Huītzilōpōchtli watches as Tenochtitlan burns in 1520

The sun was setting on once-great Tenochtitlan, golden over the chaos and destruction he witnessed before Huītzilōpōchtli's eyes. Sun, war, and sacrificial sacrifice, the sun god witnessed in horror as his people’s capital city was razed.

The god watched from the top of the temple of Huītzilōpōchtli the destruction wrought by the Spanish conquistadors. The pyramids and temples that had once been so proud of themselves were no more, their intricate carvings and frescoes melted to burning trash. The streets – filled before with Aztec bazaars and procession parades – now lay empty and quiet except for a few screaming and wailing cries.

Huītzilōpōchtli bled at the sight of his people’s sacred city. He was a war and sacrifice-god, and his people had taken him to be unstoppable. But now, when the city burned, he saw nothing but misery and powerlessness.

The god thought about his father, Huanitzin, a former temple high priest. He thought of the innumerable sacrifices they’d made together, the blood of the innocent cascading like rivers to the gods. Despite the countless human sacrifices that had been offered to appease the gods, the city of Tenochtitlan still fell to the flames of the Spanish conquest in 1521, a devastating blow that would forever alter the course of Aztec history.

When the sun was setting, Huītzilōpōchtli's eyes glazed over the face of the Aztec emperor Moctezuma Xocoyotzin on the temple spire, gaze set on the smoldering city.  Moctezuma, who had once welcomed the Spanish as gods, now lay dead amidst the smoldering ruins of his city, a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of his misplaced trust.

[Workflow: I've taken six different Meta Imagine AI-generated source images from my various prompts, then worked on chopping and mixing various components into my final scene of the downfall of yet another Aztec city.]

Hi-rez widescreen image link [4916px wide]