Revolutions

14 - Paxilche

The sun prepares for its slumber behind the mountains in Qiapu, casting its glow across the rugged land. Yesterday, such golden hues were comforting and rejuvenating, but now they make me anxious about the event taking place once the colors fade and night falls in Pichaqta. There was such promise to the day, but now I dread what more could come amidst the embers of this day, hoping for the best, but bracing for the worst.

Pichaqta has been tense all day after the assassination of our Tempered — my brother — the day prior. The citizens shuffle their feet as they move about and hardly look at one another in the eyes, heads hung low in despair. The entire rhythm of the day to day activities is nonexistent, and everyone waits with abated breath for who the fires will choose as our new leader.

As the legend goes, the founder of the Qiapu, Aqxilapu, was upset that his brothers and sisters had kingdoms and he had none. After Pachil was created, each sibling selected a region to claim as their own. They were full of lush jungles, bountiful oceans, abundant grasslands, and dynamic ecosystems for a wealth of plant and animal species. Though jealous that he didn't have any land for himself, Aqxilapu wasn't dismayed and decided to create his own kingdom. He reached into the oceans and grabbed two pieces of land with his bare hands, then violently smashed them together, creating a wall of mountains to keep his siblings out of the newly-formed region. The impact was so forceful that a thunderous quake shook the land and caused various rifts that led to the forming of rivers and valleys in all of his siblings' kingdoms.

Aqxilapu was proud of his accomplishment, but it wasn't without its own fault. The reason his brothers and sisters avoided this part of Pachil is due to a fiery chasm that was contained by the rich minerals and rock formations. Disrupting this caused a huge fissure to split through his newly formed region, erupting and spewing ash and lava all over his creation.

Once again, Aqxilapu wasn't troubled by this development, and determined he could funnel the lava flow, creating a volcano that he would call Xutuina. Eventually, he snuffed out the volcano, leaving mineral-rich soil that he could cultivate for farming, and the mountains produced metals that he could use for tools and weaponry. The land, forged by fire and determination, provided everything he needed to be self-sufficient, allowing him to isolate from his siblings and create new life in Qiapu.

The tale is nice to tell to youthful generations, to encourage them to be proud of our people, instill independence, and teach the lesson to persevere when faced with a challenge. Yet, even as a child, I was never convinced of the fantastical stories of magic and gigantic gods walking among the people. There are still those as recent as my generation who believe gods live among us, such as those professing the Eleven as deities, even though I feel they were just specialized and capable warriors. Either way, the legend is what shapes the ceremony to select the Tempered, as well as our society and how we live. The Qiapu are proud of our self-reliance and our ability to bend fire to our will through expertly crafted forgery.

A never-ending line of people wearing the ceremonial white hooded robes march in step as they make their way to Xutuina. The white cloth will inevitably turn an ashen gray, which the Qiapu declare is receiving a blessing from Aqxilapu. Scattered throughout are fathers carrying their young children on their shoulders, or mothers walking with their infants in hemp slings suspended around their torso. Every dozen or so people, someone carries a torch to light the way, illuminating a small area of the rugged terrain and gangly shrubbery. The long descent to a cavern within the dormant volcano requires a bit of physical exertion, but given the daily activities of the people who work in mines or forgeries, the trek is not as exhausting as it would be to the gilded people momentarily in power in Qapauma.

Shamans from Pichaqta have been preparing the area for the ceremony since it became known that we will urgently seek someone to replace Limaqumtlia, the previous and murdered Tempered. Their garments are not particularly elaborate: A robe made of cloth from hemp and not adorned with anything more than a rope at the waist to keep the clothing bound together. Each one wears a mask made from the skull of a puma, said to be Aqxilapu's beloved animal — he kept one as a traveling companion, or so the legend says. The masks are the only distinguishing item for each individual, as each one has customized them with carvings and paint to represent where in Qiapu the shaman is from.