Chapter 8: The last of the Olmecs, 174 BCE
After the end of the war, Zinnridi was invited to Ajaw, the city founded by the ancestors of his son in law, Kujy u’id, there, he wanted to negotiate the release of the husband of his daughter, not just because he was a friend of the Olmec, but also because he had a lot of his subjects living now in his lands, and having their leader executed was not a good idea for stability.
Walking through the streets of the old city made Zinnridi envy in a certain way and the lost greatness of the Olmecs made him remember his own people, expelled from their lands by civil wars and the Iberian invasion. As Leader of the Exiles, his mission now was to sign a good peace treaty with the Mayans so that the rest of the city-states of the region would have respect for the defeated newcomers.
Because in this world, everything was based on the respect and prestige of the ruling class.
The Olmec for centuries had been the source of knowledge and power in this part of the world and their rulers had invented a myth about their supernatural origin, the rulers were half human, half jaguar, and this made the rest of the inhabitants of the the region look at them with respect and even with some fear.
The Maya nobility, in turn, deformed the skulls of their newborn to look different to the commoners, as they were blessed by the gods themselves to rule over them. Good harvests, success in wars, and the general prosperity of city-states depended on the relationship that the ruling class had with the gods.
Zinnridi thought about these differentiations, and that he would have to think about some form of exercising power through symbolism in order to rule over his people ... the diversity between Phoenicians, Olmecs, Tainos and Maya was so big, that could destroy his Kingdom in a matter of years if he could not elaborate some way to consolidate his power over them.
Also, the way in which Zinnridi faced this defeat was what would make the Exiles strong,or destroy them completely. He felt as if he were in a historical juncture, the decisions he took in these critical days would decide the centuries to come. It was a heavy task and the goddesses had put this weight on their shoulders, he could not fail this task.
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After signing the peace treaty, which declared the friendship between the two peoples in conflict and the end of the Olmecs, Zinnridi was invited to a ceremony at the top of the main pyramid of the city.
He climbed the stairs with the greatest dignity, each step, meant an effort, and behind his back, the Mayan people of Ajaw watched closely what happened, Zinnridi tried to maintain the solemnity of the moment despite his fatigue, but seeing his friend tied on an altar of stone as if it were an animal soon to be sacrificed, made anger fill his mind, fortunately he knew how to maintain his composure.
Then, the last of the Olmecs, Kujy u’id, was sacrificed like an animal on the top of the altar, the people below shouted with religious fervor and Zinnridi Yujnegi, the leader of the Exiles, understood the message.
That was the price of defeat.
And he remembered, that this was what his son, Bomilcar, suffered some years ago because he let the mayans sack his capital, when he was far away, invading this city at the start of the war.