Chronicles of Quetzalcoatl

Act One: Nativity of an incarnate deity

Welcome esteemed reader. Prepare to embark with Yours Truly on a brand new adventure gleaned from timeless Toltec tales.

Today we’ll retell the archetypal god king’s birth.

Do note that for artistic reasons, some character names have been changed. Historical place names remain the same. Anyway, without any delay, let’s begin the journey.

Year of The Tenth House

When the ageless sage Huemanh had reached the zenith of temporal power here on Earth, he ascended to the top of Tollan’s tallest pyramid and espied among the Astros, many signs of things yet to come. Wherefore he wrote down all he knew (a vast wealth of wisdom) and bound it in a tome known as the Teomoxtli.

This divinatory volume foretold of a prince’s coming, whose likeness was to be fair as well as hairy.

An airy individual who would single-handedly raise Toltec civilization up to abstract heights prior to presiding over its ultimate demise.

Year of Ten Knives

A thousand years later, in the town of Amatlan, there dwelt a priestly couple who prayed at Tlamanco temple to Ometeotl (Our Lord & Lady) for a child.

The man’s name was Kypaktonalh, and Ozhomokh was his wife.

In due course, their prayers were answered, and a baby girl was born unto them. She was born with a warrior’s aura, which is why they named her Khymalmh (shield-maiden).

Ominously, on her natal night, Kypaktonalh and Ozhomokh dreamt of Tlalokh — Lord of Storms:

“Thy daughter Khymalmh shalt never marry and yet, she wilt conceive a divine child.”

That is all he said. Thus both father and mother sought to inculcate modesty upon Khymalmh. Nevertheless, she soon grew to become a formidable fighter.

No man could confront this shield maid without coming back, bleeding, and bruised.

At age seventeen, she still retained her virtue.

Year of Ten Reeds

There arose a Toltec warlord of great renown who humbled and unified all the tribes in the valley of Anahuac. His name was Myxkoatlh (cloud serpent).

Myxkoatlh’s enemies feared his enchanted shield, bound with the hide of a sacred stag that he’d tracked for a whole day and night before capturing it alive. This deer was well fed and revered by his people for four years before dying of natural causes.

Now its perfect pelt served as his emblem, and no weapon wielded against it prevailed.

Year of Thirteen Rabbits

Having already conquered most of the cities in the surrounding region, Myxkoatlh arrived at Amatlan. However, he was more cautious than usual because he’d heard stories of an unconquerable maid named Khymalmh. Hence he decided to do a little scouting on his own.

Within a ravine, he fashioned a bivouac among the brambles and hid in wait near a gorge.

Someone had told him that this was where Khymalmh took her daily bath. Sure enough, at dawn, she came down to the water. Seeing her put aside her armaments and garments, Myxkoatlh thought he had the upper hand.

Stepping out into the open with his bow and arrow, he taunted her:

“It seems I’ve caught you at unawares — oh mighty Khymalmh — surrender to me and agree to be my bride!”

Yet although she was naked, Khymalmh stood steadfast, with the rising sun reflecting gloriously off her body. She retorted in kind:

“So you think me defenseless? Go ahead — loose your arrow and put my speed to the test!”

Accepting her challenge, Myxkoatlh let fly his first dart, which Khymalmh easily evaded by quickly tilting her head. She mocked him:

“You’re going to have to do a lot better than that to pierce my side — Myxkoatlh of the blessed elk’s hide.”

Incensed, that man shot to plant one in her waist — but the warrior woman deflected it with a snap of her hip! A third missile was snatched from the air and broken in half by her hand. Whereas a fourth passed between her limber legs while she performed a cartwheel!

That was as many arrows as Myxkoatlh had in his quiver. Now Khymalmh strode calmly across the water. Then she proposed to him:

“If you truly wish to have my hand in matrimony, burn your famous shield presently, and I shall pledge you my fealty.”

Seeing this as an acceptable compromise, Myxkoatlh made the necessary sacrifice. When said ægis was placed in the fire pit, it sparked loudly — exploding into various fragments of black, blue, red, and white gems!

The couple collected these, considering them a good omen from ItzPapalotl (obsidian butterfly).

However, Myxkoatlh was recalled on state business to the Toltec capital of Tollan. Therefore, their wedding needed to be postponed. He asked Khymalmh to await his return in Tlamanco temple — a request to which she faithfully acceded.

Although as fate would have it, one morning after Khymalmh had bathed in the grotto behind the temple, she saw something shining just beneath the lagoon’s surface.

On closer inspection, an iridescent fish peeked its head out and offered her a smooth jade pebble from its mouth. Khymalmh was intrigued and took this offering. As she didn’t have anything to carry it in, she put it under her tongue.

On her way back, Khymalmh stumbled on a stone and accidentally swallowed the jade!

It wasn’t long before she started showing the telltale symptoms of pregnancy. When word of this got to her betrothed, he was infuriated. Notwithstanding, he had the local priests cast an oracle to determine the true nature of his wife-to-be’s condition.

