River Divided City, Chief's Office.
"I arranged this meeting to inform you that you will be the next Governor of the Southwest Region," I announced.
"Hahaha... Fagua, I knew you could change your expression," I laughed inwardly as I watched the reaction of the man who, until now, seemed to be acting like a robot.
"As you command," he said in his usual dry tone, his expressionless face matching it.
"You will formally assume office in a special meeting next spring in front of the kingdom's ministers, but I need you to interact with the leader of the town that will be the capital, so we can begin preparations as soon as possible," I informed Fagua.
"I understand, Son of Heaven," he replied as he knelt.
"I will send someone to take your place in the city, and when this person can keep this city fully operational, you can take your group to the Southwest Region," I finished noting, noticing that the assistant was taking notes the whole time.
"It will be done as you command, Son of Heaven. I hope I don't disappoint you," Sagua said in a firm tone.
After notifying Fagua of his new assignment, we began to discuss other things about the city and the people who would soon join the kingdom. As Chief of a key trade city, Fagua constantly received envoys or priests from the south, so his information was complemented by the Shadows' field agents.
"I'm surprised that, just by offering a chance at a better life, I can get these chiefs, caciques, or leaders to agree to join the kingdom with almost no further request in return… It seems that greed wasn't very common in this part of the world… Or perhaps these people's priorities were different," I reflected, thinking about the few difficulties I had faced when annexing most of the nearby villages.
"Perhaps I brought more trouble to these people by introducing something as morally dangerous as currency," I thought, a little worried.
After the day of the meeting, we spent a couple more days in the City Divided by the River, in the nearby cities and surrounding towns.
Soon we would head a little further south, to a town located at the source of the two rivers that cross the territory from north to south. This town, which was built at my request by local people and some envoys, will be an important connecting point for both mountain ranges.
This will be one of the few to be run entirely by the army and the Flux Division. All with the goal of controlling who has access to one of the kingdom's most important elements: the great rivers.
These rivers are a precious asset, as well as a potentially dangerous point in territorial wars. Although I know it's unlikely that a war will be fought in the kingdom's territory, controlling this town can further reduce those odds.
Several days later, Origin Town.
This town, controlled by a Lieutenant named Muyhyca, who in addition to being a soldier in the army was part of the Shadows, is the town I ordered established a couple of years ago. It now boasted many basic facilities, and some of the buildings built here were buildings normally only seen in cities and large towns.
It consisted of a regiment and complete military facilities, as well as military ports on both rivers. It also had a very large parish church, several lodging and commercial buildings. If it weren't for the low number of people currently living in the town, the envoys might assume it was a large city.
"Welcome, envoys from the nearby villages," I greeted the envoys who were now seated in the hall of a village meeting building. "I hope you didn't encounter any problems on your journey," I added with a big smile.
"Our journey was safe, young Chuta," said one of the leaders.
"Thank you very much for the welcome, little leader… You honor us with your presence," another leader said respectfully.
"That's true… We were told this is your first time traveling to our lands," commented a priest envoy with a proud tone.
"Little leader? … It's the first time they've called me that," I thought upon hearing one of the comments from those present.
"That's right… Just as they say, this is the first time I'll travel through many of the kingdom's territories," I commented excitedly, noticing the respect with which they spoke to me. "I hope that in the coming years I can travel to your territories to see how much you've grown," I added in a suggestive tone.
"You're more than welcome, young Chuta. Let's hope we live up to your expectations," one of them commented, noting that I was referring to his upcoming marriage.
"I just hope the gods accompany you as they have accompanied us so far in the kingdom," I said in a slightly dramatic tone. "Well… We came for a meeting of leaders, and I'd like to get straight to the point," I commented seriously.
"We heard you, young Chuta," everyone said seriously.
"First, I'd like to officially welcome you to the Suaza Kingdom…" I said seriously until spontaneous applause interrupted my announcement.
Clap, clap… Clap, clap, clap.
