"Greetings to you, esteed Divine King! You shine as brightly as the sun, illuminating the four corners of the world!"
"Xiulote, you are here. No need for formalities…co, have a seat!"
In the Divine King's grand tent, there was an altar dedicated to the Chief Divine, with a board depicting the sun and traces of sacrificial smoke. Beneath the altar stood a wide redwood table made of precious and sturdy Dalbergia nigra, famously known as "Kingwood" in later generations. This redwood emitted a natural fragrance that mingled with the faint Divine Smoke, making one feel relaxed and at ease.
Aweit's lips curved into a smile, appearing very approachable and amiable, with a seemingly unstoppable sense of joy. Seated on a large Luwei mat, his legs crossed, the mat was woven with pure gold thread outlining the sun's ripples, and adorned with a rare cochineal red depicting a pale red sun. He extended his hand to invite Xiulote over. Xiulote still respectfully completed his courtesies before slightly bowing and approaching. But upon reaching the Divine King's side, Xiulote was taken aback.
"Your Majesty…the…there's only one mat?"
"Haha! My son-in-law, no need to be so rigid…sit beside , let's sit together!"
Aweit reached out, pulling the astonished Xiulote to sit on the sun mat, side by side. Then, not waiting for Xiulote to speak, he laughed and pulled out a letter on parchnt, bearing the royal red seal, handing it to Xiulote.
"A letter from the Capital City, wonderful news!…A month ago, Alisa gave birth to a pair of children in the Lake Capital City, a healthy boy and a lively girl!"
"What! Alisa gave birth to twins?! My son and daughter, my children?!"
Xiulote was stunned, quickly opened the letter, and carefully read it. Alisa was supposed to have conceived last June, counting the ti, it was when the two of them indulged in each other from May to August, shalessly for several consecutive months. And until mid-April this year, Alisa gave birth to two children, with the pregnancy lasting a little over ten months, clearly a late birth.
Although the letter contained only a few words, the use of knives and water by the herbal masters and the new delivery forceps by the priestesses indicated the peril of this childbirth…
"Blessed Ancestors! The spring sacrificial rites you held last year indeed had an effect! Twins are the blessing of the Goddess of Spring, favored by the Twin Rain Divine, a divine on for the Alliance! The main branch of the Royal Family has once again flourished! And the world we conquered now has more heirs to inherit the bloodline…"
Upon saying this, Aweit was very pleased, laughing heartily from the heart. But after laughing, he shook his head, speaking with so seriousness.
"The priestesses have ways to invoke divine grace to give birth to twins…but these thods are still too dangerous! In the future, you and Alisa should use less of the dicines offered by the priestesses…those secret dicines aren't really ant for the noble…"
"Chief Divine! To give birth to two children at once, and still overdue…it's too dangerous! Truly too dangerous…Alisa, my wife…those dicines from the priestesses should be used sparingly in the future…No! They shouldn't be used at all…"
Upon hearing this, Xiulote pressed his lips together, with an indescribable guilt in his heart. He understood the implication in Aweit's words. Twins are the blessing of the Goddess of Spring, and also the favorite of the twin Rain Divine Tlaloc, perfect sacrifices comparable to Divine Descendants! From the Highland Nava Tribes to the Jungle Maya Tribes, wherever there is a belief in the Rain Divine, twins would be sacrificed to ensure the tribe's continuation, good weather, and bountiful harvests…
This millennial sacrificial culture naturally also prompted Central Arican priests to research twin conception. Over generations, priests have been able to use "herbs" and "insect dicine" to significantly increase the likelihood of won giving birth to twins, thereby stabilizing the acquisition of the perfect twin sacrifices with a small number of pregnant won! As for the potential risks of such pregnancies, they are naturally ignored in deference to revered religious authority. As Aweit said, these secret procreation dicines aren't usually intended for the noble…
During the spring sacrificial rites last year, Alisa consud many herbal offerings from the priestesses, said to "lead the goddess's blessings, nurturing more vitality." Xiulote himself also took quite a bit, losing all restraint, day and night, for an entire month. In hindsight, these secret thods of the priests indeed had an effect, but the physical price and risk, however, were multiplied…
"Hmm…Xiulote, just be mindful in the future. You and Alisa should not rush, like a small stream, gentle and slow. You are still young, having a child every one or two years, six or seven in ten years is fine…you should have many more offspring to strengthen our royal bloodline!…In the end, the world we conquered will still have to be handed over to the descendants, for them to inherit and enclose!"
