08-27-2023, 10:28 PM
August 26th
While the two leaders of Huenya were struggling to survive, Huenya had faced a crisis of power. The new nation had never had its line of succession tested. Normally, the Great Speaker would take over if the elected leader, the Vice-Speaker, was incapacitated. But both of them were down. This meant that power temporarily passed to the President pro tem of the Huenyan Chamber of Deputies. Tianquema, the ranking Deputy from Chuaztlapoc, was currently President pro tem. While Tianquema was a skilled politician, that was the sum of their attributes and personality. He was hardly the person to lead a nation in crisis, being faced with a giant terrorist uprising.
As Tianquema dithered and struggled to address the many and mounting pleas for decisions and plans from people throughout Huenya, the lack of leadership at the top would trickle down the chain. Without clear orders or purpose, the security forces found themselves retreating into their compounds and behind walls and fences. This meant that they were ceding increasingly large sections of the country to the Golden Blade. "Western Xiomera" was beginning to be duplicated in at least fifteen different parts of Huenya by the time that the 26th of August arrived.
And as more time passed, people began to stop looking to Tianquema for leadership, and prayed instead that one of the two men who had been stricken down would wake up.
Yauhmi the Benefactor Medical Center (YBMC)
Chuaztlapoc
In two separate hospital rooms, two men had spent the last two days fighting for their lives.
Tiacihitli had spent those days unconscious. At the hospital, the doctors had discovered after extensive testing that he had been poisoned with miquiztlicoatl, or deathsnake. This was an extremely rare (and extremely deadly) Xiomeran poison. Recovery depended on the antidote being administered quickly, followed by successful follow-up treatment. In most cases, even those efforts were not successful.
Tiacihitli was an older man, and in average health at best. This made the outcome inevitable.
At 4:18pm on August 26th, the Vice-Speaker of the Huenyan Federation went into cardiac arrest. Despite the best efforts of the best doctors in Huenya, Tiacihitli never opened his eyes.
One of the dominos that Calhualyana had sought to topple had fallen. Now it all depended on the other.
---
Hours later, Tlalmaxxi and Tonauac were at Texōccoatl's bedside. The news that Tiacihitli had died had struck them as if they had been the ones poisoned. She didn't always agree with Tiacihitli, but Tlalmaxxi had always liked and respected him as a leader. Now, both of them feared that the same fate would befall their husband and father.
Texōccoatl also had not opened his eyes once since falling from his chair at the dinner table to the floor at his palace. The doctors could only tell Tlalmaxxi that it would depend on Texōccoatl's own body and his own will now. They had done everything they could. If the Great Speaker was strong enough to survive the miquiztlicoatl, he would. If he was not, he would die. It was up to him now.
Tlalmaxxi leaned down and whispered to her husband, her voice pitched low enough not to upset her son.
"Texōccoatl, you promised me that you would be by my side until the very end, no matter what happened. You'd better keep that promise," Tlalmaxxi said. Her voice choked back a slight sob as she leaned closer and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I can't survive without you. Your son cannot either. Neither can Huenya. Come back to us."
With those words, Tlalmaxxi sat down in a chair to await whatever happened.
---
Several hours later, as the clock approached midnight, Tlalmaxxi woke up to the sound of movement. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up straighter in her chair, looking at her husband.
And as she watched, Texōccoatl opened his eyes.
While the two leaders of Huenya were struggling to survive, Huenya had faced a crisis of power. The new nation had never had its line of succession tested. Normally, the Great Speaker would take over if the elected leader, the Vice-Speaker, was incapacitated. But both of them were down. This meant that power temporarily passed to the President pro tem of the Huenyan Chamber of Deputies. Tianquema, the ranking Deputy from Chuaztlapoc, was currently President pro tem. While Tianquema was a skilled politician, that was the sum of their attributes and personality. He was hardly the person to lead a nation in crisis, being faced with a giant terrorist uprising.
As Tianquema dithered and struggled to address the many and mounting pleas for decisions and plans from people throughout Huenya, the lack of leadership at the top would trickle down the chain. Without clear orders or purpose, the security forces found themselves retreating into their compounds and behind walls and fences. This meant that they were ceding increasingly large sections of the country to the Golden Blade. "Western Xiomera" was beginning to be duplicated in at least fifteen different parts of Huenya by the time that the 26th of August arrived.
And as more time passed, people began to stop looking to Tianquema for leadership, and prayed instead that one of the two men who had been stricken down would wake up.
Yauhmi the Benefactor Medical Center (YBMC)
Chuaztlapoc
In two separate hospital rooms, two men had spent the last two days fighting for their lives.
Tiacihitli had spent those days unconscious. At the hospital, the doctors had discovered after extensive testing that he had been poisoned with miquiztlicoatl, or deathsnake. This was an extremely rare (and extremely deadly) Xiomeran poison. Recovery depended on the antidote being administered quickly, followed by successful follow-up treatment. In most cases, even those efforts were not successful.
Tiacihitli was an older man, and in average health at best. This made the outcome inevitable.
At 4:18pm on August 26th, the Vice-Speaker of the Huenyan Federation went into cardiac arrest. Despite the best efforts of the best doctors in Huenya, Tiacihitli never opened his eyes.
One of the dominos that Calhualyana had sought to topple had fallen. Now it all depended on the other.
---
Hours later, Tlalmaxxi and Tonauac were at Texōccoatl's bedside. The news that Tiacihitli had died had struck them as if they had been the ones poisoned. She didn't always agree with Tiacihitli, but Tlalmaxxi had always liked and respected him as a leader. Now, both of them feared that the same fate would befall their husband and father.
Texōccoatl also had not opened his eyes once since falling from his chair at the dinner table to the floor at his palace. The doctors could only tell Tlalmaxxi that it would depend on Texōccoatl's own body and his own will now. They had done everything they could. If the Great Speaker was strong enough to survive the miquiztlicoatl, he would. If he was not, he would die. It was up to him now.
Tlalmaxxi leaned down and whispered to her husband, her voice pitched low enough not to upset her son.
"Texōccoatl, you promised me that you would be by my side until the very end, no matter what happened. You'd better keep that promise," Tlalmaxxi said. Her voice choked back a slight sob as she leaned closer and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I can't survive without you. Your son cannot either. Neither can Huenya. Come back to us."
With those words, Tlalmaxxi sat down in a chair to await whatever happened.
---
Several hours later, as the clock approached midnight, Tlalmaxxi woke up to the sound of movement. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes and sat up straighter in her chair, looking at her husband.
And as she watched, Texōccoatl opened his eyes.
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