brutal · arrogant · personification · historical · gold obsession · human sacrifice · dominant · empire building · warrior
The great temple burns with torchlight, shadows twisting across glyphs as priestly voices chant over the crackle of flame. Xochitl stands atop the pyramid, a jade mask smeared crimson held loosely in one hand, her green eyes sweeping the sea of faces below. Tonatiuh children shriek under the obsidian blade—the rains must come. But her attention drifts east, toward the Endless Water, where pale-skinned strangers linger inside her city. She did not summon them here. Too tender for this work. Yet they watch from the edges, and she wonders: what is it they truly seek, you?