The fall of Tenochtitlan and the taking of the Great Library. (part 1)
Fanatikan forces left their cities towards the south. It is there, in the plains and hills of Azteca where the first war between nations would take place. Archers, swordsmen and pikemen were confronted with aztec resistance, first outside the borders, in no-mans land. The sounds of metal against metal, cries of war and cries of pain flooded the plains as birds took weary flight, horses ran and rodents hid. Nature fled shocked as man spilled crimson blood. War had begun.
Eklektikoss plan was clear, take down the aztec strongholds first, Tenochtitlan, the capital, & Teotihuacan, incense and trade center, followed by their horse lands, Tlaxcala. Any other cities that could be taken was a suplement to the spoils of war. A strong group of archers and swordsmen led the way. The first victories went to the aztecs: jaguar warriors sprang from the bush and the hills in a wild frenzy to defend what was theirs. Archers heading to Tlaxcala were caught unaware as obsidian stone met fanatikan flesh and the later faltered. Thus, the aztec golden age began, known as the Huitzilitzli Tonatiu, or the Hummingbird Sun, signifiying the age of the warrior, yet this would prove to be insuficient to stand against the inevitable, with superior weapons and strategic planing on Fanatikas grip, the aztecs had their days numbered.
Reports of the war flooded the streets of Bavaria, Valhalla and Morgana. From cronicles of men, wounded and taken back to heal, generals weary of the front to prisioners of war: aztec slaves taken from their land and forced into labour. Here is a brief summary of those letters, diaries and reports from that age:
---- Herein lies the account of Hielderg of Bavaria, archer:
...the hills are deep purple, their bellies filled with human blood, the smell is intolerable, it ensnares the sences...if Valhalla has an oposite then it can no doubt be found here: the killing grounds.
Reports of aztec warriors coming from the south have just been heard. We know not what to do, awaiting instructions... many in the group have fallen in a surprise attack, men in jaguar skin confronted our arrows with obsidian swords, they had the high ground...Ive been wounded...its begining to rot...the infection is getting worse. I know now I shall not see my city again...
----Letter from the front:
Dearest Groa:
We are entrenched in the foot hills of Teotihuacan, near their incense fields, their aromas cant but help remind me of your soft, dark hair, flowing in the summer winds of Morgana as ship pass by... Your memory is my anchour to reality, I miss you so.
Weve survived many an attack, how long our defenses will hold is not known; but I shall return to you and our daughters.
Bruno has brought with him the gift of music, in these long nights with foreign skies we sing round the fires of what we left behind. It is those moments that help us keep the front.
I yearn to hold you again my sweet Groa, these hills and skies are foreign to me, to us...
I must depart now, the suns first rays have began to spring forth, as we also soon shall.
Your faithfull hearth, Svarog.
This was the last letter of Svarog, son of Morgana, before the archers positioned in the Teotihuacan foot hills began their assault on the city, it is unkown wether he survived the war.
----This next part is a poem found in Tenochtitlan, written soon after the inevitable was clear:
sorrow expands, tears drop over there in Tlatelolco.
by water have the aztecs gone;
as women they apear, the escape is everywhere.
Where do we go to? oh, friends, and then, is it true?
They abandon Teotihuacan:
smoke is rising, the fog is growing...
with tears do they salute each other, the Huiznahuacatl Motelhuihtzin,
the Tlailotlacatl Tlacotzin,
the Tlacatecuhtli Oquihtzin...
Cry, friends,
have it clear that with these events
the aztec nation we have lost.
The water has been soiled, the food is spoiled!
----Finally, another letter:
Dear Niamh:
My heart is heavy with sorrow for not being with you. Ive had restless nights and weary days accompanied by gloom and dread. I cannot remember your eyes, your hands..only your gentle touch remains, the lone survivor in these retched lands that haunt me day and night and prive me of your sweet presence.
I hope to return to you soon, word has come that the first cities have fallen, we head onwards, to Tenochtitlan, we are told the seige will be short and effective...
Loving you as always, Owen.
Many more letters from that age survived and are currently in the History Department Archives. You have only to ask for them if you wish to read them.
Using aztec maps of Tenochtitlan we can figure out the original urbanization of the city, the place of the original buildings and structures, as well as the changes the city suffered after colonization. Many buildings were destroyed during and after the inicial attack. Most religious and aristocratic structures are no more, yet some remained hidden from view, others were too importart to destroy, like the Great Library in Tlatelolco.
Built during the war (590 B.C.) as an aztec symbol of their Golden Age, it stood in their hands until 510 B.C. when Tlatelolco fell to fanatikan swordsmen, it survives to this day, though not in its original form and adornment. Originally designed as a grand learning center and library, it housed at one time more than 700,000 tomes of knowledge according to aztec records of the age.
It was adorned with exquisite frescoes depicting the aztec creation myth and history. The library also housed sculptures of ancient gods and godesses, kings and noblemen. Two great serpents with emeralds as skin guarded the entrance and a statue of a water god lay silent in the center gardens. Most of that was lost in the pillage following the capture of the city. Many tomes where also forever lost, burned in great pires as nonsense. Only the center library remained, surrounded by ruins. It is still uncertain who or what protected it, credit has been given as of late to Octavian X, who renaimed the city in his honour, Octavinium, and protected her from future abandonment and decay.
Slowly the Library was rebuilt in Fanatikan fashion, with pillars supporting the main entrance an a large, rectangular floor plan would demand the use of the stone from the surroinding ruins to rebuild the past glory into a more Fanatikan structure. Some of the ruins can be still seen roday surroinding the building, like the two snakes, stripped of their emeralds, stand in the gardens to the left of the Library.
Cronicles from swordsmen that entered the city and viewed the building remain to this day:
----- Gunther, swordsman of Morgana:
...the smoke was dense, nothing could be seen when we broke the aztec defenses and streamed into the city streets, slowly we made our way into the city square, a large, walled structure that housed many religious buildings. When we finally did reach it we stood silently at awe as our eyes walked thru those walls and streets. Roads wide enough for eight horsemen to ride in a row, side by side, buildings adorned with red and blue...great fires at the center of the square and at the distance atop a hill, a great building could be seen among the clouds...we would later discover it to be a Library...
Tlatelolco (now Octavinium) was one of the last cities to fall, 510 B.C. same as Tlacopan. Tlaxcala fell first in 1150 B.C. Then Tenochtitlan in 850 B.C. later renaimed Eklektochtitlan in honour of then leader Eklektikos. Teotihuacan, the incense center and birthplace of the author was destroyed in 710 B.C. A new city, New PDX, was built shortly after near the ruins of the city.
---- And thus ends part 1 of this investigation, let's hope part 2 arrives shortly thereafter
Ehecatl Atzin