Chapter 459: Temple in the Mountains, Priests in the Capital

The Holy Mountain of Estela is only four to five hundred meters high, and is not very steep. However, the peaks are thick and majestic, like a stone throne of gods, witnessing myths and legends.

Shulot stepped on the dim light of the morning, held Alyssa's bare hand, and climbed steadily along the winding path. Dozens of warriors, carrying weapons and leather armor, spread out in front and on guard.

After hiking up the mountain for several quarters of an hour, the scenery along the way is breathtaking. When you look down, you see vast mountains and rugged boulders; when you look down, you see beautiful trees and blooming flowers; when you look up, you see clouds steaming up, and a simple bluestone temple appears in the clouds and trees, already very close. 100 meters.

"The ancient sun temple, the inherited sacred fire"

Shulot hummed softly, and Alyssa responded with a smile.

"The mountain where the original sun sets, the stairs where the Supreme God ascends, and the turning point of the fifty-two-year cycle."

The two looked at each other and smiled, then clasped their hands at the same time and chanted the last part of the sacrificial verse in unison.

"The Holy Mountain of Estella, witness the immortal miracles and make eternal promises!"

Qingyue's singing sound drifted in the wind and spread far away. After a few breaths, a hearty laugh came from the Sun Temple.

"Haha! The condor flies from the sky and the egret falls from the clouds. It is such an auspicious day!"

A thin, middle-aged priest, wearing simple sacrificial robes and a long crown with eagle feathers, strode out of the temple. The middle-aged priest is handsome, with a warm smile and steady and powerful steps. In just a moment, he passed through the queue of warriors and came to the two men, bowing his head respectfully.

"Praise the Sun God! Respected sect chief priest, distinguished eldest princess, chief priest of the Sun Temple, Tonaya, greets you!"

"Praise the Sun God! Greetings to you, Priest Tonaya!"

Shulot smiled gently, pulled Alyssa, and together they returned the salute to the thin middle-aged priest. Then, Alyssa blinked and took an exquisite wooden box from the hands of the guards.

"Uncle Tonaya, Uncle Tonatiu knew that I was coming, so he asked me to bring some gifts and some food for you."

"Um?."

Priest Tonaya took the wooden box, opened it slightly, and saw a precious jade necklace. His expression was slightly startled, but then he understood, the smile on his face became more cordial, and his words also changed the title.

"Thank you! Your Highness, Princess, the incense in the temple has been lit. Come with me and worship the holy fire together!"

"Thank you, officiant!"

Shulot responded with a smile, and went to the temple side by side with Alyssa. He thought for a moment, and several main priest families in the capital flashed through his mind one by one.

In the Mexica Union, divine power and royal power coexisted at the same time, and the priestly group in the lake capital was very powerful.

The traditional capital priests can be roughly divided into five main priest lines according to the inherited divinity of the gods: the main god of Mexica, the sun god, the war god, the rain god and the fire god. In the high priest group, there are a total of twelve priests and elders, who are in charge of various educational affairs of the alliance. Six of the alliance elders come from various places in the Holy City and the Lake District, while the remaining six capital elders basically come from the five main priest lines.

The main god is the most important clan god. The priests of the main god line have always been noble, and their traditional function is to educate the ethnic group. In fact, they can intervene in all affairs. The former chief priest Kechar came from the lineage of the Lord God. After Kechar's death, the line of main gods gradually became marginalized. The current successor is the youngest priest elder, Akap.

The God of War is the incarnation of the Lord God, responsible for killing and punishing. Most of the priests of the God of War series have undergone strict warrior training and can lead the temple guards to fight. The priests and elders of Yazar are representatives of the God of War lineage. The chief priest, Yao Ke, is from another branch of the God of War lineage, and has been in charge of prisons for generations.

The rain god controls rainfall and floods. After the religious reform, the priesthood of the Rain God was also merged into the Supreme Lord God, but the inheritance of the Rain God priests still existed. There are many priests of the rain god family, who are usually responsible for praying for rain and harvest ceremonies, and have a great influence in the village. The fat priest elder Ugel comes from this lineage.