The soothsayers were genuinely afraid as well as awed; they told the king that this was indeed an immaculate conception and that no harm should befall the baby. According to them, Khymalmh carried the grace of heaven itself in her womb. It was all exactly as Huemanh had foretold.

Pleased with such a prognostication, Myxkoatlh publicly announced his intention to marry Khymalmh and even acknowledged the heavenly babe as his progeny.

Year of One Reed

Unfortunately, the news of Myxkoatlh’s intentions wasn’t taken well by his younger brothers, Zolh & Quylth.

They coveted the throne and viewed their unborn nephew as another obstacle in their path. For that reason, they conspired against their elder brother.

When he set off on his return trip to reunite with his soon-to-be Royal Lady, Myxkoatlh was waylaid by bandits, who’d been secretly contracted by his siblings.

Myxkoatlh was outnumbered, and his honor-guards were slaughtered before he was slain. The assailants buried his remains in the sands of a nearby beach.

Next, Zolh & Quylth sent two midwives to Khymalmh with the sad tidings of Myxkoatlh’s death.

It caused her such distress that she went into arduous labor that lasted no less than four days and nights. At last, on the fifth day, Khymalmh gave light to her son, but she was claimed by the darkness.

As instructed by the princes Zolh & Quylth — the evil midwives seized this opportunity and took the newborn outside — tossing him among the agave. However, on the morrow, the infant was alive and well, drinking milk from the maguey plants.

Not giving up on their murderous machinations, those women tossed the little one onto a massive anthill, expecting the insects to do away with him. Yet again, the following day, they saw that the ants had laid the holy child on a flowerbed and were feeding him soft corn.

Finally, they decided that enough was enough and threw the baby into the rapids of a river. Thinking their mission was accomplished, they went back to Tollan and reported the princeling’s passing to the usurper kings.

Of course, they were wrong. The tot proved to be an expert swimmer and was found frolicking on the riverbank by an old man who was gathering firewood. The old one picked up the adorable babe and took him to Amatlan to hear what the elders there would say.

Kypaktonalh and Ozhomokh, who were bereaved by the death of their daughter Khymalmh, instantly recognized their grandson and thanked ItzPapalotl that he had survived his late mother.

They took him in to raise as their own and named him after his birth year: Keh Akatlh.

Year of Thirteen Reeds

By this time, Keh Akatlh was a strapping adolescent youth. His grandparents had gifted him with his mother’s weapons, and he was (like his father) an adept hunter.

He once killed a deer at a distance by drawing the bow behind his back — without even looking.

Being naturally inquisitive, he learned of his father’s untimely downfall and the rumors surrounding it. He retrieved Myxkoatlh’s bones from the beachhead and raised a shrine for them in the heart of Amatlan.

When his uncles heard about this, they were understandably perturbed so they sent him an invitation to the capital. Their pretext was that they should also erect a structure in honor of Myxkoatlh as well as to celebrate his son’s return. They’d merely been keeping the throne warm for him.

Though his grandfather and grandmother warned him against trusting those nefarious relatives, the youth put their minds at ease, explaining he had no reason to fear them:

“I shall meet Zolh & Quylth head-on. Look to the horizon at first light in three days. A white cloud will signal my victory, whereas a black one would be a bad sign.”

Having spoken thus, he struck forth to fulfill his fate. At Tollan, Keh Akatlh was diplomatically greeted by his uncles, but they said that he must provide a sacrifice to sanctify the newly built pyramid.

They told him that nothing short of an eagle, a jaguar, and a wolf would do. They planned that he’d perish in his pursuit of those wild beasts.

Unbeknown to them, Keh Akatlh possessed the ability to communicate with wild animals. So all three creatures submitted to him without a struggle and went with him to Tollan.

Aware that a trap was being laid for him, Keh Akatlh had hundreds of badgers and moles to dig a tunnel beneath the man-made mountain. Even centipedes and spiders moved aside for him as he ascended through the secret entrance. Thus, when he appeared at its summit and lit the pyre, his uncles (who awaited in the square below) were taken aback. The young man announced:

“I am Quetzalkoatlh — son of Myxkoatlh and Khymalmh — rightful ruler of Tollan. Come, my uncles and receive retribution on my parent’s behalf!”

Angered beyond belief, Zolh & Quylth rushed up the steps of the temple, intending to push the prince into the fire. But no sooner did they reach the top than the jaguar and wolf pounced upon them and held them down whilst the eagle pecked out their envious eyes and lying tongues!

Then Quetzalkoatlh offered their bodies to the flames, and a loud cheer came from the surrounding citizenry who’d seen these events. After all, Zolh & Quylth’s reign had been cruel and unjust. When the true king descended, the Toltecs bore him on a palanquin and promenaded him throughout his new kingdom.

As promised, a pale snowy nimbus drifted across a clear sky on the appointed day, making Kypaktonalh and Ozhomokh’s hearts gladden with pride.

To Be Continued…

If you’re interested in learning more about The Toltecs, you may want to read the following article: