Revolutions

70 - Walumaq

The creature's bellowing roar. The sorcerer's maniacal laughter. The ground's thunderous tremble. The culmination of these sounds is enough to terrorize the bravest of souls. But then, an eerie calm descends. The silence that follows is almost more frightening than the chaos preceding it. It's a haunting stillness, like the world holding its breath, waiting for what comes next.

This brief pause allows fear to catch up with me. The unknown of what's to happen next grips my spirit. The thrum of my pulse eclipses all other sounds like a relentless tide that washes away everything else around me. My muscles scream in agony, threatening to give out under the strain. My vision blurs, tunnels, unable to focus on any specific threat. My breath shortens to panicked gasps. I'm on the verge of collapse. But I cannot afford to falter. I must continue. For the sake of Qespina. For the sake of Qiapu. For the sake of Pachil. For the sake of myself.

As I steel myself for the onslaught, a terrifying blend of jaguar and serpent, the Tlaxqoatl, looms before me. Its front half, muscular and imposing, is shrouded in fur so dark it seems to swallow light whole. Its eyes, burning with ferocity, lock onto mine, sending waves of terror through my veins. A snarl reveals rows of deadly fangs, while its growl vibrates the very ground beneath us. The creature's serpent half, a sleek, elongated body, is covered in scales that gleam with an ominous, dark radiance. With its tail that slices the air, it moves with a deceptive grace, weaving ash and smoke into a sinister veil that cloaks it in shadows, as if it were marshaling the very gloom to its command.

Darkness engulfs me as a massive paw, larger than the guest buildings of the Pichaqta palace, blots out the sun. Its claws, as long as the tallest trees in a Sanqo forest, cast foreboding shadows that stretch across the ground. Tlalqo's eyes mirror the vastness of the endless sky above, wide with wonder and alarm. I shout unintelligibly, and dive out of the way, into the daylight. The ground rumbles with the paw's impact, slamming into the terrain and forming a crater.

My heart leaps into my throat as I twist around and look for Tlalqo. To my relief, the shaman evaded the blow, his blue-painted body sprawled onto the green, untouched grass. The imposing figure of the creature slithers upright, leaving behind the imprint of its paw into the volcanic ash and dirt.

I clutch the amulet and repeat the prayer I utter during my morning ritual, hoping I can protect myself from such dark, evil magic.

Strength of Pachil's ancient lands, steady and enduring,
Flow of the endless rivers, guiding and sure,
Breath of the sacred winds, ever-present and assuring,
Warmth of the sun's gentle light, life-giving and pure.

As I grip the obsidian stone tightly in my palm, I don't feel the same connection to it as I had when warding away the sorcerer's shadow magic. There is no pulsing energy, no glowing warmth emitted from the amulet. Is this creature not cast from the same source of dark magic? Is this Tlaxqoatl actually a beast of legend, one that resembles the monsters told in Saxina's fable to Paxilche, Pomaqli, and I at the Pichaqta palace? But that beast was described as a creature formed of lava, erupting from the volcano as it spewed magma. Is this yet another monster, one which had not been mentioned because it was believed to be dispatched, extinguished?

Another limb crashes down onto the plain, coming dangerously close to smashing Tlalqo beneath its tremendous, meaty paws. Why has it targeted the shaman? Though he is well versed in the lore of Qiapu and practices sacred rituals, he is but a feeble, frail man... Or, that was my initial impression. Is the creature—or the sorcerer—aware of something I'm not?

My body writhes in pain, but I muster up all the energy I can to control the nearby spring once again. Unlike before, my connection to the water feels faint, as though it's located from a much further distance away. I reach out, eagerly attempting to draw strength from it, to maneuver it as easily as I once had, but I can only manipulate a minuscule amount, nothing compared to the mountainous size of the monster.