Teoxi, now an old man--the fourth son of Uaxactun. the last absolute monarch of Tikal--sits on the banks of lake Peten-Itza and recalls the story of his life. Wishing to preserve a record of the events that led to the destruction of his homeland, his still-sharp eyes sweep the distant shore as he tries to put his memories in order.Born of an elderly father, Teoxi was looked after by priests, shielded from government matters, and--unlike his three older brothers--taught to be an intellectual rather than a warrior. But, because the future had unexpected events in store for him, his intellectual upbringing turned out to be of more use to him than his lack of military training.In his early manhood, an unforeseen event not only transfixed the nation but also steadily and permanently lured Teoxi away from his young life of amusements and intellectual pursuits, thrusting him headlong into a national crisis whose solution was crucial to the very survival of his country. After mere months into this growing turmoil, Teoxi's father realized that young Teoxi was the most qualified among his brothers to someday assume the Mayan throne.Now, Teoxi had to weave his way carefully through the squalid and dangerous world of the empire's leadership, struggle wearily yet confidently through entanglements of intrigue and treachery, move delicately between ancient myths and recent science, attempt to protect his family and country against internal and external threats, prepare for war with the powerful Aztecs, confront overwhelming and destructive acts of nature, and accept the undeniable fact that this young man of too few years had truly entered a living hell. To make matters worse, during his first timid steps from the solitude of the palace to a world of intrigue and danger, he fell at first sight for a girl below his class, and then moved inexorably toward a forbidden relationship that would preclude his ascension to the throne.This is the story of the young man Teoxi, committing the breadth of his will and fortitude to the needs of his people and, throughout it all, maintaining hope that his first love would someday share his days and nights. This is also the story of the old man Teoxi, sitting on the shores of the Peten-Itza seeing the things we cannot see and recounting for those in the world today, the world he knew so well.

Teoxi, Mayan Prince II. Montezuma's Rage

By Antonio Grimaldi

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2012 Antonio Grimaldi
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4685-4955-3

Contents

Preface.................................................................xiiiSummary of book one "The End of Tikal"..................................xixChapter 1 The Lord of the Marshes.......................................1Chapter 2 Life Without Peace............................................5Chapter 3 Revenge for Survival..........................................11Chapter 4 Hunted by the Aztec...........................................21Chapter 5 Mayan among Maya..............................................27Chapter 6 The "Hero" of Yaxuna..........................................37Chapter 7 A Treasure for the Man-God....................................43Chapter 8 Some Hope for the Mayan Nation................................53Chapter 9 At Shadow of the God Huitzilpochti............................59Chapter 10 Death! Death to the Maya!....................................65Chapter 11 The Revenge of the Man-God...................................75Chapter 12 The Robbers of Teotihuacan...................................89Chapter 13 Kakama, Prince of Darkness...................................101Chapter 14 The Search for the Treasure of the Mines.....................117Chapter 15 Returning the Terror.........................................127Chapter 16 Guanabana, Honey and.........................................153Chapter 17 With Peace, Fear Fades Away..................................161Chapter 18 Coming Out of the Trap!......................................171Chapter 19 Challenging Fate Again.......................................181Chapter 20 A New Assault on the Reign of Terror.........................193Chapter 21 II Would Not Dream of t!.....................................209Chapter 22 The Abduction of My Son......................................219Chapter 23 A Love, an Alliance..........................................233Chapter 24 Kuna: The Greatness of a People..............................245Chapter 25 The Lord of Oaxaca...........................................261Chapter 26 To the Shelter of the Refugees...............................267Chapter 27 A Creaking Empire............................................275Chapter 28 Montezuma's Treasure Chest...................................283Chapter 29 Four handfuls of Heroes......................................293Chapter 30 The Magnificence of Tenochtitlan.............................299Chapter 31 An Unexpected Meeting........................................307Chapter 32 The Grand Celebrations.......................................323Chapter 33 The Assault to Montezuma's Island............................331Chapter 34 "Betrayal!"..................................................337Chapter 35 The End of Montezuma.........................................345Chapter 36 A Victory Worse Than a Defeat................................349Chapter 37 Still Mocking the Enemy......................................359Chapter 38 Farewell to Tepey............................................365Chapter 39 The Triumph of Friendship....................................369Chapter 40 Few Trophies, No Booty.......................................379Epilogue More Haphazard Thoughts........................................387