"I hope that from now on your towns can grow and that your people live happily," I added after the applause subsided.
"As you have been informed in the many meetings you have had with our envoys, our kingdom protects the people and their beliefs. While it may seem that our gods are different, we have noticed that all our peoples share similar beliefs, which leads us to believe that we share the same gods, only with different names," I began to explain the religious topic.
"The priests present in the room can attest to this," I added, opening the way for the priests' comments.
"It is as the son of heaven says," said one of the opulently dressed priests.
"Son of heaven, in some meetings with your 'deacons' we have noticed that some of our gods bear no relation to yours, such as our god of fire and earth. Why is this?" one of the priests asked with genuine curiosity.
I knew why he asked that. Since I began uniting all the Muisca peoples into a single community, the priests have been responsible for creating stories about the prophecy of my birth and the "divine" knowledge I possess. Many of the friendly encounters with the priests of these peoples arose from their desire to learn more about the gods.
"We believe that, because our people are separated and have different languages, they have been able to connect to the divine language in different ways, which in turn has also limited our knowledge of the gods," I responded slowly and in detail.
"That is why our kingdom respects all the independent cultures of each people who unite and also encourages them to grow closer to the gods," I added in a serious tone as many of those present began to reflect on my words.
"Son of Heaven, did you see what the home of the gods was like?" asked one of the priests, who was wearing only the garments necessary to cover his private parts. "Unfortunately, I don't remember much about it," I replied, looking disappointed, just like the rest of the people in the room.
"Although I have visions of how I lived among them as a spirit before being sent into the world," I added a small lie to convince them.
"What visions did Son of Heaven have?" one of the priests asked.
"I saw a world of peace and harmony among all people. We lived among the gods, receiving their blessings, wisdom, and eternal life. Where there was abundant food and it was always warm, and there were no long winters or droughts. Everything is perfect living with the gods," I recounted adoringly, instilling "paradise" in the minds of these people.
They all seemed amazed by my "visions," and they were already imagining themselves living in that amazing place. There are many beliefs about places like paradise within these small cultures, and in general, it represents an intrinsic desire for peace and happiness in people.
"However, there is also a dark and desolate place where all the people who don't believe in the gods and live without following their teachings go," I commented, also instilling the concept of "hell."
"All those who disobey the gods are punished there. Evil spirits are responsible for meeting our punishments, depending on the mistakes we make in the world. There is no peace there, only suffering. There is no food or water. The punishment is eternal," I added in a somber tone, frightening everyone present.
Everyone in the room fell completely silent. Many of them believed in gods who oversaw death or hell, and hearing the prospect of hell from someone who was "sent" by the gods into the world terrified them greatly.
"Son of Heaven… Have the gods granted you powers?" asked one of the priests, who still looked fearful.
"I'm afraid the only thing the gods gave me is knowledge… While this knowledge has helped us improve people's lives, it has also helped us achieve powers that only the gods would give to people…" I said in a mysterious tone as I pointed to one of the attendees.
This assistant lit a small object with a fuse, which then exploded and lit up the entire room. Everyone was amazed by the display. They had never seen fireworks, and this included many of the military personnel.
"Incredible!" "It's like a small sun!" "I was really surprised," everyone in the room said.
"Fire for cavemen, fireworks for Stone Age people," I thought wryly as I watched the amazement on everyone's faces.
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[A/N: CHAPTER COMPLETED
Hello everyone.
Chuta officially includes the southern peoples in the kingdom. With these peoples within the kingdom's reach, it now has the Inca Empire as its neighboring kingdom.
Unnecessary fact of the day: Columbus's first voyage lasted about 70 days from the continent, the second 40. It's believed the third was a bit longer, around 50-60 days. And the final voyage lasted 35 days. Although all of these include stops in the Canary Islands.
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Read my other novels.
#The Walking Dead: Vision of the Future.
#The Walking Dead: Emily's Metamorphosis from Visions of Future Saga.
You can find them on my profile.]