With the new year marching imminently closer, the festive and lively beaches of the Mayukab peninsula had become infested with the imperial squadrons of Ometeotican.
The Utezotzil tribe’s neighboring allies deterred the usual attendees of visitors and vendors.
“Well..what would u say actually happened?”
A mature sun-drenched man disputed, his shoulder-length hair fluttering as the ocean breeze stirred the beach.
“Think about it, eleven months and nothing from Cunascna.”
An equally tanned but much more youthful man one answered.
Unlike his companion, his hair was shaved along its sides leaving only a tuft atop his head.
“Their ambassador disappears….Not a single Tairawak. No fisherman, no tourists…not even a fugitive.”
The leaner soldier continued on, struggling to hold unto his spear as his narrating arms continued in lively intrigue.
“Well…and?” His elder repeated in frustration.
“Chicxulub.”
Leaning in he murmured.
Clunk
His weapon dropped unto the wooden floor of the watchtowers among the palms.
“By the Chu’lel, Onkan.”
The older guard glared at the teen.
“How old are you to still believe in those stories?”
CLUNK
Onkan reached for his spear, only for the fellow guard to kick it toward the canopy’s ledge.
“I’m telling you it has something to do with-”
Onkan chatted, reaching for the weapon
A large hand reached up to their outpost, seizing the spear’s jotting handle and retrieving it below the watch tower.
CLUNK!
CLUNK!
Two robust taps struck the underside of the deck.
Followed by a deep voice booming from the opened ladder way.
“ONKAN! HURAQ! Get down here.”
The two men leaped over the wooden rail unto the smooth, warm sand.
A tall man greeted them with a stern look on his face.
“Where’s Atlanantzin?”
He asked.
The two guards looked at each other.
“She was just here Captain-”
Huraq tried explaining.
“WAS, Huraq. Now she’s halfway down the beach.”
Their Commander informed.
“Stay alert. I won’t be embarrassed before the Primus.”
“YES, CAPTAIN!”
In conjunction, his men assured him.
Even though the men stood well in stature and muscle for their people, the imposing captain stood half a soldier taller, with biceps the width of a coconut.
Tilting his head in command, the soldiers sprinted back to their duties.
The captain’s strong arm intercepted Onkan mid-step.
“Restrain yourself when the Magistrate finds itself in Utezotz.”
He scolded the adolescent with a smirk.
“Thank you.”
Onkan assured as the captain sent him off.
For almost a decade, unsettling rumors had become more frequent among the remote clans along Mezaxtal’s eastern coasts;
Gossip of disappearances circulated the villages along its clear aquamarine shores and made their way through settled alcoves along the deep emerald valleys until they reached the sprawling temples in the imperial city of Ometeotican.
It had been a half cycle since anyone had observed a singular sign from the ivory islands resting across the shallow sea.
There had been no foreign traders haggling their fresh catch at daybreak, absent were the capsized canoes and stray Tairawan harpoons that marooned in the velvety sands along the bay.
No longer were old friends reliving their personal encounters with vicious jungle fiends; No more would they unknowingly forge new acquaintances between the sloshing and spilling swigs of firewater.
All that remained was an eery feeling of emptiness, accompanied by a peaceful view of the lush Tairawak islands silently swaying in the distance.
Along the cape, civilians from all over Mezaxtal gathered for the annual eclipse.
Even with the discomfort of the dotting patrols across the lifeguard huts, the celebration still held its regular convivial ambiance.
“Do you think Yunuen will come home?”
Atlanantzin pondered to a boy standing not far from her, as straight bangs draped down concealing her brows.
Holding an oversized pink-skinned salamander in her arms.
“Xochixol misses her.”
Her cocoa skin clashed with her white tunic; A red squared line ran across the neckline, as well as the bottom fringe of the robe.
She held the waistband between her hands, with red-coated fingers which swirled up her wrist and ended at her small pudgy elbows.
Two red dots of the same crimson paint adorned her cheeks.
Next to her, a boy of similar age stood next to her.
“I heard my da-”
WAAACK
“OOOOOW!”
The small boy cried out, his straight parted hair obscuring the diamond-shaped markings that adorned the sides of his face.
