Chapter 4 third chapter

The room, smoky from coca-leaf braziers, was dark despite the gleaming gilt surfaces of the stone panels that lined the walls. The only king had been sick for three days under a lambswool and alpaca blanket.In his sleep, he sometimes trembled.Then, in the long silent hours of the night, he opened his eyes and searched the twilight for answers to those lingering questions. If the successor to the throne cannot be designated before death, how will the heavenly father, the sun god, greet him in the underworld? What will become of the empire that was founded in Cuzco?And what would become of him, Vanya Kapak, who created this great empire—which would have taken days to walk from north to south—to achieve its grandeur today?

What are those strange sights that appeared on the sky and the mountains as early as the previous season? Was it his heavenly father, the sun god, who was furious?Or is his queen mother, the moon god Qila, telling the fear in her heart? These questions came up over and over again like a tiring prayer, until the fever took his consciousness away again.The pain penetrated into his head, abdomen and bone marrow, causing him to sit up in pain.An inexplicable pain, from nowhere, but no one will ever try to knock down the Son of the Sun. When the pain was unbearable, he would see again the strange blue eyes of the little girl brought here from the southern woods.A pair of eyes like Lake Titicaca, which symbolizes the great holy lake that is the source of time; a pair of eyes that can soothe the sick when gazing.

Horns sounded outside the gate of the palace.After that, there were scattered footsteps and conversations in the inner courtyard, but only a man appeared by the threshold. He immediately knelt down and bowed his head to the ground. Someone put a stone as big as a baby on his neck.He steadily carried the stone on his back and crawled to the patient's bedside. The only king straightened his upper body with a groan, and asked in his fever-distorted voice: "Atahuallpa? ​​Is that you, child?" Standing in the darkest corner, Vera Omar said: "Yes, the only king, is Atahualpa."

"stand up!" When the only king, full of breath, lay down again, a servant removed the stone from Atahualpa's neck, and he stood up again. He wears a princely turban on his full forehead, and wears a tight tunic and cloak based on the pattern of the tribe he ruled. He has a strong hooked nose, a protruding skull, and the whites of his eyes are sometimes bloodshot, as if full of anger. However, he never The inner world is not exposed to the outside world.Furthermore, his right earlobe is very fat, which is always amazing. But today, staring into the face of his father, the only king, he couldn't help but gape.

King Vanya Kapac's illness was beyond his imagination.He was short of breath, empty-eyed, like a drunk on coca and chicha.He suddenly aged a lot.Atahualpa wanted to back away, wondering if he should still tell him the bad news.Seeing that he was silent, the only king had already guessed the reason: "Tell me what you know, Son of Atahualpa! Don't keep it from me." Atahualpa glanced at Vera Omar, who nodded in agreement. "The only king," said Atahualpa cautiously, "I have had bad news." Vanya Capac motioned him to continue. "Businessmen by the sea met each other, and they said that there was a high wooden mountain floating on the sea, and a group of foreigners were brought here..."

Vanya Capac searched the expression on his son's face with impatient eyes. "Are there a lot of people?" "No, at most a dozen or twenty people. They robbed the cargo of a merchant ship in Tumbes Port, kidnapped a few crew members, and then left." "Is it human?" "No one knows, the one and only King... Some of them have a special kind of silver clothes on their upper body, and others have hair all over their bodies, even on their faces. They walk upright like humans, but with strange sounds. sound and speak a language that no one can understand."

"When did it happen?" "Three seasons ago." "Did they leave immediately after that?" "Yes, when the Tathagata came, they boarded the floating mountain and went back to the sea, the only king!" Vera Omar stepped forward and interrupted him almost at the same time: "It's from Viracocha...do you think so?" "What do you mean by that?" Atahualpa asked angrily. "Viracocha, the god who created the universe, from Lake Titicaca, created plains and mountains, man and woman. Viracocha, the almighty one, asked the sun god Andre to give us light, moon god Qi Ra gave us the night..."

"Villa Omar! You talk too much, I know who Viracocha is!" "Then, you know that once it completes its mission, it will return to the sea and rest in the west; and it also promised that it will definitely come back in the future..." "Then you think it's back!" Atahualpa interrupted angrily, "on a floating mountain, resembling a stinking human, covered in rusted silver and hair?" Vera Omar shot Atahualpa back, then turned to face Vanya Kapac. "It is possible, the only king. Viracocha can take on various guises according to the situation. It can be an individual or a group, a human or an animal, a forest or a mountain...it can do anything."

