NOVPUB"A good statement! The same ancestors, different branches... the pyramid witnesses, uniting all people..."
Xiulote pondered for a long time, then solemnly nodded. The Third Era was a thousand years ago, roughly during the period of Rome and the two Hans, also the era of Hellenization and Sinicization spreading... Then, he slightly puzzled, looked towards the learned elder.
"The ancient Gusapoteque? The Loma Alta?"
"The ancient Gusapoteque are ancestors of the Mistec and the Zapotecs. Their location was roughly in the far southeast, in the middle valleys of Oaxaca. Mount Alban is the green mountain."
"As for the Loma Alta..."
Jatili smiled deeply once again.
"They are actually the ancestors of the Prepetcha, settled on the south side of Lake Cuitzeo, north of the Patzcuaro Lake region. Your Highness’s legions must have passed there when they marched south. Those fortresses by the lakes, many of them are ancient pyramids rebuilt."
Xiulote, with his hands clasped behind his back, paced back and forth, musing.
"So it can be said, the different tribes of the world can be assigned to different civilizational branches. The Teotihuacanos venerate the Rain Divine Tlaloc, which indeed matches with the deities of the Third Era in Mexica mythology. Hence, the northern communities, the Mexica, the Otomi, the Tlaxcala, the Vastec... all belong to the Teotihuacan lineage..."
Upon hearing this, Jatili gently smiled. A flush crossed Xiulote’s face. Since the other was a learned elder, the origins of the Mexica and the Tlaxcala people could not possibly be hidden from him. He continued speaking calmly.
"The tribes of the west, the Tekos, the Tlapanec, the Prepetcha... all belong to the Loma Alta lineage. The southern tribes, the Mistec, the Zapotecs... the ancient Gusapoteque lineage, and the central Totonac, let them continue as direct descendants of the Olmec."
The learned elder nodded, smiling and continuing.
"Thus, all peoples once shared a common ancestor, then branched out into East, South, West, and North. Though their customs may vary, all peoples are essentially one!"
Upon hearing this, Xiulote first nodded, then shook his head.
"No, all peoples share one ancestor, but then split into seven branches. One lives in the far northern wilderness, living a migratory life; one on an island in the Eastern Great Lake, navigating in canoes; and the last one crossed through the distant southern jungle, establishing a kingdom of gold."
"The far northern wilderness... are you referring to the Canine Descendants?"
Hearing this, Xiulote smiled without speaking, as Jatili continued to speculate.
"Integrating the Canine Descendants is both difficult and easy. They establish no culture and venerate force, elusive and hard to locate. Only by thoroughly defeating them and occupying the water sources and farmlands of the northern wilderness can the Canine Descendants be brought under control. Once subdued, though, assimilation is rather quick."
"Canoes on the Eastern Great Lake... Your Highness speaks of the Taino people, the island dwellers who consume cassava? The Taino are delicate and uncivilized, abundant in tobacco. The lake’s waves are unpredictable, making their island as difficult to find."
"As for the distant jungles to the south, south of the Maya lands are the forests abundant with jade. Your Highness, where exactly is this golden kingdom you mentioned?"
The young King smiled, declining to answer. He simply looked towards the fourth Heritage Slab and asked softly.
"Sage, is the civilization of the Fourth Era a continuation of the various factions from the Third Era?"
"Your Highness, we may narrate it so, and the people are inclined to believe it as well."
Jatili’s wrinkles stretched in his smile, resembling a trembling fox.
"In reality, the Fourth Era is but a few hundred years ago, and the records in various paintings are quite clear. It was an era of erratic cloudbursts, sometimes floods, sometimes droughts. It was also an era of turbulence with northern tribes migrating south. Many who spoke the Nava language, the Canine Descendants, flooded into the Mexican Plateau. They clashed fiercely with native tribes, then quickly integrated, forming new alliances and kingdoms!"
"Canine Descendants migrating southward, tribes speaking the Nava language..."
Xiulote’s expression shifted slightly. The Fourth Era coincided with the Five Dynasties and the Song period, accompanied by a global cooling and erratic celestial and climatic changes. It was an era of extensive southern migration by nomadic peoples, an era of massive southern invasions by the Vikings, and also an era of continual southern migration by the Chichimeca Canine Descendants.
All the tribes speaking the Nava language had actually originated from the Canine Descendants migrating south over several hundred years, merging with the local indigenous groups. The former lords of the Mexican Valley, the Tepanec, those from the source of the Balsas River, the Tlaxcala people, the coastal Totonac to the east, and even the inhabitants of the Lake Region, the Prepetcha, were all tribes speaking the Nava language. The Mexica were the last branch of the Nava Tribe to migrate south to the Mexican Plateau. The Nava-speaking tribes, although linguistically similar and resembling each other in appearance, were actually akin to brothers by blood and were naturally skilled in warfare.
In contrast, the Otomi, Vastec, Mistec, Zapotecs... used another similar language, inheriting more from ancient civilizations. Naturally, with the ceaseless wars and interaction among the tribes, their languages also permeated each other.
"Your Highness, the Fourth Era was full of turmoil, symbolized by the Rain Divine. Unpredictable rainfall, disordered agriculture, and the southern migration of the Canine Descendants fiercely impacted the northern regions. The tribes were constantly at war and migrating. If we consider the Canine Descendants part of the same origin, then the Fourth Era was a time when all tribes were reintegrating! And this integration of all tribes is destined to be completed by your hands in this current Fifth Era!"
"All tribes originating from the same source, evolving separately, then moving towards mutual integration, until they reunify as one. A perfectly self-consistent story, divinely destined. This is the fate of the five eras, capable of truly leading the world, connecting all tribes, unifying the legends of all tribes!"
Upon saying this, Jatili’s aged face showed signs of excitement. His gaze intensely focused on Xiulote, and the young king too stared back resolutely. Both of their eyes burned with a great fire, eager to blaze through a century across the whole world!
The learned elder looked on for a long time before calming his emotions and spoke again with solemnity.
"Your Highness, the Fourth Era left many precise epics. In the Mexican Valley, the Toltec’s kingdom flourished and then declined, ultimately passing on through the hands of the Tepanec to the Mexica. And in the Lake Region were the two successive Urixiu Kingdoms. They perished in the southern migration of the Canine Descendants, revived, perished again, and then arose the establishment and flourishing of the Tarasco Kingdom!"
"These once powerful kingdoms perished not only due to the impact of the Canine Descendants moving south but also due to internal factors. And the essential factor is right here!"
As he spoke, Jatili took a few strides forward. He extended his hand forcefully and pressed it firmly down on the second adjacent Heritage Slab.
