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dragongirl028 · 1 year

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Take To the Skies

Holy shit! My first fanfic on Tumblr!? And it’s Onyx Equinox related!? You bet it is, and YOU BET IT IS!!! (Heh, heh ... bet? Get it!?)

Word count: 1521 (😨)

“I love you, Izel. It’s okay. Be br—”

Before she could finish her words of reassurance, a warm feeling instantly emanated from her throat and quickly flowed down her chest as a profuse stream of blood ran down from where the obsidian knife slashed across her neck. No pain, no haunting gurgling; just darkness and an almost complete silence, were it not for the light breeze blowing west and the steady drops of blood pooling between her feet. Seconds ago, she was standing; as the supportive hand of the priest drew away, Nelli’s body fell backwards, and her descent down the cenote began. Her headdress, with its elegant streams of quetzal feathers dancing wildly as she fell, soon came off of her head entirely just before her body made contact with the groundwater in a loud splash echoing throughout the sinkhole. From a fast-paced descent to a slow, cradling slump, Nelli’s body unhurriedly lowers towards the large, glowing gate to the Underworld hidden deep within the cenote’s waters.

A bright flash of white shines as Nelli’s body crosses the gate. Seconds later, she finds herself seemingly alive, standing on the edge of a dense jungle. Ahead of her is a small, yet foreboding range of limestone mountains, the sun’s rays shining behind them just as they were as the star ascended in the mere final minutes Nelli had in Uxmal. The ground ahead of her is reminiscent of xeric shrubland, occasionally dotted with palo verde trees colored with their typical yellow-orange flowers. She looks down upon herself—the elaborate sacrificial attire no longer drenched in her own blood; her feet, hands, collarbone, and parts of her face still painted in bright Mayan blue; her headdress firmly in place atop her head.

“What is going—”

A gust of wind blows behind her. Nelli braces herself momentarily, closing her eyes before they snap open at the sound of a loud roar coming from above. She can only stand in awe as her eyes widen upon seeing an enormous teal and red serpentine-like creature weave though the sky, its flowing scarlet mane of fur-like feathers trailing along its back as the creature flies to the peak of the tallest mountain centered among the range. One thing comes after another, and a large flock of macaws emerge from the jungle and fly above Nelli, calling as they too, fly towards the mountain range, some scattering to different peaks, while others make a beeline towards the centermost peak. The wind settles slightly, and after a momentary pause to collect what she just witnessed, Nelli finds herself staring at the most prominent peak of the mountain range, entranced. Wordlessly, she finds herself walking towards the peak, almost as if something is drawing her in. As she moves, an occasional rattlesnake either retreats into its burrow, or silently gazes as she walks by. Passing by a tree every once in a while, butterflies flit around the flowers, some coming close to her face, to which she smiles warmly. Eventually, she finds herself at the base of the mountain, and a smooth, almost frequently treaded path weaves its way up the peak. Wordlessly, she begins her ascent. Nelli takes her time climbing, and despite the growing elevation, she doesn’t find herself needing to catch her breath or take a momentary pause.

Many hours pass, but eventually, Nelli reaches the summit. She gazes at the horizon from which her journey began, the jungle’s green expanse contrasting with the somewhat drab shrubland sandwiched between it and the mountain range.

“Well … I’m glad to see you’ve finally arrived.”

At this, Nelli turns around and widens her eyes. Sitting upon a marble throne—painted in a range of red and green paints, armrests stylized as feathered serpent heads, and a top adorned in intricately carved marble quetzal feathers—is Quetzalcoatl. Appearing in his King Form, he resembles a youth with white hair and yellow eyes, wearing an ornate headdress and red beak mask. Yellow face paint runs vertically down his face surrounding his eyes, a bisected conch shell hangs against his chest, and his shoulders are covered by a green serpent, whose body trails down the god’s back into a train of dark green feathers. Resting on his left hand is a macaw casually preening itself, which the god lightly moves to one of the trees bordering his throne, raising his hand high enough for the tropical bird to reach.

“I must say, you look elegant. Then again, a noble and willing sacrifice such as yourself deserves especially ornate attire.”

