Casca 02-God of Death by Barry Sadler

Author:Barry Sadler [Sadler, Barry]
Format: epub
Tags: Fiction, Men's Adventure, Fiction - Men's Adventure
ISBN: 9780441295326
Publisher: ACE Charter
Published: 1979-11-01T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

Long had Tezmec served the great gods of his people, for when he had been a youth his father had bound him over to the priests. There were two deities that held the interest of Tezmec. One was Tlaloc, for it was Tlaloc who gave the rains, and thus all prosperity from the land came from him, for without his blessings the land would wither and die and so would the people. Tlaloc was a god of life.

And then there was the Quetza, the strange one who seemed to fill every niche not already occupied in the heavens. He was the Stranger, the one whose Coming would change all, for it was said that one day the Quetza would come to them from the sea riding a giant feathered serpent, which was his symbol. The Quetza represented an enigma, a question mark. No one knew much about him. The other deities were readily understandable in their likes and dislikes; custom had long established their positions in the hierarchy of the Teotec panoply of gods; but there was little knowledge of what the Quetza was like or where his position was. To some extent, all gods were mysteries, but the Quetza was the mystery of the mysteries. It was all very intriguing to Tezmec.

Great was Tezmec's love for both his people and his gods. He felt that his nation had been favored above all others. Teotah was the city of the gods; the Teotecs the people of the gods and he, Tezmec, was the servant of both.

He was always patient with the messengers. He would explain to them that they had been honored and were not to fear, for they had been blessed. Even when the messengers would refuse to be enlightened by his words he was still gentle. He would cluck his tongue sympathetically at their ignorance of the honor being shown them. There were times when the messengers threatened to disturb the dignity of the proceedings. Even then Tezmec was kind. He would make use of a compound brought to his people from the far south, a leaf called "coca" that relieved exhaustion and eased pain. Tezmec would mix a blending of these leaves with certain other plants and with the sacred mushroom that grew in the mountains. Once a messenger ate this potion all fear left him and he felt closer to the gods and the promise of paradise that went with them.

This day, Tezmec moved to the side of his modest home, thinking of his conversation with the stranger shortly before. Tezmec's home was no more pretentious than the poorest of his people. He lived like them, for his reward came from his service to them and to the gods. There were no jails or prisons in Teotah, only houses and palaces where the messengers were housed until it was time for them to perform their act of devotion. Those who broke the laws of the Teotec were not imprisoned or made slaves; they were allowed

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