Vulcan controls mines and forging. Priests of the Vulcan family are responsible for temple construction, craftsman management and weapon production. Their sense of existence is not high, and their voice in the high priesthood is not strong. Their representative in the high priesthood is the priest elder Terquis.

The sun god shines everywhere and has a respected status. Priests of the Sun God line are in charge of the holy land, pass on the holy fire, and participate in sacrifices. They have a transcendent and noble status. Many of them even have royal blood. The Tonaya priest in front of him is the third-level chief priest of the Sun God line. The priests and elders of Tonatiu are the representatives of the Sun God lineage in the high priest group. In the Nahua language, "Tona" means sun.

If Tisoke had been captured and not executed by Avit, he would have ended up hiding in the holy mountain and the holy lake and became a royal priest serving the sun god.

In the capital's inheritance, in addition to the five branches of priests, there is actually a sixth branch, the Quetzalcoatl line. However, most of Quetzalcoatl's lineage came from the culturally profound city of Tlacopan, and the high-ranking priests were all implicated and executed during the purge that year. Their representative in the high priesthood was also replaced by another elder of royal origin, the Priest Elder of Como. This is also an important reason why Shulot's suggestion to erase Quetzalcoatl during the religious reform was adopted by the high priests.

Xuluot's expression remained unchanged, his thoughts were complicated. He was thinking about the inheritance of the priests and the situation in the capital. The high priest was prestigious, strict and decisive. He was the leader of the priests in the holy city, and he had the support of the immortal sun behind him, so he could have the final say in the high priest group. However, the five main branches of the capital priests all had deep roots and controlled many priests and powers.

Therefore, the concentration of divine power was not easy. Like the concentration of royal power, there were many obstacles. Grandfather wanted to integrate divine power, which was based on the high priest group and control the inheritance of local priests. And the several main branches of the priests in the capital all needed to focus on winning over and cooperating.

"Praise the Lord! Your Highness, Princess, this is the holy fire that was taken from the holy city of Quechulco and passed down to this day!"

Hearing this, Xiuluot came back to his senses and was already in the Temple of the Sun. He looked around. The area of ​​the Temple of the Sun was actually not large, with a simple style and traces of vicissitudes. Many statues and bricks have gone through wind and rain, and they are all a little mottled and falling off. Only the main hall is slightly gorgeous.

In front of the main hall is an ancient ceramic brazier. Under the brazier, there are a lot of gold, silver and ornaments, all left by the nobles who came to worship. In the brazier, a beam of holy fire is burning, and it has not been extinguished for decades!

"Praise the holy fire! May the holy fire bless the sacred alliance and our marriage!"

Xuluot lowered his head and prayed to the holy fire with Alyssa.

Tonaya looked solemn, added some expensive spices to the holy fire, and threw in a piece of adult mountain eagle skull. After a while, he carefully clamped the skull out, checked it slightly, and then showed joy on his face.

"Dear Your Highness and Princess, the holy fire brings blessings and blesses the sacred wedding. It is a good omen!"

"Praise the Lord! Thank you, respected Tonaya Priest!"

Although he is a high-ranking priest, Xiuluot knows the origins of most auspicious omens. But it is always a joy to receive a sacred wedding blessing. He waved his hand gently, and a warrior held a heavy cloth bag and presented it under the holy fire.

"This is a bag of gems produced in the lake area, just to show my appreciation."

"Praise the Lord! Thank you for your sincere dedication!"

Tonaya smiled sincerely, and just took a glance, he estimated the weight of the gems. He bowed his head and saluted, then extended his hand and turned to enter the hall.

"Respected Patriarch, please join me in the morning prayer!"

Xiuluo nodded, and strode into the main hall, while Alyssa stayed outside the hall. In the center of the main hall is a tall sculpture of the sun god. The sun god faces the east, very simple and rustic, but also quite heavy and steady. He is decorated with gold and silver, and his eyes are inlaid with gems, but his face is extremely blurred and difficult to distinguish carefully.

"Master Tonaya, this sculpture of the sun god seems to be very old."

