Chapter 28 Chapter Twenty Seven

They climbed the flight of steps leading to two stone pillars towering in the sun. Vera Omar walked ahead.There was a warmth in the air, as if the clear sky, or another blue world overhead, or the innumerable green plants on the slopes, all had a common life, an earthy and peaceful breath. But when they reached the middle of the two stone pillars, Annamaya found that there was only a carefully paved avenue in the middle, and there was not a blade of grass in between.The road sloped slightly upwards, lined with bamboo groves, purple rhododendrons and large orchids, and then, about two hundred paces away from them, the whole road opened again to the outside.

Anna Maya's heartbeat increased and she had difficulty breathing.Her neck and hands were soaked with sweat, but not from the climb.Today's ladder is not too long, nor is it difficult to walk. Suddenly, the cliffs on the high mountains in the distance appeared in front of her eyes, and the wise man hesitated.He spread his arms, fingers down.Anna Maya walked up to him. The holy city is at their feet.His eyes had never been so bright.His heart had never been exposed to so many beauties. Standing like a gigantic perfect structure where the summit meets the canyon, the ridge slopes down, platform after platform on dizzying cliffs, down to the bank of the rolling river.

Houses, roads, temples, palaces, walls and religious buildings are woven into a beautiful cloth in brown, red, light green or turquoise, just like a piece of exquisite royal satin. In all directions, even to the horizon, to the edge of an unknown world, under the dark blue sky full of clouds, the mountains are like a group of vigilant warriors, defending the bhikkhu.The dizzying cliffs float and sink in the sunset, as sharp as the edges and corners of alpaca fabrics, and the endless green grasslands extend to the end of the mountain peaks.In the distance, deep in the narrow valley, there is a yellow river winding like a giant snake, and the night mist has already quietly risen.

"Bhikkhu," Vera Omar murmured, "Bhikkhu!" Anna Maya trembled all over, her throat was dry. Bursts of cooking smoke rose from the uniform thatched roofs carefully decorated in bright yellow or gray and white.A group of men and women crossed the long atrium lawn, which was trimmed like a carpet.Their brightly colored jackets and cloaks are very eye-catching in the hot sun, and the gold ornaments on their bodies also reflect a little light. At this time, the shadows at the bottom of the valley have long been long and dense. "Follow me and walk five steps forward." Vera Omar ordered while taking steps.

But Anamaya stood still.Through the transformation of the light and shadow of the sunset, the mountain towering to the west of the holy city is clearly recognizable at this time.The cougar was right in front of her. Like a beast that has just returned from hunting around and having a full meal, the whole mountain sleeps peacefully.The tip of its nose is raised high, and its four powerful claws are tightly grasping the temples, roads, houses, and platforms with graceful lines, like creases on animal fur! "That mountain is alive," Anamaya whispered, completely unaware that she was talking to herself, "that mountain is alive!"

Vera Omar, who was standing in front, turned her head and waved her big hand, telling her to go forward. When they were still a distance equivalent to the range of a catapult from the walls of the holy city, the wise man stopped again.He pointed to a small house with several doors on the terrace. "Wait for me over there," he ordered, "no matter how long you have to wait, don't go away." Anna Maya's mind was full of doubts, but the wise man's eyes were firm and no bargaining was allowed.Indifferently, without a word of farewell, as if he was scared by this place and didn't know how to express his feelings, he immediately strode forward.

Annamaya followed the wise man with her eyes, and he walked down a long flight of stone steps, which turned suddenly at right angles and then descended sharply along a cliff.But at the corner, there appeared a closed gate surrounded by layers of bamboo fences.Vera Omar stopped in front of the door, unable to hear what he was saying, and Anna Maya only heard him shouting a few words. A long time passed, but nothing happened, as if the gate refused the entrance of the wise man. Then, suddenly, the door began to shake gently, and a small road appeared in front of me, with low houses on both sides.Three men stand by the door, holding javelins in their hands and cloaks over their left shoulders, resembling priests.The two sides bowed and bowed for a long time.Vera Omar said a lot of words, and bowed several times politely.At last he crossed the threshold, and as the bamboo fence closed again, he disappeared behind the priests.

Until night fell, Anna Maya still sat quietly in front of the small empty house towering over the monk. At her feet, until sunset, about a hundred farmers are still working hard on the terraced fields.Some of them were busy harvesting the first sprouts of corn to be sent to brew the chicha wine for the gods, while others were sowing the beans for the worship, or gathering coca leaves on the lower terraces to bundle After forming a bunch, some young people will carry them into the city.Because these people carry too many things on their shoulders, when they walk on the steep steps, others can only see their heels.

There was some talking, but not screaming.There were also several priests on the platform, whose identities could be easily recognized from their silk sacrificial robes and gold earrings on their earlobes.They were in the fields checking the flow of the irrigation channels, supervising the sowing of the seeds, sometimes reciting prayers between the furrows, or simply estimating the weight of the coca leaves... No one came to her.Although a group of little shepherd boys who chased the alpacas to the terraced fields far away climbed up the stone steps beside her, they ignored her. As if she didn't exist at all.As if she was just a shadow from another world!

