The Sun Serpent

When young Anahuac's family meets the newly arrived Cortes, they believe he is the Sun Serpent come to usher in a new, better world. Anahuac's beloved elder brother eagerly joins Cortes' grand march to the capital, Tenochtitlan. But while Cortes promised a world of peace and plenty, the soldiers he left behind soon engage in a ruthless search for gold. Orphaned during one of their raids, Anahuac sets off through the jungle to find and warn his brother that the Spanish are not all they seem. Along the way, Anahuac discovers that the omnipotent Aztec ruler, Moctecuhzoma, is unable to protect his people against the Spanish. As the certainties in his world begin to crumble, Anahuac must physically and mentally navigate through the land of the familiar (Aztec prophecies, sky dancers, jungles) and the frightening but intriguing possibilities of the new (Spanish horses, guitars, ships). Faced with the realization that neither leader is divine, that neither culture is without merit, Anahuac watches as Moctezuma and Cortes come face to face for the first time.