Turn 16 : AD 1536, year Five-Flint.

The celebrations of the fall of Texcala have brought their own dividends as two additions are made to our ruling family…



… and those same celebrations are not yet finished as Chimalpahin has requested and obtained the right to marry a young noble by the name of Tepin, “Older Sister”.



In the wake of the victory, Moctezuma has ordered that two of our towns have there walls strengthened and enlarged to accept the flow of populace still fleeing from Tlaxcala, seeking shelter in our lands.



Rumours are starting to spread in the One World of the tyrannical mind of Moctezuma, instilling fear in the spirit of the other peoples surrounding our lands.



Our fears that the Tarascans might turn their eyes eastwards appear to have been just that, as the Tarascans have come to us with offerings of gold on learning of the defeat of the Texcalans.



The Mayans have offered us some more gold, trying to draw us in declaring war on the Spaniards… But now is not the time….



The fierce Apaches have agreed to share their knowledge of the northern reaches of the One World with us for a small sum of gold. Moctezuma told me of how he is sure we could ally with this people however barbaric they may seem.



We have gotten our first good sight of the Spanish acaltin, their war-canoes… Never could we hope to engage them on the open sea, they are like houses



One more of the Spanish leaders is taken out in the continuation of our War of the Shadows… Our sabotage also continues…



The Spanish army continues on its way south, entering the vast plain that surrounds Texcala.



Moctezuma has some plans about that army… It shall never leave that plain again…



Turn 17-19, AD 1537-1539 : the Conquest Aftermath


The Spaniards are trapped… Moctezuma has ordered his men to block all mountain passes leading in or out of the plain of Texcala, himself cutting all avenues of retreat towards the main Spanish settlements…



… so that the Spaniards are forced to march back down to the plain.



It may even be a favour we did them seeing how hell seems to have broken loose in the town of Veracruz… Agitation by our agents and the preaching of our priests have turned the town into a boiling cauldron…



The only followers of Crixtanoyotl left are the Spaniards… All the population have gone back to our old gods, either in secret or in full view of the Spanish soldiers… Soon our Gods will be fed Spanish hearts, I’ve heard Moctezuma foretelling…



However the rioting in the town is short lived as the Spaniards have released some pressure on the people, lowering taxes, slowing their depredations, even allowing religious festivals to be attended.



The ferocious Apaches also have been awed by our victory over the Texcalans and our emissary in their lands has been offered a large sum of gold…




… and the Tarascans are willing to give us their gold, asking nothing in return for fear of insulting us.



Watchtowers are being established at the farthest reaches of our Empire to warn us of our enemies advance… West, Chimalpahin oversees the building at the Tarascan borders, getting notice of a large Tarascan force….



… while Prince Cuitlahuac does the same in the south and is witness of the planned assault of the Spaniards on the free and well defended town of Xelaju, once part of the Mayan Empire…



… but the lure of gold in those parts have turned some of those Spaniards into freebooters, freeing them of any bonds to their former masters and turning them to banditry and looting.



Itzquemitl himself deals with our northern border, seeing how the Spaniards have recently tried to gain land in those regions.



Proof is that another large Spanish army has been spotted just having landed on these northern shores. It is led by one Carlos Macia and combines a full complement of troops with one of those tubes on wheels that we have not yet guessed of what use they could be… Maybe they are some kind of religious icons, the Spaniards never seem to venture anywhere without one of those… If the description I’ve got from our quichime is anything like what it really looks like, then it must truly be the most hideous idol ever revered by anyone…



On minor noble in our lands, disgruntled of having been overlooked for promotion in our armies, has turned rebel and is now cutting all trade between Mictlan and Tecuantepec… The name of the town of Mictlan derives from the legend that the gates of Mictlan, our Underworld, are to be found near the town… I don’t know the truth of that legend and prefer not to know but from seeing the look on the face of Moctezuma when he learnt the news of that rebellion, I think that Miahuaxochitl of Otumba will soon discover that the Underworld is waiting for him…



In the south our men are gathering to lead an assault on Tototepec, the last of our former colonies to be brought back into the fold. This mission had been assigned some years ago by the Speaking Council but the fight against the Texcalans, kept us from making that city rebellious inhabitants see that they had to be assimilated into our Empire.



At Potonchan, the independent city-dwellers have just got rid of the Spanish threat to find their old Mayan masters at their gates…



There is no love lost between us and the Spaniards but soon I think it will escalate into open war…