Aweit patted Xiulote's shoulder, his deanor becoming more intimate. At this mont, he seed like an ordinary father-in-law, earnestly advising his son-in-law. Then, he put his arm around his son-in-law's shoulder and smiled asking.
"By the way, have you thought about nas for the two children yet?"
"Ah! The nas for the two children? By ?"
Hearing that, Xiulote was slightly taken aback. The nas of royal children involved divinity and inheritance, therefore typically decided by a respected elder, unlike commoners. The na of the eldest son, Xiu Hua, was directly determined by Aweit, with the honorable divine anings of "brightness," "conquest," and "spirit." And this ti, Aweit was actually, proactively seeking his opinion, discussing the decision with him? The aning behind such a change…
"Hmm…Father-in-law, do you have any thoughts about the children's divinity?"
"Haha! Xiulote, I do have so ideas…These two children were gifts from the Chief Divine when we marched south to the Mistek Cloud Land! Therefore, they should have the 'Cloud' divinity…and since they are twins, born just before the rainy season, they should also have the 'Rainfall' divinity!"
"Oh! The 'Cloud' divinity should be 'Mistlan.' And the 'Rainfall' divinity should be 'Tlapiciloa'…hmm…Father-in-law, do you want to na these two children as you did with Xiu Hua?"
"Absolutely! Ancestors bear witness! These two children are my grandchildren, esteed as a Divine Son and a Divine Daughter of the Alliance! And my inheritance rights will also be passed on to them through the bloodline!"
"Ah! In that case…their nas are decided!"
Xiulote smiled, picking up a graphite pencil to draw two complex glyphs on the Kingwood desk. Following the alliance tradition, they were formal nas fully written in Nava script. Like the previous children's nas, these glyphs would beco their unique symbols, and eventually their future emblems!
"May the Chief Divine bless, and the ancestors bear witness! The boy born will inherit the 'Cloud' divinity, nad Xo Mixtitlan Zotl, Xiu Yunzhong…"
"And the girl born will inherit the 'Rainfall' divinity, nad Xo Tlapiciloa Zotl, Xiu Yuluo…"
"Xiu Yunzhong and Xiu Yuluo, they are my and Alisa's second son and third daughter, the indisputable heirs to our bloodline, status, and territory!"
"Very good! Very good!…As a grandfather, I have also prepared an inheritance fief for these two children…Their future territory will be in the vast, undoubtedly conquered Mistek Cloud Land!"
Seeing Xiulote's proclamation, Aweit was very pleased. The xica do not have a patriarchal primogeniture system, neither differentiating between grandson and granddaughter, nor even having these words, only "grandchildren." The inheritance rights of the Alliance nobility also do not distinguish between son and daughter, allowing them equal rights. In fact, Aweit's inheritance rights derived from his mother, the eldest daughter of Montezuma I, Atotoztli II. His two preceding brothers with the sa mother, Asayacatl and Tizoc, were the sa as well…
"Haha! The entire Land Amidst the Clouds, with one-third to the southwest given to my nephew, Montezuma II…and the east then belongs to my two grandchildren…"
Aweit had long been prepared, taking out a map and spreading it on the desk. Then, he extended a hand, making a feigned gesture to divide amidst the desk under the two children's nas, grandly splitting the Thousand Miles Yunzhong!
"Chief Divine bear witness! The vast eastern Mistek, from the Highland Divine Stone City, to the seaside ancient city of Tututepec, a thousand miles north to south, three hundred miles east to west…this two-thirds of the Cloud Territory…I will leave it all to them!"
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