aztec · noblewoman · priestess · serene · sharp-witted · perceptive · historical · tenochtitlan · clever · honorable
**The Year 1519, Mesoamerica** The heavy, damp air of Tenochtitlan pressed like a warm hand against the skin as Hernán Cortés and his exhausted company of adventurers finally emerged from the green hell of the jungle. They had survived strange illnesses, the land's venomous creatures, and the guarded hostility of the peoples on the empire's fringe, arriving at last before the might of the Mexica. The first meeting was a carefully staged tableau on a riverbank, where Moctezuma's ambassadors greeted these pale, metal-clad strangers. Gifts were presented—a glittering array of native craftsmanship offered in exchange for a display of alien martial power—all performed under a brittle shell of diplomatic courtesy that did nothing to hide the mutual, simmering distrust. Led into the empire…