Suddenly, the large swath of smoke on the river disappeared, like a flock of frantic birds flying towards the cliffs.The fresh moisture turned to a breeze that bent the corn shoots and scrambled the rhododendron branches. The singing of village women echoed in the city.Anamaya saw them coming up from a low-lying area, across the Temple Square, toward a cluster of small houses next to a bamboo fence.There were many of them, all wearing white, red or yellow blouses, and golden headdresses in their hair.Three people lined up in a row, walking up the steps together. Then the singing stopped abruptly and was replaced by a long trumpet sound from the very top of the Holy City, where stood a large stone on which the father of the sun, Andi, lived.

Now some men appear in the square.Instead of walking side by side, they each headed in opposite directions.Anamaya recognized Vera Omar among them.He was standing beside a priest whose head was covered with feathers, but unfortunately the color of the feathers could not be seen clearly because of the dark sky.He walked towards a large staircase, climbed slowly to the top, and rushed into a rectangular building. After a few minutes, it was all dark. The mountains were only vaguely tall and tall, like a few sleeping monsters, about to move in the dark night.The sky was covered with clouds, and the moon and stars could not be seen. A drizzle followed, and within seconds everything was drenched. Anna Maya hides in the house.On the trampled ground, there was not even a stone chair, wooden chair, or stone bed to lie on. She squatted against the wall, facing a door inside the house.She listened carefully to the silent sound of the earth and the rain, feeling the damp smell of smoke rising from the fireplace in the air.Sometimes even mixed with the taste of vegetable soup. She is starving.But she knew very well in her heart that she would not even think about having food tonight. She opened her eyes as wide as she could in the darkness, as if at any moment a torch or the call of Vera Omar would appear before her. But nothing happened except the silent mountains. Her nerves were tense and she fell asleep unconsciously. She jumped up, thinking she heard the scream of the ocelot.She figured she'd only been taking a nap, but that wasn't the case.The rain has stopped, and the sky is full of stars. She stood up and walked out of the house.Yes, the sky was cloudless, the climate was mild and humid, and the air seemed thick enough to hold in the palm of your hand.The holy city sleeps in the night under the claws of the puma.In the bright starlight there was only the staircase, where she had seen a row of fountains the night before, shining with golden statues the size of children. In order to see the stars in the sky and the figures in the Holy City clearly, Anna Maya left the house.Now she is wide awake.Sitting on the first step, tightening the shawl that could not prevent the rain, she kept watch at night, as if she was the only one in the world. completely alone. She longed to hear the call of the old Inca, Vanya Capac.She wished she could hear his mysterious and moving voice.But there was still silence. For some reason, she just didn't dare to enter the holy city.The joy of discovery was over, and she suddenly felt that she had returned to a time when she was just a child, a little girl, powerless and incompetent.At that time, she knew nothing about the imaginary world; at that time, she was always smiling happily, and she was not afraid of anything; at that time, she never guessed that there would be a puma hiding in the mountains... At dawn, her whole body was numb and stiff due to the heavy humidity, and the gates of the city had opened. The three priests who had received Vera Omar the night before walked up to her, more gestures than words, and asked her to follow them. "Pray that Mama Kila will keep you silent forever, and don't tell anyone about the road that brought you here and what you saw along the way!" Standing between two waist-high walls, Anna Maya walked to the front of a platform.The platforms stretched out so straight and so dizzyingly high that the deep valleys below seemed small enough to hold in the palm of your hand. Behind her, High Priest Willok Topak shouted orders.His lips were thin, like Vera Omar's, stained with the green sap of coca leaves.His eyes were strangely gray.According to Vera Omar, it was because he had continuously observed the stars for hundreds of nights, and the iris in his eyes turned white. "Look at Mama Kira, and swear to her!" cried the high priest again. Ana Maya stared at the jagged peak that spanned the highest summit of the skyline to the left.Here the clouds spread out in all directions, revealing layers upon layers of grassy mountains.The sky, the wind, and the rain seemed to obey Willock Topak, and suddenly a long blue band appeared on the top of the mountain, and a bright last quarter moon stood high in it. "I promise you, Mama Kira," said Annamaya loudly, "I promise you that I will never reveal anything about the holy city! I will never say anything about the road to the holy city, and I will I keep what I have seen here in my heart. If I don't keep my word, my mouth will be torn..." As soon as she finished speaking, she felt the heavy arms of Willock Topak on her shoulders.He forced her to lean against the stone wall, pressing on her stomach, and she tried her best to resist with her hands. "Look at the abyss under your feet, little girl! Look carefully, because if you break your promise, you will be pushed down from here! No one, ever, mentions a bhikkhu to anyone! No one should know There is such a place in the world. Even if Prince Atahualpa asks you, you can only respond with silence, understand?" Willock Topak let go of his hand, and Anna Maya was finally able to turn around, responding to the other party's gaze with her eyes: "Understood, High Priest." Vera Omar, who flinched aside, lowered his eyes.There was modesty in his demeanor, how servile he was here. "Now, come with me, strange girl!" Willock Topak's tone of