Hernán

Show me the path and tell me the truth.

Show me the path and tell me the truth.

First...

we saw a cloud of fire in the sky.

We cried out...

in fear.

We offered sacrifices...

to the gods.

We offered them blood...

but they did not answer.

Then your temple was burned, Huitzilopochtli.

Now, other peoples

have come to inhabit

this world.

Is it you, come to reclaim what is yours?

Is this the end for us?

Give me an answer.

ONE YEAR LATER

Captain...

I cannot do much more for him.

He refuses to co-operate.

Is he so ill?

The head wound reeks.

But what worries me most is he is spitting blood.

What do you want from me?

You want me to watch you die,

powerless to stop it?

Is that it?

All he wants is for this shame to pass quickly.

He wishes only to die.

No, you cannot die.

You are the great leader, Moctezuma.

Acatlxouhqui.

Marina.

I do not want it said that...

Moctezuma died like a dog...

stoned by his people.

I want to die like a warrior.

By my enemy’s...

hand.

He wants to die with honor, as if in battle.

At his enemy’s hand.

He wants me to...

Absolutely not!

ONE YEAR EARLIER

Sir!

A messenger is here from Cholula!

It is urgent.

Let him in.

My lord...

What has happened?

The bearded men massacred us.

Them and their Tlaxcalteca allies.

They spilt blood in the Temple of Quetzalcoatl?

This cannot be.

This is what we were up against.

They killed the people of Cholula with this.

They are already at the gates,

on top of us.

What shall we do?

What do you want us to do?

They leave behind a trail of death.

We cannot defeat them

They have not yet faced our warriors.

The Tlaxcalteca are fierce.

They outnumbered the Spaniards, but were defeated.

Sir!

We think it is time

to fight the distant men.

What do you want to do?

Wait.

But the Tlaxcalteca...

I heard them.

But only I know the will...

of the gods.

Now I need to ask...

their advice.

It is time.

They understand nothing.

I do not blame them.

I cannot read the signs either.

Everything fitted,

everything made sense.

It had to be Quetzalcoatl.

That is what is written.

It was not Quetzalcoatl.

If not him...

Who is it?

Perhaps another...

even more terrible, god...

or a device...

of other gods.

Why did this fate have to befall me?

What have I done

to deserve silence

from the gods?

How did they answer my father?

Tell the Council:

do not act against the Lord of the distant men.

We will observe our customs:

we will receive them and hear them out.

Greetings.

From my King. Don Carlos.

My lord,

receive greetings from the great governor, King Carlos.

Give me my headdress.

Jeronimo, take it.

Thank you.

My lord...

you must be weary.

You have reached your lands, you have reached your city.

You are tired.

You have reached your lands,

you have reached your city.

This is the home they prepared for us.

It was his father’s. Axayacatl.

Thank my Lord Moctezuma for his generosity.

It pleases me greatly.

Captains! With me. Xicotencatl!

Soldiers, wait here.

Bernal!

This is a palace?

It hasn’t even got gates!

No.

No. It was clearly not designed for defense.

So, Captain Olid,

we must do it ourselves.

Bernal, Alvarado.

Arrange the cannons and culverins

around that rooftop

to cover all approaches.

That is not the problem, gentlemen.

We are in the middle of a lake

surrounded by water!

Well, with a decent gate and artillery up there,

it would take big balls to come at me!

Really? Good luck with that, Captain!

This is the square of our great temple

built in honor of Huitzilopochtli,

god of war and the sun

and of Tlaloc,

god of the rain.

This is the square of our great temple,

built in honor of Huitzilopochtli,

god of war and the sun and of Tlaloc, god of the rain.

What?

Witchy loathsome!

And where is the gold?

I don’t know.

And these are the fiercest

warriors in the world,

feared by all peoples.

The chiefs are chosen

from the best families.

And they learn to fight from childhood.

These are the skulls of our sacrifices.

The skulls of those who were sacrificed.

They had the honor

of a flowery death

and deserve to be looked on

by the gods with pride.

They had the honor of a flowery death

and being presented to their gods.

Let’s get out of here.

Do you remember the city?

Do you remember it?

Do I remember it?

Did you translate that right, Marina?

And how could I remember it?

Do I remember it?

How could I remember it?

The Fifth Sun is over.

Quetzalcoatl must return

and reign over his brother Tezcatlipoca.

It was foretold thus:

he would return the way he had gone,

to reclaim what is his,

accompanied by bearded warriors.

Hernan...

he speaks to you as if you were a god.

I am a man. Like you.

I simply come from a different place.

I am a man, like you.

What is that over there?

What is that?

The great market at Tlatelolco.

They buy and sell everything there.

The great market at Tlatelolco.

They buy and sell everything there.

And over there, what is that?

Blessed Father!

Why all this blood?

Is human sacrifice really necessary to please a god?

Why do you have to make sacrifices to your god?

Why all this blood?

Do you not need to eat?

Our gods need their food too.

Do you not need to eat?

Our gods need their food too.

Our duty is to feed them...