Chapter One

The Lord of the Marshes

For quite a while, I've been looking at my dog 'Puxi.' He's lying motionless, like a statue, staring at the tainted waters of the marsh. A few steps away from Puxi, two sleepy eyes convey the only visible signs of the presence of a crocodile. The two animals stare silently at each other fraught with suspicion and waiting for the other to make the wrong move.

"Come on, get out of your stinking waters," Puxi seems to say. "And, if you even try, I'll call my master who will let you taste his spear."

"Why are you keeping away from the bank?" the crocodile seems to reply. "Come even one lash closer to my kingdom and you'll satisfy my hunger for several days."

Actually, this imaginary dialogue between 'Puxi' and the watery beast is not absurd. Puxi, you see—my faithful guard since I reluctantly accepted him from a true family friend two years ago—protects me with his silence.

And, silence is crucial to my life in the marshes. Although I'm confined to the marshes, the marshes have offered me a measure of shelter and protection since the terrible destruction of Tikal—my sweet homeland. And, because the Great Emperor of the North has promised an entire province to anyone who will bring me to him dead or alive, strangers continually pass near and far inquiring about the missing prince.

For years, this hiding place had provided an ideal shelter for me and I had refrained from having a dog because the barking of a dog would draw prying eyes' into this dark, wet expanse. Mysteriously enough, when I first brought Puxi here—from the very moment I had decided to leave the village—Puxi made his first crossing of the marsh without barking.

Since then, he's always behaved the same way. It's only when we leave the marsh that Puxi behaves like all the other dogs. This astonishing behavior of Puxi so intrigued me that, after much thought, the only conclusion I could draw was that this animal was a gift from the Sun God who doesn't want me to be publicly executed in the Aztecan capital.

Although Puxi is an incredible animal, and we have an incredible friendship, incredible friendships between man and beast is not so rare in the history of my country. In fact, some famous examples are recorded on the stones of the Great Temple of the Inscriptions. Someday, when Tikal is freed from the overwhelming forest that has swallowed the city of my birth, these recorded facts will tell the new lords of this land even more about this land's dogs and their incredible friendships.

The Maya were the first to have tamed dogs—long before the Aztec and long before the multitude of people wandering aimlessly through the forest. One day, by pure chance, one of our officers found a bitch and its nine puppies in the forest. The moaning of the puppies drew him between two large rocks where he examined the litter while the nearby mother growled protectively, probably fearing the loss of her young.

The officer had them put into a basket and carried to the camp—the mother following at a safe distance. There, after the officer ordered them fed, the starving mother overcame her fear and took advantage of the same food as her puppies.

Strangely enough, while other animals caught as babies always returned to their native forest after they grew up, these didn't. The ten dogs became the faithful friends of the man who saved them from death and they grew in number as increasing numbers of upper-class families wanted to have a dog. No other beast has ever shown more faithfulness, devotion, intelligence and usefulness than the dog.

Now mine is there near the water's edge, staring at his great enemy, prepared to rush to the narrow walkway—safe from the crocodile—and then, with his strange guttural sounds, warn me about the danger and ensure me the exclusivity of the prey.

Crocodiles, however, even though they're treacherous and cruel, are very useful to me because they serve as guards of my little dominion; nobody would ever venture into this watery world where certain death lurks behind every reed.

Longago, the marshes served as my ancestors' fresh meat supply. They fed crocodiles the corpses of...