Wanya Kapac closed his eyes tightly, panting heavily, and when he asked, his voice was very soft: "Don't you believe it was Viracocha who came back for us, son?" Atahualpa shrugged and replied: "I don't know, the only king. I think it's too early to tell. We know that men of impure blood can take all sorts of strange shapes. You saw it yourself in the forests and deep southern mountains during the war. But...and why does Viracocha come back to us now? Our country is big and strong in this world, and we abide by the destiny and the law of the king..." "It's a pity that I'm going to see Emperor An," the only king sighed, "but I haven't specified whose head the Borla turban representing the throne will be tied on."

These words silenced everyone. The sick old man struggled to prop up his upper body on his elbows again, and raised his voice a little and said: "Son of Atahualpa, why do you reject my nomination? You know that I love you far more than other princes! You know that you are the smartest and most capable! Why reject me? Block me when I go to the underworld?" "Father, the only king, you and I both know the answer to this question. The Cusco tribe will never accept me! Although you are my father, my mother is not a member of the clan. Even if I tie my forehead Put on the Borla turban, and we will never be able to rule our empire and require our people to obey the king's law! What's the use of that?"

"The only king!" Vera Omar yelled, "You must make a decision. You must not leave before a successor is appointed, otherwise you will make a big mistake, and the consequences will affect everyone!" "Vera Omar!" Atahualpa scolded, "How dare you speak like that?" "I dare, for the catastrophe is imminent! Have you forgotten the hints, Atahualpa? That night our Luna Mother disintegrated into three circles over the palace. The first circle was blood-red, the second circle was Black and green, and the last one is just a puff of smoke!" Exhausted, Vanya Kapac fell back on the bed, panting heavily.Atahualpa glanced at him, and asked the wise man Vera Umar directly: "From what you can see, what is Kira hinting at us?" "The first circle indicates that when the only king meets his father, the sun god, the royal blood will continue to flow! The second circle predicts that a great gap will be formed between the north and the south due to massacres and wars. The third circle It's just a cloud, because as long as these big mistakes are made, Andi and Qila will be as angry as we are, and then there will be only a cloud in the sky, the almighty son of the only monarch!" "Ah!" Atahualpa waved his hand angrily and took a breath. "Vera Omar, I thought you were very wise. You trust the words of the priests too much, but unfortunately they can't even guarantee what they say. They can only brag! And you know very well that the other dog can't spit out The priest who produced the ivory, his statement must be completely opposite to the former." "Who is wiser?" Vera Omar said with her eyes closed. "The one who sees and understands God's will? Or the one who is blindfolded and does not want to see the truth?" "A wise man should also be a person who knows how to keep silent at the right time, brother Vera Omar!" "Atahuallpa... Atahuallpa!" Vanya Kapac raised a trembling hand and whispered, "Son of Atahuallpa, please don't be angry! I agree with your opinion and courage, but maybe Vera O Ma is right. He gave me a lot of advice in the past, and after I leave, you must obey him..." A sharp pain hit his chest again, and the aged king trembled all over his body. Before he finished speaking, he went on to say: "I think Mother Kira gave me another hint. Vera Omar, bring the blue-eyed girl here!" Day after day, the years have been very different from that of the Holy Maiden Hall. When Antti Panla entered the room and quietly raised the brightly colored curtain, Anna Maya was still trembling with fright.The terror of the past few days has not completely disappeared.However, Andi Panla approached her and squatted down, giving her a weird smile. "Look!" she whispered, "Take it! Send it to you..." Ana Maya watched dumbfounded as the princess handed her a gold bracelet.There are two poisonous snakes wrapped around the bracelet, which seem to bind her wrists. "Take it!" insisted Antti Panla, "it's for you." "it's beautiful……" Anti Panla grabbed Anna Maya's wrist and deftly slipped the bracelet into her arm. "Don't take it off, sister, it will protect you forever!" younger sister?Anna Maya wondered if she should believe her ears?Was she really the same Antti Panla who had smiled and announced to her yesterday that she was going to die? She doesn't know how to hold grudges at all.She bent over to Antti Panla shyly, then blushed and whispered: "thanks!" Antti Panla embraced her with open arms.Anna Maya felt the warmth of this strange body, felt the beating of the heart under the young atrium.It had been a year since no one had hugged her, no gentle hand had touched her... Her throat was choked up, and her stiff hands clutched Princess Antti Panla's shoulders.The two were also throbbing, and Anna Maya saw some clues from it. Antti Panla was the first to embrace her with an open heart.She stared wide-eyed into her dark blue