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A rubber sphere had nipped his pinky toe.
Startled, he jolted his foot away, squatting as he clamped his toes.
“KITAN! IM TELLIN’ MOM! Hrrmph.”
He leaned over, placing his hands over each side of the ball.
“My dad ss-sa-”
The little boy grunted.
His legs shook as his hands fumbled with the dense rubber, causing him to rustle up the fine grains of sand.
Atlanantzin placed her giant salamander on the ground and ran over to the struggling boy.
Swiftly she sifted her red hands through the porcelain dust, placing them beneath his.
“Your toes’ hurt.”
Atlanantzin lifted the ball from his arms.
Giving her a thanking glance he continued
“Dad says the giant Zipac swallowed the white islan-”
“Don’t be stupid Chiwah.”
A teenage boy snorted.
From his head, a ponytail flowed to his shoulders.
A long fabric wrapped around his waist and pelvis, in the fashion of a loincloth.
Around his neck a finely cut stone refracted with daylight, its glimmer outshined even the sun-glazed sea.
“First off Zipac don’t grow THAAAT much.”
Kitan’s voice cracked behind them.
“Secondly if it HAAAAAD swallowed the islands, then tell me, how are they still right there.”
He pointed toward the islands’ direction.
Flicking the boy in the ear as he swiped the ball out of the girls grasp.
“Go away Kitan!”
The smaller brother shoved.
“Or what? Is your little friend gonna make her titan freak chase me?”
The older one taunted, pointing at the amphibian pup near Atlanantzin.
“Owowowowow!”
Kitan yowled.
“Your family’s name will only protect you from disrespectful words for so long boy.”
Captain Huetepetl wrung the teenager by his tail, shoving him aside.
“Huey Tonantzine, you shouldn’t stray too far by yourself.”
Letting go of the brat’s braid, he bowed to Atlanantzin.
The guards’ gentle eyes came down to her level.
The little girl’s hands reached out, cupping her guardian’s face.
“But I know you will find me.”
She smiled.
“You got me there, Nantzi.”
Huetepetl struggled to contain his smirk.
Picking her up, he sat her over his right forearm.
“Let’s go back to camp.”
“Bu-But I wana to see the ocean.”
She exclaimed.
“I can stay inside at home.”
“You can see from here Tonantzine.”
He jested.
Snort
snort
Her pet butted the man’s foot.
“See Xochixol agrees.”
She pointed at the pink titan still grunting, its gums nipping at Huetepetl’s feet.
The tall guard looked over at the brigade, their camp set up on the outskirts of the beach.
Leaning over to pick up the animal, he then turned back to the scenic view of teal tides and sallow foam washing up on the bright beach.
“No swimming.
Last time Tlatoani almost had me dipped.”
Hueteptl’s joking tone had Atlanantzin giggling.
“Just my feet?”
She pleaded.
“A toe…maybe.”
He chortled.
“Hmph!”
Atlanantzin crossed her arms with a grumpy sigh.
Grrrrrr…
Her sympathetic pet agreed.
As the captain made his way to the shoreline, he noticed a gathering crowd obscuring the edge of the water.
He could clearly make out both Huraq and Onkan mixed in the crowd.
But before he could call out, the men were already surveying the beach, in search of the captain.
“Stay here.”
Promptly placing Atlanantzin down, he raced to see firsthand what was the cause of the commotion.
“CHIKIMANAWI!”
Huetepetl barked at his men, pointing at the girl.
“YES SIR!”
Both Huraq and Onkan hurried toward her.
“I don’t need them.”
She pouted.
“Xoch will protect me, huh?”
Holding the titan up to her face,
its fleshy whiskers flicked her nose.
“Stay”
Huetepetl repeated, pointing back at her.
“Oh my god!”
“SWIM FASTER!”
A spectating crowd shouted over each other, the lot of them obscuring the ocean view.
Numerous soldiers ran towards the shore, passing by Atlanantzin.
“Come on Xoch.”
She placed the pup on the sand and sprinted towards the water.
“Tonantzine!”
Huraq scolded.
“Come back here!”
“Come on Huraq.”
Onkan teased following the small girl.
