Cuauhtemotzin

The Apache Tribelands

1521

The Mountain Bear, the great priest, and overseer of the tribe watched from the mountains below him. A great coyote, painted in the colours of dark black, and red ribbons of silk weaving around him came down the mountain. The coyote snarled. ‘Why do you disturb my quarters?’ He said.

The Mountain Bear raised his staff. ‘Oh Great Coyote, the Spirit of the West, bless me. You have invited me into your dream. I only ask that you give me the interpretation of what I am seeking for.’

The coyote raised his head. ‘You must make a journey to the South. There lies a great city with gleaming palaces. The Ndee must move now. For an enemy not of this world has arrived and threatens to destroy our way of life.’

The Mountain Bear nodded. ‘The journey is far. I am not sure we can make such a large-scale journey.’

The coyote barked. ‘You will make the journey. You will not dis-obey me. The future of this tribe and many others depend on you. In time, the pale man will come and settle over these lands. You will speak their language, not ours. You will obey them, not us. You will worship their God, not ours. Great metal buildings will descend upon these lands, and it will be darkness for our people. Will you stop this?’

A black horse galloped in the heavens. It ran wild and free and descended upon a great city that Mountain Bear felt tiny in front of the Great God of his tribe.

The Mountain Bear knew what needed to be done. The Coyote walked up the mountain again and descended into the heavens. He awoke and saw the members of his tribe watching over him in the Great Hut. The Chieftain, Taza watched his eyes with great intensity. ‘What we must do?’

The Mountain Bear coughed. ‘The Great Coyote spoke of a dark future that will engulf our lands. I fear...’ He paused. ‘That we cannot survive it. A great enemy comes from a demonic world. He is pale in the skin, and he will destroy everything we love and cherish. He has commanded us to journey to the south where a great city exists.’

The Chieftain’s wife, Kushala eye’s widened with fear. ‘The Aztecs... surely he would not be suggesting them.’

The Mountain Bear glanced at her, before nodding. ‘Yes. The men from that world have been fighting the Aztecs for the time. Though it seems... that the Aztecs will lose.’

Kushala spat. ‘The Aztecs are savages. Barbarias. They sacrifice innocents to their Gods. We must stay away from them.’

The Mountain Bear said nothing.

Taza spoke. ‘He is right, but, dear wife. The people that the Aztecs fight with are nothing more than demons. They will threaten us and conquer us. I have made my decision. We will come to the aid of them and drive those demons from the land.’

He arose. Everyone else arose. ‘We go now.’

****

The Borders of Tlaxcala, 1521

Cuauhtemotzin was my name my mother gave me by the time of my birth. I stood on corpses of Spaniards, my obsidian blade dripping with blood. As I looked back, the jungle called to me. It made me want to leave this place of horror. I was not afraid of death. These barbarians came into my homeland and raped the women of my empire. And they claimed they were converting us on behalf of their one true god. I saw an arrow pierced into the eye of a Spanish beast. His armour was uncanny, disturbing. Only the demons of Mictlān would create such horror in front of me.

Yet I knew the armour was better than ours. Our swords could only pierce a fraction of the tough metallic hide. I had no words to describe it. And then I saw it. The musket. The flaming weapon of wood-fired the power of the Gods.

I threw my obsidian blade to the ground and picked up the musket. I held it in my arms. Wherever these barbarians had come from, the musket felt natural. I could sense its power, its spirit that had devoured a thousand souls. I positioned myself the way the Spaniards did. I did not know what this strange weapon was. There was a small silver shape shaped like a thumb. I pulled it back. A clicking sound startled me. My hand felt the small arrow tip. I pressed it. The musket exploded, and I threw it away, running for a few miles. My heart beat faster before I came back to it. Smoke emerged from the tiny barrel. I looked up to see a scowling Spaniard curse at me, before collapsing to the ground.

This was no weapon of the demons.

It was a weapon of the Gods.

A laugh rumbled behind me. Xi Yun, the man with bronze skin faced me, his arms folded. His armour resembled that of a fish. They were the Ming. Foreigners from a land called Da-Han. They had arrived weeks ago when the Spaniards had been attacking and trying to destroy Tenochtitlan. Cortes had reacted angrily, demanding that they withdraw. The Ming refused. I was skeptical of them. They had established colonies near the Tlaxcalan borders and had demanded access to our lands. I suspected they were no different from the Spaniards.

I had a sickly feeling in me.

If the Ming and the Spaniards, then who else could come? Who else could come and threaten us?

Xi Yun, the General of the small Ming Army dismounted from his horse. The horse had been a creature that had terrified at me at first. Now I was used to it. ‘What you fired was a musket. What we have is far bigger than what the Spaniards can ever imagine.’

Rocket ships. Big barrels of woods armed with rockets of fire. My head had swirled around it for this time. ‘You are right. But the Spaniards remain large at present.’

Xi Yun scoffed and walked across the battlefield, holding his sword in his hand. ‘The Spanish are fools. The Aztecs are but a great power and we would see that you survive then fall prey to these barbarians.’

I looked at him. ‘Does that mean you consider us barbarians as well?’

Xi Yun silently grinned. ‘It depends on your perspective. Your weapons are outdated. Your men are being trained by us, General.’ He paused. ‘It is a shame that your Emperor does not realise the threat of what is in front of him. The musket there,’ He said. ‘It will change the way you see things forever.’

I nodded. Montezuma had been cheerful when the Ming had arrived. But he was no longer happy. The Ming tended to claim lands that weren’t theirs. They too played a game of divide and conquer, but in a far smarter way. Through the powers of diplomacy. I knew one thing for sure. The future of our world had changed with their arrival. We had beaten Cortes with their help. And now Cortes was waiting like a small turkey, waiting to be devoured.

‘It will. The city is under siege yes?’

Xi Yun nodded. ‘Sometimes I wonder whether we’re really allies.’

‘I wish I could say the same for you.’

Xi Yun agreed. ‘We’re generals fighting for a bunch of nobles when our people die every day.’

Xi Yun and I walked across the battlefield, and from our position on the mountain-top, the Great Pyramid of Tlaxcala burned. Fish-armoured soldiers of the Ming and my jaguar warriors that had now adopted the armour of the Spaniards and hacked the traitorous Tlaxcalans. They were fools to believe or trust the Spaniards. Eventually, the Spaniards would have converted them to their God. They would become foreigners. Fools. They would no longer resemble their descendants.

While the city burned, I heard the shuffling of boots crunching over corpses. I saw Cortes being dragged along by the Ming troops. They did not spare a minute to kick him, insult him and flashed swords to drag his so-called white shirt. Cortes barked out a series of insults. I grinned madly. The Gods had been favourable. I and Xi-Yun turned and faced him.

I spoke. ‘Your so-called God isn’t coming to your help.’

Cortes laughed hoarsely. ‘God will bless me in heaven. It is you, pagans, that will die by the hand of God-‘

‘Be honest. You only came here for gold.’

Cortes smirked. ‘And your allies, the Ming haven’t come for the same thing? We’re all here for power.’

I shook my head. ‘You know I will sacrifice you. Surrender and we may be kind.’

‘Never. I would sooner be executed than be sacrificed. The King of Espana will send his armies again. And this time, could you be able to stop them?’

‘Then know this. I finish your legacy. The Age of the Aztec Empire has begun.’ I rose. ‘We will stop them.’