"Yes, Master Priest, this ancient sculpture comes from the ruins of the sacred city of Quechulco, dozens of miles away."

"The sacred city of Quechulco. That means it has a history of at least two thousand years!"

Xuluot was surprised and a little unbelievable.

Hearing the exact year, Tonaya was also surprised. He looked at Xuluot deeply and said with a smile.

"It's almost time. Respected Master Priest, please stand in the main seat and lead us to pray!"

"Well, light the rosin and start the morning prayer."

The rosin burned and a faint fragrance drifted away. Xuluot's expression suddenly became solemn. He lowered his head, chanted a few words in a low voice, and then praised loudly.

"Praise the Lord! We must believe in our god Huitzilopochtli! He is the highest and greatest, and can do everything! He gives us sunshine and rain, harvest and food"

"Praise the Lord!"

A dozen temple priests bowed their heads together and chanted the standard sacrificial text in the "Ali Sutra". Alyssa led the warriors and chanted in a low voice. Soon, the pious prayers spread, resounding in the holy mountain and the temple, telling the religion and the human heart with the voice from the heart.

After two quarters of an hour, the strict morning prayer was declared completed. After the solemn prayer ceremony was completed, everyone relaxed. Shulot straightened his clothes, bowed his head and bowed, and then stepped down from the statue of the sun god.

"Your Highness, is this your first time to come to the holy mountain for vacation?"

Tonaya asked softly with a smile on his face.

"Yeah. I was busy before and didn't have time."

Shulot nodded and asked with a smile.

"There are many hot springs at the foot of the holy mountain. The chief priest has been stationed here for many years. Do you have any suggestions for me?"

"Your Highness, do you want to go to the big spring or the small spring?"

"The big spring is too noisy. If I meet other nobles in the capital and invite me to take a bath together, it will be difficult to refuse."

"That's the small spring."

Tonaya nodded. He pondered for a moment and asked softly.

"Your Highness and the princess, are you here for a honeymoon?"

"Yes."

"Then let's go to the southwest valley. There is a small spring for the private use of priests two or three miles away. The small spring is connected to the geothermal heat and flows with the vitality of the fire god, which can prolong life. The scenery there is beautiful, the flowers are in full bloom, and it is far from the main road, with deep forests. Even if the voice is louder, there is no need to worry about being heard. Your Highness, I will tell the temple priests to change places during rest time and not to disturb them."

".Thank you, chief priest."

Xuluot was speechless for a moment, and could only nod his head to thank him. The atmosphere of the alliance is like this, the folk customs are simple, not far from the ancient times, and they do not shy away from singing.

"Haha!"

Tonaya smiled heartily, blinked, and spoke in a low voice.

"Your Highness, there are many hot springs in the Holy Mountain, each with its own characteristics. There are also some hidden large springs in the mountain, some are hot, some are slightly spicy. There are also priestesses who go into the mountain to practice hard, each with a graceful figure, especially good at swimming in the water. If the princess is not here, I can lead you to enjoy some unique and wonderful tastes!"

"Uh"

Xuluot was slightly embarrassed, and he understood in his heart. Isn't it just the legendary hot spring trip

"Priest Tonaya, let's just forget about it."

"Haha! Your Highness, I just mentioned it casually."

Seeing Xuluot's embarrassment, Tonaya smiled. His expression was serious, and he spoke again in a low voice, but it was meaningful.

"Uncle Tonatiu has mentioned to me many times that His Highness Xuluot is wise and divinely inspired, and is destined to shine in all directions. In the future, please get close to him!"

"Elder Tonatiu."

Xuluot's eyes moved. He smiled and nodded, stretched out his hand, and patted Tonaya on the shoulder.

"Praise the Lord! Let's get closer in the future and discuss theology and scriptures together!"

"Haha, praise the Lord!"

The hearty laughter spread far and wide, dispersing into the long wind of the sacred mountain. A majestic mountain eagle circled in the mountains, looked for a moment, and then turned west. The sun rose, the clouds and mists dispersed, and a few eagle feathers swayed from the sky and fell into the temple, unseen by anyone.