Aztec Civilization: Destiny to Conquer America!-Chapter 1672 - 1192: The End of 1492 AD, Only Because We Were Here
The howling cold wave from North America descends from the far north, blowing across the vast six-thousand-mile North American plains, finally reaching the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, transforming into a slightly cool autumn breeze. Subsequently, the autumn breeze roars, and great waves surge. The northwesterly winds from the continent blow into the depths of the Caribbean Sea, transforming into a warm spring breeze.
The spring breeze weaves around the Bahamas Islands until it reaches a small, verdant island with expansive views, blowing towards a deep, wide natural harbor. And in another time and space, this island at the center of the Bahamas, this natural and excellent harbor, would become the most eternal landmark in the entire archipelago, the Holy Land of the Caribbean pirates - "Nassau"!
"Woosh... Woosh!..."
The flag of Castile flutters in the wind. The somewhat shabby Saint Maria sailing ship is anchored in the harbor on the southern side of the island, its sails patched with a mix of old and new. The ship's hull is covered with various sizes of wooden planks, some still with splinters, clearly recently repaired. And on the lookout of the sailing ship stands a sailor gazing southward at the endless sea, seemingly always vigilant, worried about something.
"Nova stella apparita, Ne le parti d'Oriente, Per mostrar tutta gente, Lo Salvator ch'è nato... A shining star appears in the East, to show all people, the newborn Savior has come!..."
The spring breeze continues to blow, brushing over the sharp tops of the Taino huts, settling on the newly erected wooden cross. And the sincere and resounding Latin prayer wafts up from beneath the wooden cross, then flies into the boundless blue sky where the "pirate" frigate birds circle.
"Veni veni Emmanuel. Captivum solve Israel, Qui gemit in exilio, Privatus Dei Filio... Oh come, come, Lord be with us! Redeem the ones you captured, mourning in exile, the Divine Son we lost!..."
Beneath the wooden cross, the newly appointed Commander, Captain Dracos, clasps his hands together, looking up at the eastern sky. He is so engrossed and devout that even under the blinding sunlight, tears of sorrow flow down his face.
This Christmas prayer scripture aligns so well with the fleet's current situation! He believes it is the Lord's divine aid that allowed the fleet to discover new routes and come to West Pan Gu Japan. But the Lord's harsh trial also led the fleet to a disastrous defeat in a terrifying Native attack, exiled to an unknown island. And the redemption and hope symbolized by the Divine Son come from the East, venturing towards the East, just like the fleet's longing to return...
"Gaude! Gaude! Emanuel! Nascetur pro te, Israel!..."
Captain Dracos shouts aloud, tears streaming down his face. At this moment, he is fully immersed in the suffering of the Divine Son's redemption, and the Lord's arduous trial, moved to tears!
However, behind him, a dozen sailors bow their heads in reverence, listening to the Latin they comprehend not, with faces full of confusion and bewilderment.
This moment, like a palpable class divide, is delineated by the floating Latin prayers, separating the captain praying reverently in front from the silently bowing sailors behind. Because, at the tail end of the Middle Ages, the Catholic World of Europe still had almost unbreakable upper and lower barriers!
At the top of the Catholic World are the naturally noble royal nobles and the bishops and priests revered by the church. They monopolize bloodlines and knowledge, unchanging across generations, while at the lower tier, ignorant, illiterate commoners are like two parallel lines, never intersecting. In reality, for the very few upper-class individuals, the vast majority of lower-class commoners were nothing more than farmers paying taxes, mud-stained laborers fleeing into the woods, low-ranking servants serving the masters, agricultural slaves oppressed in manors, or cannon fodder sent to die on the battlefield.
And the only chance for European commoners to cross class lines is to be clever and pretty as children, gaining the favor of priests, allowing them to become apprentices in the church and study Scriptures representing knowledge and power!
These Latin Scriptures, held by the church's authority, represent "God's" name, capable of interpreting rural affairs, even directly judging and burning "heretical" commoners and "evil" witches. Since the Scriptures represent actual power, they naturally will not be easily disseminated to commoners. The complex Latin is the best gatekeeper!
"Veni, veni Adonaï, Qui populo in Sinaï. Legem dedisti vertice, In maiestate glorie..."
Captain Dracos's voice fades, reciting the conclusion of the Lord's prayer. The sailors of humble origins still do not understand the captain's prayer. But their lack of understanding does not prevent, or rather, makes them more reverently bow their bodies, kneeling behind the captain, calling upon the Lord in various Spanish accents.
"Oh Lord! Our Father in Heaven! Please, keep us safe as we return!..."
In the far reaches of the sea, away from order, a sailor's sword outweighs a noble's birth, deciding so many life and death matters, unleashing the beast and demon within everyone! Yet as the day of return draws nearer, as the homeland of Castile seems not so far in the future...
The hierarchy and order of Europe once again gradually restore within the sailors' hearts, under the captain-led Latin prayers. They recall once more, in the rural fields or the town ports, a life ordered under the rule of noble lords and priest lords. This order is divinely mandated, distinguishing between the honorable and the low, established forever since the Divine Son's birth to save mankind!
And if they do not wish to become helpless pirates, or remain forever in the "wild East," or fall into hell after death to suffer, they must obey the noble, Latin-speaking Captain Dracos!...
"Look! The white-skinned chieftain is leading the tribe, bowing their heads to the strange cross wood carving, worshipping their Ancestor God again!..."
Further back, dozens of Taino villagers not far off curiously watch these white-skinned tribes shouting for a long time, bowing to the wood. The villagers, mostly bare-bodied and unarmed, have pure and bright smiles on their simple yellow faces.
