long passed, and it is the God of War who has sheltered the Aztecs from their cradle to their current prosperity over the past few hundred years. For us, the god of war is both a mother who nurtures us and a father who guides us. ”

Those present were all the ruling class of the Aztecs, who had enjoyed the benefits of the Aztecs from a small tribe to an empire, and they all nodded when they heard this.

When the high priest saw this, he rejoiced in his heart, and raised his voice and said, "We will not change the value of someone to be our parents." Can we change to another god as our god because of the power of another god? ”

This sentence is actually a bit sophistry, but it still succeeds in getting the high priest to stand on the moral high ground.

The Aztecs had their own culture and morals, not barbarians who could convert at will, so Montezuma II could only remain silent.

The high priest was full of ambition, and his eyes looked around, as if to see if anyone dared to jump out and refute it.

No, even the priest of Quetzalcoatl did not speak, but stood quietly in the corner.

The rain god priest has always been low-key, and the priest power is almost the high priest's hall, and now he jumps out to refute it, just afraid that he will be liquidated when he leaves the main hall.

"Okay, that's it for now, the priests will go back and worship the gods first, and we'll discuss it in the main hall in three days." Montezuma II stood up and walked to the apse.

The nobles split into three waves, one following Montezuma II, one leaving on its own, and one going to the priests of their faith.

The priests, on the other hand, hurried to their respective main temples, where they hurried to prepare sacrifices and communicate with their gods.

As the High Priest passed by the Quetzalcoatl Priest, he patted him on the shoulder and said with a smile, "Your gods have returned, and Priest Quaidos must be glad to do so." ”

There was no joy on Quettos's face, but he said calmly: "Everything is not yet decided, and it is impossible to talk about joy or not." In any case, the interests of the Aztec Empire were above all else. ”

Quedos's words made the high priest unable to find a loophole, and he snorted, and went to the Great Temple with the rain priest.

"How dare he humiliate you like this?" The young priest next to him was indignant.

In Aztec custom, only people who were very close or of higher status could pat themselves on the shoulder, otherwise it would be seen as a provocation.

And the high priest and Quettos are obviously not very close, and they hate each other about the same.

"Forbearance, calmness, patience, and don't forget what I taught you, Sitara." Quettos grimaced at his disciple.

"I'm sorry, teacher, but I didn't hold my breath." Sitara honestly admits his mistake.

Quetzalkoatl was the god who invented books and laws, and attached great importance to the transmission and development of knowledge, plus he was very accommodating to mortals, and did not require grand sacrifices.

Therefore, many of the believers of Quetzalcoatl are scholars, and most of the priests are passed down from master to apprentice, and the atmosphere is very harmonious.

"The more you see the dawn, the more you must be wary of the darkness. Don't forget why our god is gone, and Vizilopochtli is a more insidious and terrible enemy than the god of darkness. "Quaidos used the history of God to teach his disciples.

"However, I look at the attitude of the king, and he does not seem to be inclined to the god of war." As the next chief priest of Quetzalcoatl, Sitara also has excellent vision and brains.

"You've been in the library too long, it's time to get out and about, Sitara. The king will not be on our side. Quettos was a little disappointed by his apprentice's short-sightedness.

"Why? Teacher. Sitara asked, puzzled.

"If there is no living sacrifice, how can the king maintain his power?"

Quedos looked at his disciple, and if he didn't understand this, then he really had to doubt his vision of choosing an apprentice.

"Ah, I see. Your Majesty wants to satisfy the appetites of that group of nobles and legions. Sitara suddenly realized.

Quedos nodded with satisfaction, there is no problem with his own inherited mind, but he lacks some experience.

Because of the need to obtain sacrifices, the king had reason to wage frequent wars around him.

And only by constantly waging wars can those nobles gain more land and wealth, and those talented commoners can be promoted or even become new nobles.

Priests needed sacrifices to please the gods in order to gain divine blessings and use spells.

Even merchants and tribesmen needed to trade sacrifices to obtain goods, food, and so on.

The living sacrifice ceremony has long been not just a religious ceremony, but a "big pustule" involving the interests of political, economic, diplomatic, and various forces, and no one dares to pierce it, even the king is unwilling to bear the price of the pustule rupture.

Quetzalcoatl, on the other hand, hated living sacrifices, and when he was in the city of Tula, he forbade and punished humans for holding live sacrifices.

Ramons' relays also mention that the suspected Quetzalcoatl being wants to destroy barbaric customs and re-establish a new order.

"Let's go back to the temple first." Unwilling to stay long, Quedos quickly returned to the temple of Quetzalcoatl with Sitara.

Located in the middle of the city of Tenochtitlan, the Great Temple has been rebuilt six times, each time symbolizing its continuous development.

But it still retains its basic structure, which is its magnificent stepped pyramid and the twin temples at the top, namely the temple of Vizilopochtli and the rain god Tlaloc.

Another, slightly lower, round-vaulted temple faces the main temple, the temple of the Quetzalkoatl god of the Quetzalcoatl.

Although the Quetzalcoatl priests kept a low profile, the Quetzalcoatl personality was there, so everything was equal to the main temple except for the height, and there was even a separate library inside.

Quedos returned to the temple and immediately summoned the priests in the temple to face the statue of Quetzalcoatl, a feathered coiled serpent with a conch shell on the back of his head, his symbol of the "jewel of the wind", with a spiral-shaped pattern on the surface of the shell representing the movement of the wind.

He quickly prepared the ritual and laid out the offerings for the sacrifice.

Unlike other gods, who prefer hearts or blood, Quetzalcoatl is extremely protective of humans, commanding them to sacrifice only with flowers and butterflies, or crops or feathers if they can't be gathered.

Quedos led the priests and sang a hymn in praise of Quetzalcoatl.

Quetzalcoatl loved knowledge and the arts, so each time the priests would make some changes to the original so that the gods would not get bored of listening to them.

After reciting a beautiful psalm with emotion, Quettos began to communicate with Quetzalcoatl.

The other priests held their breath and waited quietly.

After a long wait that seemed like a solar age, Quettos opened his eyes.

His expression was a little puzzled, and a little expectant.

"Teacher, has God answered us?" Sitara asked impatiently.

"No, there was no response from God, not even that mysterious connection." Quados shook his head.

The other priests all looked disappointed and worried, but only Sitara smiled and danced.

One of the priests was strange and asked, "Sitara, why are you so happy?" God didn't answer us. ”

Sitara smiled: "In the past, God would at least give us some vague revelations, but now there is no connection at all, which means that he has left the kingdom of God and returned to the world." ”

The priests suddenly realized, and Quettos nodded in satisfaction.

"Well, the others are ready to meet God. Sitara, come with me to the library. He commanded.

Quedos and Sitara made their way to the library inside the temple, which houses a large collection of books and art, and a backup of almost all important documents.

There were usually many priests and scholars studying and working here, but today the library was empty, except for the master and apprentice of Quaidos, a tall man with only a few ears missing.

"Honorable Priest Phalt, it's a pleasure to meet you." Sitara bowed respectfully.

"Ah, dear little Sitara. I often hear your name in the talk of the priests, who say that you are the most handsome and wisest of all the priests. Why don't you be my successor, and let my stupid assistant be the apprentice of this old fellow. The priest of the god Shulotel said with a smile.

Shulotel, the god of thunder and death, is the twin god of Quetzalcoatl, and he traveled with Quetzalcoatl to Mictlan (Aztec Hell) to retrieve the bones of living humans and create new humans for the New World (the Fifth Solar Age).