Atlanantzin waded through the compact crowd, slipping from the grip of her watching guards.
Making her way past the human barricade, she squeezes between the gossiping civilians.
“Is that…”
He’s not going to make it.”
“It’s gonna catch him.”
The onlookers shouted.
In the distance across the clear surf, a hump of swelling water raced toward a small figure.
A person from what seemed at such a distance.
“It’s Zipac!”
Chiwah exclaimed, emerging from the overwhelming crowd.
Atlanantzin’s pet grunted incessantly sniffing the air as it paced around the ebbing shore.
“No Xochixol!”
Picking him up before he could make off into the sea.
“Is that a…”
Huraq’s face was surprised at what he seemed to decipher was fleeing the large marine titan.
“A Tairawan!
IT’S A TAIRAWAN!
Captain, we have to save them!”
He urged.
After a short ponder Huetepetl gave out his orders.
“Huraq! Onkan! Distract the Ocot’Zipac!
I’ll grab whomever the beast is chasing.”
As their leader’s words fled his lips, his two soldiers reached for the Tetzahual gems draped from their necks.
Holding them tightly in their grasp, their bodies began exuding a florescent wispy glow.
Like rapids, the vaporous energy channeled towards their talismans.
[AQUA ETHOS]
Their thoughts spoke.
Both men pounded the stones into their chests, lodging them into the energy that coated their bodies.
SPLASH!
Leaping into the sea, Huraq hurried towards the monster with Onkan not much further behind.
As their bodies touched the shallows, their radiating force energized the water.
Fusing into a blue crystalline material and molding into the crude shape of porpoises;
The outer shell of which was decorated with sweeping glowing tattoos, giving the abstract frame a more discernible form.
Once the spells fully manifested, their bodies torpedoed toward the incoming beast.
“WOAH!”
“So cool.”
The children among the gathered tribes were more entertained than concerned about the situation.
Jetting water blazed over the surface, following the speeding warriors along their paths.
As the two warriors reached the raging creature, they darted between the fleeing cast away and the relentless gaping jaws that pursued him.
The force of their momentum split the surrounding water;
Erupting into a wall, collapsing over the beast, crushing it under the tidal wave.
Unfortunately, the magnitude of the waves undertows trampled the solitary Tairawan.
Beneath the colliding streams, a large hand grabbed the drowning man’s arm pulling him over the back of the abnormally tall captain.
“Hey…
HEY! It’s alright, hold on to me.”
Huetepetl reassured him, wrapping the Tairawan’s arms around his neck.
Without a lick of magic, the captain swam with unrivaled speed.
His long torso propelled him through, with paddle arms slicing through the churning sea.
Under the crystal waters, Huraq and Onkan circled around the Ocot’Zipac.
Their energies stirred the waves, trapping the monster in a growing whirlpool.
Its gator-shaped maw struggled to open from the force trapping him in the throes of the warrior’s attack.
Its clawed arms thrashed against its massive tail, shaving off chunks of its black hooked scales.
Raaaagh
Its pain-filled roar muffled under the crashing tidal waves.
With pain came a surge of adrenaline.
The titan rolled violently, pulling Huraq and Onkan near its walloping fins, striking the disoriented soldiers with its muscular tail.
As the warriors reeled through the deep their arms reached each other, and their energies melded together.
Using the momentum of their trajectory they launch their bodies toward the surfacing Ocot’Zipac.
The monster rushed to the surface with mouth agape, following in the captain’s direction.
“FASTER!
IT’S GONNA CATCH US!”
The stray man screamed.
“We’re almost at the shallows…”
Huetepetl maintained his composure.
Closing in on the rushing titan, Huraq and Onkan swam straight to their chief, building speed once more.
Diving beneath the monstrous fish, they rose back upwards blasting through the surface of the water.
“NOW SIR!”
Both warriors spun their bodies, shedding their animal forms and rocketing them towards its snout.
SLAM
CRACK
The impact of their spells snapped the Ocot’Zipac’s dorsal.
Splash
Huraq and Onkan dove back under, as their detached familiars made their way to the captain.
Raaaagh
The titan erupted from the chaotic waters.
“NO! I’m not going back!”