eyeballs, and said solemnly: "Don't forget, I will always be your friend." Anamaya's eyes were full of gratitude, but she wasn't sure if she should be believed. "Hurry up," Anti Panla said as he stood up, "Captain Sikanshara has come to see you specially, the one and only King is going to summon you again." Behind this long-accustomed fear, Anna Maya has a new feeling-an exciting curiosity and waiting. Even a kind of pride. Just when she was about to crawl in front of the threshold of the dark bedroom, she happened to see a deformed figure in a red cloth, who stared at her sharply.It was a man who was smaller than a child, his strong hands were clutching the edge of the bed of the sole king, and the lines on his lips twisted into a strange expression of disappointment. As Sikanshara ordered her to come forward, a pungent smell rushed into her throat and eyes, a mixture of burning coca leaves and potions.Although in the dark, she guessed that someone else was there, and recognized the blouse of the wise man chewing green coca leaves. When she crawled on hands and knees to the bedside of the Sole King, the dwarf stepped back to make room for her, but did not move away completely.She felt his deformed body against her back, and strangely she didn't feel uncomfortable.Then she heard the only king speak, his voice rustling like gravel. "Get up, daughter, and look at me." So she stood up, and the sight in front of her shocked her. The one and only king was terminally ill, his face seemingly festered, his forehead and temples distorted by disgusting blotches, and his badly shaking hands were scarred.He muttered to himself: "Atahualpa, watch her eyes..." A young official came up to her and came face to face with her. Anna Maya resisted not to flinch, and looked at the supreme power emanating from this man in her heart.He stared at her without hesitation, and she was surprised to see that the whites of his eyes were bloodshot.Despite this, his face was still very handsome, with a wide mouth and a distinctly pouty lip. She didn't dare to stare at him for too long, so she turned around, but what she saw made her hair stand on end, and she didn't even have the strength to scream.For at the bedside of the one and only King there is another pair of aggressive eyes.This gloomy face looked straight at her, with a pair of fangs gleaming! After being frightened, she finally saw clearly that the puma was not alive, but an animal skin covering the feet of the only king, but because its head was perfectly preserved, the pupils of the beast were really very beautiful. scary. Atahualpa asked: "Who is she? Where is she from?" "Vera Omar will explain to you," whispered the one and only King, "come here, daughter, come closer!" Anna Maya hesitantly moved closer to the king's bed, and the smell of the potion immediately choked her throat.She thought to herself, isn't everything in front of her more terrifying than facing ferocious birds and beasts?Now the dwarf put his mouth close to her ear, and just as she was about to push him away, out of her wits, he said to her, "Don't be afraid." No one else heard the terse whisper, and she His heartbeat returned to calm.With all his strength, the only king suddenly stretched out his trembling arms towards her. "Hold my hand, little girl!" Villa Omar shouted behind him: "The only king! Please be careful!" Anna Maya didn't even dare to extend her hand.She stared in fear at the few fingers stretched out to her, withered and black like tree branches that had been frostbitten by frost and snow.Except for the concubine, no one has ever touched the only king! Yet his fever-bulging eyeballs were fixed on her.King Vanya Kapac again commanded: "Touch me, girl!" Disgusting!She placed her bloodless fingers on the Inca's hand. With an almost involuntary movement, he grabbed her with one hand, then closed his eyes panting, and rested his head on the sweat-soaked sheet again, because he was leaning backward, a squirming airflow was clearly visible slide over his body. The onlookers around were all silent. At this moment, Anna Maya was shaking all over like the only king, and she couldn't smell the uneasy atmosphere around her at all. Son of the Sun finally curled the corner of his stiff mouth reluctantly, but maybe that was his smile.Although he kept blinking his eyes, his eyes were as subtle as that of a handsome man. "The blue water of Lake Titicaca is in her eyes, son. It's the water of heaven! Kira, thank the Mother of Heaven for sending her to me. Now I understand, I know..." "The only king, the father..." "It's all right, Atahualpa! That's fine. They sent her to accompany me to the Underworld. I feel good about her eyes. Did you hear me, son? My voice has grown softer. Clear, all my ailments are gone. Ah, thank Kira!" Anna Maya fell into the clouds and fog.She didn't understand what the only king was talking about, only that he held her hand very tightly.However, she thought to herself that what he said should be the truth, he was not in so much pain anymore... Even she herself wanted to laugh. After a long period of silence, she heard the sound of the soles of her shoes rubbing against the stones on the ground.She knew that it was the footsteps of Vera Omar and then the young