The Legend of Mother Nature

1. Anochti's Destiny

        Anochti's feet hovered above the water, swinging back and forth. Her hands were pressed into the soft moss that covered much of the damp log on which she was perched. She could very clearly see the beautiful fish darting around below her.

      Had it not been for the large waterfall tumbling down the rock face before her, she could have enjoyed watching the fish in both clear and still waters. She would just have to settle for the former. Though she wasn't very much used to settling for anything.

Breathing in the damp, misty air, she closed her eyes and listened to the steady pounding of the water fall. The morning was hot, mostly due to the nearly choking levels of humidity.

She listened to the various and beautiful sounds that echoed from the looming trees above. The birds, insects, and monkeys all joined together into a wonderful chorus that filled every square mile of the Atlantic jungle.
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Anochti opened her eyes and peered above her at the high branches. She caught a glimpse of a beautifully colored bird. It danced around from limb to limb performing its mating ritual to impress the female that gazed upon it.

Anochti had always enjoyed watching the pleasant little birds dance around, acting so very silly and careless.

It was then that she noticed a slithering green snake lowering itself from the entangled vines that were suspended above her. It stared down at her, its beady eyes gleaming from its large, diamond skull.

     It was no doubt poisonous- Anochti had spent all her life in the jungle. She knew this type of snake; and most others as well. Almost any ordinary nine year old would have shrieked and fled in fear. But Anochti was no ordinary girl.

The animals of the jungle, even those that seemed most menacing, were her friends. They were her allies.

She possessed many extraordinary abilities that no one else in her village did. She could communicate with animals— not in a way that could be heard, but through the mind. She could read their thoughts and transmit her own into them. In a way, they could understand each other.

However, that was not the only extraordinary power Anochti possessed. She also had great strength, and could control the elements, as well as plants.

The Aztec chief of her village had told her months earlier that she had the strength of a hundred men. She had told her mother that it was surely an exaggeration, but her mother had denied it. But then again, her mother always filled her mind with grand thoughts of herself and pride.

It seemed as though she told her every day the story of how she came to be.
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Her mother always began the story in the same way, and ended it as she always did. Anochti had memorized the tale and knew every bit of it, for it was of great importance to her. It was the story of her- of her people.

Her mother said that long, long ago the Aztec empire was prosperous and magnificent— it was unparalleled in its technological advancement by any civilization. And that was all thanks to the gods.

They came from far away and descended in a great, black cloud, bringing with them infinite knowledge and limitless power. There were many of them, each of them possessing their own unique qualities and abilities. The Aztec people began to worship them at once, throwing themselves onto the ground and bowing before their new leaders.

They built temples in which to worship them— but those were not good enough for their grand gods. They instructed the people on how to build magnificent structures and pyramids and temples that towered far higher than the jungle's trees.