Twisted Slough ak'ab che' , te'

made some small assumptions; let me know if you'd like me to change anything, Starr! <3

---

nighttree.

once more, kuhul ajaw finds themselves traversing the choking maze of the twisted slough, enduring its putrid scent, following @Flecha's scent.

it is fading ... but she has been here and that is enough for ajaw.

this place is darker yet in the thick swaddle of night, when no light penetrates the thick choking vines.

ajaw moves with purpose: confident that they would find the holcan whose trail they follow; alert but assured.

She doubles back around and finds herself followed.  At first Flecha watches in the darkness, wondering if this need be a punishable offense.  But then sgg he e recognizes who it is and comes forth, bowing to them in the proper manner of a warrior giving homage.  She is grateful that they appear unaffected by this land’s strangeness thus far.

Ajaw.  You are a welcome sight.  She straightens and then stands ready to give her report, a warm reverence to her that was previously absent.

---

they find her.

she is a welcome sight amongst the creeping, stinging shadows.

this one greets you, holcan. kukulkaan knows their names — the ones they share among themselves ... and the ones they do not. but there is power in names! names could be soft spoken gestures. names could be weapons. names were sacred and though ajaw knows them ( and the holcan knows their godname ) there were only certain sacrosanct places that ajaw allowed it to be uttered. allowed themselves to utter the individual names of their holcan.

each holcan ajaw knows like the beat of their own godheart, trapped in mortal bindings as it was.

they are relived to find her safe, as they sound sabah. but they do not speak this relief, for that felt like discounting their abilities are warriors — and that, kukulkaan will never challenge.

they had handpicked each of them to be holcan, after all.

kukulkaan moves forward with the intention of touching their forehead to her's; their usual greeting to the holcan.

a step back and the spoken invitation, tell this one what you have found. breath baited with what she had to report.

She has age over them but this does not stop her deference or prevent her from continuing her reverent bow as she touches her forehead to theirs.  The years cannot touch the wisdom divine granted to those who hold the throne.

Instead her years are theirs to reap.  She nods, then settles back into an easier stance.

I came upon a claim, newly set.  A leader of flesh and bone and no gods to call upon or anoint the lands.  They bow to mortal whims.  She smiles slightly, knowing the ridiculous nature of this will carry.  I turned back before pressing further.  Little to be gained in losing track of the movements of the rest.

Betwixt here and there she had found little of note.

tag for reference. <3

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a new claim.

godless.

would tikal be reformed, would they have had their might that they held in río bec, they might've been interested in trying to convert. and if that did not work: conquer.

even so, it tempts them.

but for now, their intentions are peaceful enough. find the sacred land that earthsung to them and rebuild with their trusted holcan.

let their power and masked intentions tell the story they deigned to weave, as the conquistadors did to their ancestors generations ago. those from far off lands did not teach anything the tikal ancestors that came before kukulkaan did not already know. war was seeped deeply into the marrow of their bones.

and in the end, the ajaws before kukulkaan had shown what real gods looked like. how merciless they were.

sheep easily led to slaughter. murmurs ajaw; contemplative, pitying. but not our concern for now. first, their focus had to be on themselves. on tikal.

if these godless wolves come to us, this one will welcome them, for kukulkaan would not turn away a lost sheep looking for protection. for something bigger to believe in. for his people he would bend the heavens, burn the world. teach them what it means to know a god's love.

ajaw pauses, collecting himself for a moment, using the pause to segue to a related subject.

this one has reunited with one of your sisters. she is not far, a gesture of their chin in the choking shadows to where @Sabah lingers. this one feels the earthsong pulling towards the suntouched peaks. they are impossible to see in this shadowcursed, vine choked, putrid slough.

got a nudge on above but her statement still stands, from her perspective.  It doesn’t matter where the other thread goes - she wouldn’t care about gods who aren’t “present” and won’t dig for much info on them, if she receives any at all!

Flecha tipped her head to their patience. Much of the coast is unclaimed if they are to be believed.  Perhaps the peaks are similar.  This was a new land then, one ripe for the founding.

She did not have the ears to hear the earth’s songs.  In this she would need to trust them, though in all other ways she was to be their eyes, ears, and fangs.

Would you have me scout the mountains?  Or do you wish to look to lands beyond?  If her sister was with them then they were well guarded and did not need a company of two ever hovering.

---

this one supposes we will find out when we get there. ajaw's tone is quiet; thoughtful.

the chessboard of their mind laid out, studying the board, and their players upon it. the godless wolves of these wilds are unknowns to them ... but ajaw does not worry.

they know the strength of their holcan.

of themself.

scout the lands beyond. commands ajaw after a moment of consideration. your sister and this one will make our way to the suntouched peaks. this one wants you to plant the seeds of tikal, to pack leaders and lone wolves alike.

I will plant them.  She lifted her head and gave an amicable shake.  I will return when I have scouted some.  I know the earthsong will guide you true in your search.  It was their calling after all.

She would spread word of them and their strength.  And she would gather word of their leaders and locations.

---

go on swift feet, holcan. ajaw murmurs: not a dismissal but an invitation to begin her task.

for now, there is nothing else for them to speak of.

find tikal when you have done this task. with those words they make their departure from the slough, hoping to not find themselves in it's putrid depths again anytime soon.