Xoctol

Chapter 1

“I am going to be a warrior Mama,” five-year-old Xocotl (zoc’tol) asserted. “Yes,
Xocotl, you are my little warrior, but you will always be my little boy,” Chiuacoatl said. Xocotl sat for a minute in pensive thought, then replied, “But can you be a warrior and a little boy?” Cihuacoatl (chee-wa-co’-tol) laughed, “of course and you can think about that while you sleep,” She said cajolingly.

It had been eleven years since that day, and Xocotl was almost a man. But he had
been forced to accept his rank in the working class instead of pursuing his dream of be coming a soldier. The sun beat down ruthlessly that day. Xocotl sweated like a jaguar that had fallen into the lake surrounding his home city of Tenochtitlan. He was proud of the fact that he lived in the capital city of this powerful country, and proud to be an Aztec. But he felt captured being stuck in his father, Ahexotl’s (ah-hec’-tol) gold-smith shop everyday.

He had the arduous job of beating down the gold for his father to shape. The steady sound of his hammer striking the gold echoed throughout the shop. But he stopped when the flap covering the door opened to reveal his little sister Omecihuatl (o-mec-i-hwa’-tol). Xocotl’s face stolid from the hard work tried to ignore his blissful sister. But the contrasting change of dress from her usual clothes caught his attention. She had her best dress on decorated with vermilion cloth, and brocade. She said gleefully, “have you forgotten about the festival today?” Of course I haven’t forgotten Xocotl thought, it’s the biggest celebration of the year. But he only replied, “No, but you shouldn’t be here, this is no place for a little girl.” She strutted out indignantly, which made Xocotl feel guilty as
he started to hammer again. He knew on such a day as today she would forget it in a little while, or he could just get her some treat to cheer her up. He put the finished piece of gold in the puncheon, and then put the hammer away in the spot
that his dad had taught him. He knew he wouldn’t be working again today because of
the festival, so he and his dad could have the rest of the day off. He finished cleaning the gold smithy then rushed home.

He rushed to his room to find his best clothes. But as soon as he saw the door ajar
he knew something was wrong. He always shut the door behind him. He entered to find
his room a mess. And in the corner sat Zigwe (zig’-wee), the family dog. He stared at him angrily. Normally Xocotl would have yelled at him but today that seemed
inconsequential. He pointed ominously and pushed the dog out the door. He cleaned the mess as quick as he could and then changed and rushed out the door, desperate to arrive on time. He mentally thanked the god Quetzalcoatl (kwet-sull-co’-tol) that his mother had gone to visit her family in a remote part of the city so he didn’t
have to worry about a scolding for being late. Then he ran to the site of the festival.

The streets were empty because everyone had already gone on, so he ran as fast as
he could. The wind blew against his face and he felt like he was flying. He watched the scenery around him, and looked pride fully at the beautiful surroundings of his country. The wide straight streets, the tall golden buildings. and in the background the immense glorious temples. He smiled admiringly. It was the Aztecs, his people who had made all this. He wondered, could any be as glorious and powerful as them?

Chapter 2

The elaborate, clamorous festival was more then Xoctol could have ever hoped.
The detail in every area of the festival showed the Aztec’s pride and glory at their zenith of power. The temples seemed to be made of an iridescent gold with the sun beaming down on them. But after all this wasn’t just any quaint party, this was the grandest festival of the whole year. People flocked from miles around because of the two main attractions. First the emperor Montezuma himself was coming and second, the glorious sacrifice of one of the captured men from around the nation. Truly this would bring glory to the gods.

He searched the crowd for his father and sister. He knew it would be folly to try yelling over this raucous crowd so filled with excitement. He decided to back up one of the streets to try and get a better view. His search soon ended when he spotted them walking up the street. Obviously he wasn’t the only one late. He rushed toward them with dexterity, weaving his way through the crowd. He soon reached them and together they hurried toward the temple for the best view. At that moment the tumult of the emperor’s trumpets erupted. The parade showing all of the emperor’s majesty walked down the paved street. Xoctol watched jealously at all the servants and gold. Then his eyes lit up when he spotted Mayauel (may-owl’). He had gapped at her beauty ever since he had seen her as a little child. She appeared to be around his age but he sighed because he knew she would never notice him. The parade continued fading in beauty as she continued down the road. The king’s favored were next and they followed looking with contempt upon the crowd. The reluctant people made way for the nobility who stared ahead with sullen faces. The coins thrown out by the king, quickly changed their expressions from petulant to glee.

The drums sounded to announce the beginning of the entertainment. The vigorous noise ceased as all eyes looked forward to not miss a second of the spectacle. A mystic hush fell over the crowd as the silhouetted figure of the high priest appeared at the top of the temple. Everyone watched as the doors to a nearby prison opened to reveal two of the famed jaguar warriors guarding a hooded prisoner. They led him slowly up the steps to the top. A slow chant began among the citizens getting louder and louder, as the thrill ofthe moment filled the cold hearts of the Aztecs. The high priest grabbed the prisoner and turned him toward the crowd. The chant grew to a scream as the people gathered, jumped and raised their voices trying to bring praise to the bloodthirsty gods of the Aztecs. The high priest grabbed the mask of the prisoner and tore it off. The awestruck people fell silent. The crowd gasped as the now revealed face of the man, was white.

They were stunned when they saw the first white man ever to reach the city of the
Jaguar. He stared resolutely out at the crowd, but recovering themselves they stared back in no cordial manner. The high priest led him over to the alter and raised his knife, the chant began again as the devoted people cried out to the war god to give them success and victory. The truculent priest raised his knife and then brought it down again with all his heartless strength.