Of course it is. It was my festival, so you can use your imagination for what celebrates yours truly.
[ He chuckles as he takes another drag of the cigarette, then leans his head back to rest on the top of the chair. When he breathes the smoke out through his nose, it’s not cigarette smoke. It’s a darker, more fragrant smoke that smells of copal. It’s a little showy, but there’s a meaning in it that’s not necessarily meant for Silco, who doesn’t understand the ritual of his culture. It’s just what feels right for telling the story of the festival, as if setting the stage. ]
We can get into the theology of it if you’re interested, but for the quicker version, just know that it’s a ritual just as much as a festival, so there’s meaning in the proceedings. See, each year, there was a guy that was designated as the teixiptla—someone meant to represent and impersonate me, and it was a position of reverence. Even though they were generally a captive of war, it was a desirable position, because for a year, you lived like a king. Education, pleasure, all you could want, you were given, since naturally if I were there, my people would give all they had to please me. So it was for the teixiptla.
The year comes to an end Toxcatl. It’s a month-long celebration with dancing, feasts, art, ritual. The gifts of Tezcatlipoca are given to all people. Prosperity is a gift from the gods, but gifts don’t come freely, even for us.
[ That’s the basic background, so as he gets to the climax of the festival, he sits up again and looks at Silco. It’s that intense gaze again that’s arresting even behind his sunglasses. ]
So, the teixiptla is sacrificed to me. Their year comes to an end violently, since on the top of the city’s temple, the priests skillfully remove his heart while it still beats. Their heart is my offering, and a strong warrior who doesn’t cry out is welcomed quickly to paradise. And as for the rest… Well, they’re beheaded so their skull can join all their predecessors in the position, and their flesh is flayed and eaten by the nobility. They eat the body of the chosen “god”, since nothing goes to waste. And then, the next year’s teixiptla is chosen.
[ So. Extremely different from this festival indeed. Tezcatlipoca smiles, sharp and challenging, and he leans forward a little. ]
—Actually. Me and Set were playin’ with some of what these can do. [ He taps the side of his head to refer to the implants. ] Kinda like Communion, if you know how to tweak the settings. So. You wanna see what Toxcatl is like in “person”?
no subject
[ He chuckles as he takes another drag of the cigarette, then leans his head back to rest on the top of the chair. When he breathes the smoke out through his nose, it’s not cigarette smoke. It’s a darker, more fragrant smoke that smells of copal. It’s a little showy, but there’s a meaning in it that’s not necessarily meant for Silco, who doesn’t understand the ritual of his culture. It’s just what feels right for telling the story of the festival, as if setting the stage. ]
We can get into the theology of it if you’re interested, but for the quicker version, just know that it’s a ritual just as much as a festival, so there’s meaning in the proceedings. See, each year, there was a guy that was designated as the teixiptla—someone meant to represent and impersonate me, and it was a position of reverence. Even though they were generally a captive of war, it was a desirable position, because for a year, you lived like a king. Education, pleasure, all you could want, you were given, since naturally if I were there, my people would give all they had to please me. So it was for the teixiptla.
The year comes to an end Toxcatl. It’s a month-long celebration with dancing, feasts, art, ritual. The gifts of Tezcatlipoca are given to all people. Prosperity is a gift from the gods, but gifts don’t come freely, even for us.
[ That’s the basic background, so as he gets to the climax of the festival, he sits up again and looks at Silco. It’s that intense gaze again that’s arresting even behind his sunglasses. ]
So, the teixiptla is sacrificed to me. Their year comes to an end violently, since on the top of the city’s temple, the priests skillfully remove his heart while it still beats. Their heart is my offering, and a strong warrior who doesn’t cry out is welcomed quickly to paradise. And as for the rest… Well, they’re beheaded so their skull can join all their predecessors in the position, and their flesh is flayed and eaten by the nobility. They eat the body of the chosen “god”, since nothing goes to waste. And then, the next year’s teixiptla is chosen.
[ So. Extremely different from this festival indeed. Tezcatlipoca smiles, sharp and challenging, and he leans forward a little. ]
—Actually. Me and Set were playin’ with some of what these can do. [ He taps the side of his head to refer to the implants. ] Kinda like Communion, if you know how to tweak the settings. So. You wanna see what Toxcatl is like in “person”?