voice was full of sarcasm and disdain. He turned and walked up a rough stone path, then turned right onto the first flight of stairs leading to the sanctuary.Anna Maya followed closely behind him, and heard the soft footsteps of Vera Omar's sandals scraping the ground behind him. It has been the fourth day since I came to the Bhikkhu mountain area.Four days in a small room painted ocher on the inside, without any ornaments, shrines or statuettes.During these four days no man, woman or child came to speak to her.Even Vera Omar, she had only met him once, drinking chicha with some priests around the sun clock to which the sun was tied. Sometimes, she wanted to go into the temple, the golden pool and the ancient tomb area of ​​​​the great vulture god, but she was always driven away by the raised hands and screams of the guards.Every afternoon, she always squats in front of the jewelry workshop, watching the craftsmen forge golden alpaca statues and earrings, inlay emeralds, decorate feathers on wigs and make iron clothes for riding.She lingered in front of every master goldsmith's shop. The children ran and pushed her to the ground, as if they didn't notice her existence at all, and the women sat in groups of ten in front of the looms, and whenever she passed by, they looked back at her, as if they were worried. She would have soiled their beautiful work... Whenever she finally returned to her lonely little room, she would find an earthenware bowl full of fava bean risotto on the floor.It's a pity that she has never seen the hands that brought her food. "You must swear before Mama Kira." Vera Omar walked up to her and whispered to her from the steps.During these few days, the sky is full of dark clouds. "Why don't you come and see me?" Annamaya exclaimed, surprised to hear his voice. "Be quiet! The High Priest is here, we better talk quietly! . . . I can't see you, because no one can go to you or talk to you until you take your oath. It's as if you His physical body has not come to the bhikkhu at all." Now Willock Topak trotted ahead of them, turning into a path leading to Temple Square.Suddenly he turned to the left and walked into another narrow passage that had hitherto been off limits to Annamaya.As she hesitated, Vera Omar gave her a gentle push. "You can go in! Don't worry. Willock Topak is a stern and taciturn man, but he is just. He knows the laws of the sky better than anyone. For twenty years he has lived here, talking to the stars every night .Besides, he is Cora Topak's younger brother. Only he has the power and the will to restore order in the country..." The room that Anna Maya followed the high priest into was very strange.The four walls of the house are neatly piled up with stones, and the size of the gravel is evenly distributed, and the particles become smaller as you go up.Obviously this is an important place.Two sloping windows faced the valley of the Wilcamayor, and from the windows there was a clear view of the crests of the mountains to the west and the rolling river that snaked like a yellow snake.But this house has no roof, and there are two large granite water basins on the ground. The bottom of the basin is not deep, and there is crystal clear water inside.A few young priests sat by the corner, busy counting the knots like spider webs in front of a bamboo tied with many jeeps.Sometimes they count quickly and deftly, and then tie a knot, and sometimes they untie a whole row of knots... They rely on these moon numbers and years to record the history of the empire and the state affairs of the Inca kingdom. Willock Topak motioned for them all to leave.When there were only the two of them left in the room, he turned to Anna Maya and asked straight to the point: "So, you saw the comet, and you took that as a hint. Atahualpa should be the Inca king?" Anna Maya was intimidated by the sudden question, so she didn't answer right away. "Vanya Kapac told her about the journey to the underworld all night," Vera Omar hesitated to speak in his ear. "She also met that puma, in--" "I know!" interrupted Willock Topak. "It's her I'm asking. Answer, blue-eyed girl!" "Yes, High Priest. I saw the comet, so I know Prince Atahualpa should be king of the Inca." "you know!" "right." "You also know what happened to Crown Prince Cora Topak." "He was still holding my hand tightly before he passed away. He knew it too. It was because of this that he was brutally tortured to death." "what!" With a pained expression on his face, Willock Topak turned and knelt before the two granite basins.At this time, only the reflection of the clouds in the sky can be seen on the water. "I see the ghosts of the night," he murmured, "I see the darkness in the night. The stars are all fallen, and the sky is blank...I have never seen anything like it!" The high priest's calm and melancholy tone encouraged Vera Omar, and this time he boldly said: "If we don't act, the Quadrilateral Empire will perish! A war between the Atahualpa and Cusco tribes will throw the country into chaos. Once the two sides are evenly matched, the Empire will fall apart." "Which camp do you want me to choose, Vera Omar? I am a priest of astrology, and what I do is neither for Cusco nor Atahualpa, but for Andy, Qi Ra and all the gods who give birth and protect us." "Exactly, Willock Topak, I am not asking you to choose which tribe to join, but to save us all, us, the children of the sun. We borrow the power of our ancestors instead of worshiping them. I take this girl I came here because the ancestors of the underworld trusted her. Please give her the power of holiness so that she can hear their voices. I hope that Wanya Kapac can tell her the will! At this time and here, only She has this ability, so we come here to pray. There is no place more sacred than this..." "Holy power!" Willock Topak stared at Anna Maya, muttering in his mouth. "If she can bear it, we will start the morning after tomorrow! Now, she has to stay in the Twenty Springs Cave to cleanse herself. Tell the women to prepare for her..."

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