prince Atahualpa.Now she alone knelt by the king's bed, one hand still tightly held by the Inca, and the dwarf curled up behind her. "Is my adopted son still alive?" the Inca asked in a weak voice. "I am still here, dear father." The dwarf's voice was so low that it echoed from the bottom of the giant's chest. "Let us be alone now, son," murmured the One and Only King. When Anna Maya heard the dwarf's leaving footsteps, she couldn't help but have several puzzled questions in her mind.How could the only king be the father of such a man?However, she seemed to be able to feel an endless tenderness from their conversation... Afterwards, the only king once again held her hand tightly with unbelievable strength.She clenched her teeth so as not to cry bitterly.Then he whispered to her: "Be patient, little girl, I have a lot to tell you." All night, the One and Only King held Annamaya's hands in his own. All night long he narrated and narrated, his voice so low and so unceasing, it seemed that this was all he had left in his life. He tells of the past, the birth of the world, the kingdom of Cuzco founded by the first Incas, and the mountains, plains, and lakes that the Sons of the Sun labored to cultivate. He told how he himself, Vanya Capac, the Twelfth Son of the Sun, expanded the Quadrilateral Empire northward to the volcanic mountains of Quito, and southward across Lake Titicaca, where it was always frozen and snowed. He also speaks of the battles he participated in, the cities he conquered, and the tribes he conquered. When he was free from sickness, he spoke freely of what was the power and wisdom of the Children of the Sun, and their greatness and strength. With sobs mixed with his dying gasps, he described how much his mother Luna loved him, and how happy he was to finally meet his father, the sun god Andi.But he also admits to being apprehensive about meeting his ancestors in the underworld, who would surely chide him for not tying the Borra hood over the forehead of one of his sons to ensure the future of the empire. However, he said that he hopes that he can become a stone in the future, like his distant ancestors, lying quietly on the gentle grassland of the high mountains of Quito. Finally, he also told her a secret.He secretly told her about the future! But the words did not pass from his lips to her ears, but from the shriveled hand of the only king to the tender palm of a young girl. Anna Maya was intoxicated by these words alone, so that she didn't listen to a word he said later. She only realized that all the emperors of the Four Kingdoms had come to the door of the bedroom, crowding the palace lit by hundreds of torches. All the people are all dressed up.Their gold earrings shone in the night, as if all the stars in the sky had suddenly come together.But the crowd was silent, except for the murmur of the one and only King, buzzing like a stubborn insect. Throughout the night, all the emperors watched this incredible event intently: the only emperor was lying on his birthday bed, holding the hand of a kneeling little girl!A bastard girl with blue eyes, or even a child without high official status.But he kept talking! He told her all the secrets that only the Son of the Sun knew! He also told her the secrets of his ancestors! Many of them would have reviled him for such blasphemy, but none of them had the courage to act. When the sun rose above the horizon again, Annamaya was as pale as if her heart had been hollowed out. She has not slept for many days.In order not to accidentally fall asleep, she grabbed her thigh with her free hand several times until it was dripping with blood. Many times, the yellow pupils of the cougar stared right at her, forcing her to stay awake. Now, at this twilight hour, the body of the Sole King seemed to be covered with ice and snow, already stiff and unconscious.And his soul was also frozen, and all the words he said disappeared. But suddenly, when the only emperor all closed their eyes and shook their heads in fatigue, the muttering stopped. Anamaya was shaking, her neck was stiff, her eyes were dilated. She felt a tiny spark between her numb fingers. The only king was trembling all over again, short of breath. His old face had worn away during the night as if all the bones between his jaw and temple had been broken. But his pupils were as dark as the night he just spent, burning with a raging flame like alchemy, looking directly at Anna Maya's blue eyes, as if the two were about to go to hell together. She wasn't afraid, but her heart was torn and filled with pain.She saw the faces of the mother who died in the village and the elder before her eyes.A pang of sadness welled up in my heart, and tears choked in my throat. Her wailing was heard by everyone, even outside the palace.Everyone trembled with fear. However, the only king squeezed Anna Maya's hand for the last time, so hard that the whole bed shook, after which he shouted: "Daughter of Annamaya! Daughter of the lake, daughter of Kira! May you live a long life in this world! Because, when I reach my father Sun, I will remember you!" He fell down again and that ended it all.He finally passed away. The whole court wailed, like a long sword that snapped, and Anna Maya fainted to the ground.