“Quetzalcoatl!” Nelli exclaims before quickly but respectfully bowing on her knees. The god chuckles slightly.

“Now, now … no need to be so formal. You can stand.”

Nelli hesitates for a moment before slowly rising back to her feet.

“You chose me?” Nelli inquires.

“Are you surprised? Why, I figured your attire would give you as much of a hint. Your willingness to sacrifice yourself in place of your brother was an incredibly noble act. Not just any god could take such a willing sacrifice.”

“But you’re opposed to human sacrifice. Why would you want me?”

At this, Quetzalcoatl pauses momentarily, staring intently at Nelli.

“… Because I need your assistance to help me save humanity.”

Nelli’s eyes widen slightly and her mouth drops open a bit.

“… What?”

“I’m sure you heard about what happened at Dani Baán.”

Quetzalcoatl pauses for a moment and chuckles slightly.

“Well, of course you did. Otherwise, why would you have been sacrificed, besides taking the place of your brother? Anyway, Mictlantechutli shamelessly began a holy war by abducting Dani Baán due to the ongoing blood drought; though, I know this isn’t the only reason for the destruction of the city. In due time, I shall tell you what I know.”

Nelli furrows her brow slightly, but continues listening intently.

“Tezcatlipoca believes the constant wars and infighting taking place among humanity have spilled wasted blood which could otherwise feed us gods. He intends on starting the world anew at the equinox. I believe your kind is worth preserving. So, I have chosen your brother to close the five gates of the Underworld.”

“Izel? But he’s never fought anyone, let alone traveled great distances without me. How is he even supposed to find the gates to the Underworld!? And even if he does find them, can he even do this—close five gates and save humanity—on his own!?”

“Oh, he’ll have help, I assure you. Nobody can do this alone, not even a god. I have bigger plans for him besides closing the gates, which I will also divulge to you in due time. However, I can’t keep watching over my champion, lest I catch Tezcatlipoca’s attention. This is where you come in: I need you to follow Izel on his journey and report back to me whenever you can. You can … nudge him along a few times as needed; otherwise, you must maintain a fair distance from him, and don’t intervene or interfere in any way. Or else, Tezcatlipoca will take notice.”

Nelli looks down at the ground in front of her before speaking.

“Izel has always been rather fearful. I don’t doubt that—even with help—he’s going to be afraid and unsure of himself. But if you truly think he’s the one who will save humanity … and from what I’ve seen when I’ve encouraged him to persevere … I think this journey will mature him. Whether or not he succeeds, he’ll be remembered by the gods, and perhaps our descendants, through legend.”

At this, Nelli looks up at Quetzalcoatl with a stern, yet determined expression on her face.

“I’ll help you, Quetzalcoatl.”

Underneath his mask, Quetzalcoatl smiles.

“But … how am I supposed to follow Izel and report back to you?”

“I expect you … to fly.”

At this, Quetzalcoatl rises from his throne and a gust of wind blows from behind him to the west. Various dark green feathers from the long train behind him fly towards Nelli before spinning around, enveloping her completely. Small rays of cyan light penetrate through the spinning mass of feathers, which distorts into a large ball floating towards Quetzalcoatl, who now has his right arm outstretched. Finally, the mass of feathers disappears and the wind dies down, revealing a medium-sized heron with white feathers, black legs, and cyan eyes, perched on Quetzalcoatl’s arm.

“Not only will you be able to fly, but you’ll be able to travel great distances instantaneously with my power in order to reach me. You should be proud, Nelli.” Quetzalcoatl praises while looking ahead to the now setting sun.

“Not only will you watch history be made, but you will see your humble brother ascend to eminence in more ways than one. Now, go, follow him, take to the skies.”

At this, Nelli flaps her wings once and rises before taking off in the direction of the sun. Quetzalcoatl lowers his arm and simply watches in silence as his emissary flies further west before disappearing in a flash of light—her duty having just begun.

#onyx equinox #nelli #quetzalcoatl #izel #tezcatlipoca #mictlantecuhtli #fanfic #my work #my fanfic #fanfiction

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