The panicking Tairawan pushed himself away from his rescuer.
Swimming away as Huetepetl broke his stride.
“DON’T!”
The captain blurted.
The Ocot’Zipac turned his attention to the easier prey; it swam around the captain aiming for the exhausted runaway.
Upon reaching the captain, the familiar’s energies began resonating with his hands.
Fueled by the channeled energy, his tattoos shimmered with blue light, preparing a series of runes above the waves.
[TIDAL CRUSH]
The captain invoked.
As the spell rang in his mind, a series of escalating waves crashed into the titan.
The Ocot’Zipac’s massive body burst through the series of swelling tides, barely slowing down the enraged titan.
Huetepetl called forth his soldier’s familiars.
Their round noses pressed at his heels pushing him through the sea, using them to propel himself forth.
Grabbing the Tairawan along his way.
Not relenting the beast picked up pace, tearing through the waves.
Its mouth widened as it closed the gap between itself and Huetepetl.
“GET OUT OF THE WAY!”
“FALL BACK!”
As the Ocot’Zipac made its way toward the shoreline, the guards warned the crowd, rushing them to evacuate.
“IT’S GONNA BEACH.!”
“AAAAAAH!”
The villagers fell back but were unable to ignore the spectacle.
Suddenly the summoned porpoises pushing him along swam back, away from the incoming attack.
Rushing back to their masters.
The Ocot’Zipac leaped into the air.
Its gargantuan mouth aimed down at Huetepetl, leaving him barely a chance to envelop him and his rescue in his energy.
The titan’s pursuing maw had swallowed them whole, but only for its whale-like frame to scrape along the sand, stranding itself far inland atop the dried sand.
“CAPTAIN!”
Both Huraq and Onkan had made it back to the shore.
As they left the sea, the shell surrounding their bodies dissipated into a glowing mist, and the water making up the familiars drained back to the ocean.
“Get me a spear!
A BLADE!
ANYTHING!”
Huraq shouted in desperation.
“I’ll cut open the abomination if I have to.”
A rushing guard handed him a long obsidian dagger.
“NOOOOO!”
Atlanantzin ordered.
“Don’t hurt him, he’s innocent.”
She pleaded.
The men stood still, at their Tonantzin’s word.
“Heightened one…if we don’t act soon, Huetepetl will die in the fish’s belly.’
Onkan blurted.
Rabble
Rabble
Disgruntled scoffs littered the crowd.
“Please Tonantzine.”
The youthful soldier corrected himself, bowing to the little girl.
Making her way to the monster’s mug, Atlanantzin ran her hand along its nostrils.
She could feel its thoughts muddled in mire and anger.
Nothing comparable to the likes of Xochixol’s inquisitive and intelligent demeanor.
“Oh, poor baby he’s hurt.”
She rested her cheek upon its thick scaly hide.
“Where is it?”
Atlanantzin whispered to herself.
Glorp
The monster gasped for water.
“Don’t worry.”
Atlanantzin picked up her pink salamander pup pressing her head into his, then placing him on the Ocot’Zipac’s tail.
Xochixol waddled to the beast’s wound.
Lifting its whiskers up, it flared them out around its neck.
Sprouting them in a ring like a collar of delicate flower petals.
A clear slime dripped from its unfurled crest, the feelers kneading the substance into the injury.
BRRRRRUUUUU
The Ocot’Zipac sang.
Lifting itself with its webbed forelimbs, it began gagging, spewing saliva from its closed lips.
BLAAAARGH!
The titan spat up the two huddled victims unto the clinging beach.
COUGH
COUGH
COUGH
The men’s lungs spurted a concoction of mysterious fluids as they gasped for air.
MUMBLE
MUMBLE
The villagers chatted amongst themselves.
“Huey Tonantzine.”
Huetepetl choked.
" Thank you little one.”
“Huey Tonantzin,
Tonantzin,
Huey Tonantzin!”
They chanted, many of the spectating villagers dropping to their knees.
A few others simply stared in disbelief at what had just transpired,
Their eyes fixated on Atlanantzin.
Scuffle
Scuffle
The great Ocot’Zipac lumbered back into the safety of the calm ocean.