Mythical Creatures [EDITING]

Xelhua

Xelhua is the flood hero from the Aztecs' creation legend. He is the one that sought refuge from the Deluge by climbing on top of Tlaloc's mountain. Tlaloc, together with Quetzalcoatl, represented another version of Atlas. He appeared in temple art depictions as a bearded man who supported the four quarters of the sky on his shoulders. Similarly, Xelhua was also a giant who, just before the Great Flood, went with his followers to central Mexico. Once they got there, they built the most massive structure in Mesoamerica.

Today, the Cholula pyramid is surrounded by a Catholic church which used to substitute as an Aztec temple. It also used to enshrine a fragment of a meteorite, an old relic from the Deluge. According to the legends, the meteorite 'fell from the heaven wrapped in a ball of flame.' Before the people managed to build the pyramid, fire fell upon it, causing the death of the builders. In the end, they stopped the construction altogether.

Xelhua – The One Who Defied the Gods

An old document in the Aztec language reads: 'here you have documents, the mirror of your past, the history of your ancestors.' 'Out of fear for a deluge, they constructed this place of refuge or asylum for the possibility of such a calamity.'

According to legends, Xelhua built the pyramid for him and his people, in case that such a calamity would ever occur. Each day, Xelhua glowed with pride when he had to climb to reach the dizzying levels of the pyramid. When he looked up, he seemed to regret not making the structure even bigger. One thing he knew for sure: he could always just build another one after the workers completed the current one.

However, the other gods do not sleep. They became angry with the structure, because it came pretty close to the sky. Thus, they threw thunderbolts down from the heavens, killing many of the workers. In spite of this, Xelhua still remains one of the most important Aztec deities which people celebrate even to this day.

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Information from cryptidsguide.com