Looking around, some wore colorful glass bead necklaces, some wore vibrant sailor hats, and a few carried wooden carved crosses. These were the "friendly" white-skinned tribe, generously gifting their valuable presents in exchange for the tribe's daily food, cotton threads, and tobacco leaves.
"Eh? The whole white-skinned tribe is worshipping, but the other chieftain in the village chief's hut, who has healed quite a bit, why hasn't he come out to worship?"
"Ha! He was so seriously ill before, his whole body burned red, and the missing ear was oozing yellow fluid… If it wasn't for the old village chief carefully washing the wound with saltwater, applying chewed fresh tobacco leaves, and fresh fishskin on it, he would have long been dead... These days, although he can make noise, he still can't move much, like a shell-less sea turtle, so not coming out is quite normal!…"
"Ha! How silly, you two are both clumsy fish! These two chieftains clearly have some issues, like two fighting sea lions. Now, the injured one is avoiding the uninjured one, naturally afraid of being hit!"
"What?! Shushu, you're so clever! But I remember a month ago, it was this white-skinned chieftain who brought the injured one off the ship... He looked at the injured one many times and spoke very gently! The injured one, on the other hand, complained and cursed whenever he had the strength…"
"Uh?... it seems indeed so... Truly strange white-skinned chieftains..."
Upon hearing this, the smart Taino villager Shushu scratched his head, recalling the initial encounter with the white-skinned tribe.
This never-before-seen white-skinned tribe suddenly appeared on a white large ship in the southern seas a month ago. The large ship circled around the small island, and the hundreds of villagers on the island stood by the sea, watching the novelty for a whole day. Then, the large ship lowered a small boat, sending an envoy of the white-skinned tribe, who not only brought many beautiful colorful beads but also gave the village chief a nice red hat!
Although there was a language barrier, everyone was happy to receive gifts from the white-skinned tribe, as joyous as when meeting brother tribes from other islands! The old village chief wore the new hat and treated the white-skinned envoy to a meal of cassava, also gifting him some tobacco leaves. As dusk approached, the village chief invited the tribe from the ship down to the village to rest.
The white-skinned tribe's envoy seemed very friendly, smiling all the time, and strangely kept looking at everyone's foreheads. After looking around, the envoy seemed to finally relax, declined the village chief's invitation, and rowed back to the large ship. Everyone had thought the white-skinned tribe was not going to stay on the island... But unexpectedly, at dawn the next day, the white-skinned chieftain actually brought all the tribe members, including a carried injured one onto shore!
Only then did everyone notice the strangeness of their attire, never seen before strange clothing. Some wore full skins even in such heat. Others were wearing hard shells as solid as turtle shells. And their weapons were exceptionally sharp, able to quickly chop down trees and effortlessly kill the seals on the shore…
"Hiss!... So sharp, faster than a shark's teeth!"
Thinking of this, the clever villager Shushu shivered again. He clearly remembered, although the group of white-skinned tribe members now all wore cheerful smiles, at first those who disembarked were very fierce! They brandished weapons, approaching with fierce expressions, loudly threatening something... It was truly terrifying, making Shushu want to escape upon recalling it.
But soon, the leading white-skinned chieftain sternly reprimanded and stopped his men. He then smilingly took out more gifts from the ship, gifting them to many in the village. He followed the tribe's customary meeting, smoking tobacco leaves with the old village chief, praising constantly, and even gave the old village chief a black cross amulet, as hard as turtle shells. Subsequently, he led dozens of tribesmen to dance the tribe's dance with everyone else, gifted many pretty presents, and spent the night with village women...
Thus, a dozen or so white-skinned tribesmen stayed in the village, spending every day either hunting, fishing, and drying meat, or fixing and reparing the large ship. The old village chief even once thought that these dozen long-haired tribesmen were intending to officially join the island's village and prepared to have them marry the village women…
"Hey! But the white-skinned chieftain gestured that they needed to go eastward across the sea to a very far Great Island, requiring more storable dried meat. The old village chief said nothing, he just gave them all the village's dried meat. The white-skinned chieftain was very pleased, gesturing repeatedly, saying they would definitely return, bringing more gifts!"
The clever Shushu pursed his lips, without knowing why, there always lingered some inexplicable unease in his heart. He looked at the white-skinned tribe praying and kneeling before him, then glanced at the near-completed repairs of the white large ship, murmuring a quiet inquiry to the sea.
"Ancestors! These tribes may have white skin, and have a white large ship…but they, should be the same as the other sea island tribes previously encountered, right?..."
"Omniscient Mother Goddess of the sea, please tell the clever Shushu… the white-skinned tribe is so friendly, likely, should certainly be 'Guaitiao', 'brothers and friends of the tribe', right?..."
The clever Shushu stood there dumbfounded, gazing at the southern large ship and further at the endless sea. However smart, he didn't know the reason this white-skinned tribe seems so friendly at this moment was not due to their kindness or civilization, nor because of the Taino tribe's kindness and simplicity…
This was solely because, a month ago in the south, the white-skinned tribe encountered the "ferocious and cruel" Cuban Natives, losing too many men, some scared to death! This was solely because they encountered threatening forces, causing them to restrain their unbridled cruelty, donning a façade of friendliness, waiting for another return!...
"Chief Divine bears witness! This is not because they became good people! It is merely because we came..."
The waves surged, roaring continuously like the response of the Mother Goddess of the sea, echoing in the tranquil and serene Taino village, yet no one could understand~~
