Revolutions

10 - Teqosa

I jump in to carry buckets from the tiny creek and douse the fires as best I can manage, running back and forth, back and forth. The weight of the water, combined with the long journey we were just on, causes my muscles to ache, but I tell myself to keep going, keep helping. After some time, however, it's clear we've done everything we can to contain the damage, and exasperated men cease their efforts to begin assessing the destruction.

If the Titans are considered nearly three times the height and size of man, this building would have been regarded as gigantic even to them. Even destroyed, the few walls that remain are still taller than a person. I was only a child when I last spent time here, and because I was so young — when everything can be deemed "large" by comparison, at that age — it's difficult for me to accurately gauge how big and remarkable everything was. For it to be demolished to ruins is devastating, as clearly noted by everyone's somber expressions.

Spotting Upachu away from the rest gathered around, I walk over to console him. He acts as if he's lost someone of considerable worth, his head and folded arms resting on the knees pressed against his chest, and a distant stare fixed on his face. Although no one holds the rope to maintain possession, the llama remains nearby to feed on grass.

"All this way, and for what?" Upachu laments. "This was supposed to be a joyful occasion."

"Perhaps something can be salvaged from the rubble," I say, half-convincingly, as I'm not certain I believe that myself. "It appears there are some areas that haven't been as affected by the flames."

"Who would do this?" he says. "Why would someone want to destroy a temple with Qantua people inside?"

"It could have something to do with it being called the 'Temple of the Titans'." I say. "Maybe someone has a still-lingering grudge against the Timuaq?"

"The war has been over for many seasons now," he chides me, as if I'm responsible for the wreckage. "There is no excuse for burning down history and all the knowledge contained in that building."

I understand his point, and this will certainly be investigated soon, but the energy invested in his frustrations and anger seems useless and unhelpful. I also recall that he might have consumed some of the coca he packed for the journey, and coming down from its effects could be contributing to the moodiness.

I survey the scene and notice some of the men walking to the rubble, each with a weathered expression on their face, and their white robes now soiled with soot and ash. They have an exchange with one another and collectively begin moving some of the heavy wooden support beams and crumbled stones. Upachu doesn't seem as though he's ready to be consoled, and I quickly grow tired of his moping. So seeing the others struggle to lift the debris, I let Upachu know I'll be close by and head over to assist them, making the physical labor a welcomed excuse to end this conversation. I have brief exchanges with the men to help pass the time as we work, and I discover that, amazingly, nobody has been killed in the fire. They sing the praises of the gods for protecting us, though I'm a bit reluctant to give credit to deities that are considered to have protected the people while also destroying a prominent building.

I've been so focused on the task at hand that I am caught off guard when I notice the sun has already set behind the hills and the minimal tree line. The men have managed to remove a relatively small number of items from the temple: Metallic trinkets and statues shaped to resemble the titans, torn and soiled cloths and robes once used for ceremonies, sacks of a variety of root vegetables in moderately good condition, a mix of now-dimly-colored and dirtied quipus, jewelry warped by the heat of the flames, tattered tapestries collected from all the lands in Pachil, and pieces of damaged wooden furniture. With sunlight at a premium, there won't be much time left today to continue searching the remains. Some have begun assembling tents to house those who have lost the building they also considered a home. Upachu eventually made himself useful and has been working on transforming our cart into an improvised hut to give us some cover.