Chimalpopoca

Chimalpopoca (born c. 1470s) was a Tlaxcaltec warrior and commander who fought against the Spanish Conquistadors during the conquest of the Aztec Empire. Captured and brought before Hernán Cortés, the reluctant warrior was convinced to help the infamous conquistador to broker a peace between the invaders and his people thanks to the mind-bending powers of a Dagger of Eden.

Chimalpopoca is an ancestor of Javier Mondragón, a teenager who relived his memories in the 21st century.

Biography

Early life

Chimalpopoca was born under the sign of the first ocelotl, which fated him to die as a prisoner of war. Unafraid of this apparent death sentence, Chimalpopoca took it as a challenge and used its meaning to live a courageous life. He grew up to become an impressive warrior, a noble tecuhtli, and fought many battles against oppressors of the Aztec peoples.

Conflict with the Spanish

On 31 August 1519, a new enemy approached the horizon: the Spanish Empire. The Totonac and Otomi peoples feared them as teotl, but Chimalpopoca believed they would bleed like men and did not fear them, despite their armor and the misgivings of warriors by his side. He foresaw that these strangers riding their towering deer-beasts and carrying weapons of fire would be defeated and captured by the god Camaxtli within the day. The questioning warrior at Chimalpopoca's side mentioned that Xicotencatl's father, the Elder, favored making peace with the invaders. The tecuhtli merely proceeded to insult those who would not fight, as his destiny was to die a prisoner of war, and thus he would fight onwards with everything he had.

The sounds of the conchs signaled the enemy's approach, just as the pale men with their iron armor and weapons emerged. They had with them a cannon, pulled by traitorous Cempoala collaborators from Totonacapan. A momentary feeling of fear struck Chimalpopoca at the sight of the cannon. The four hundred invaders faced the strength of ten thousand Tlaxcaltec warriors. In anticipation of an easy victory, Chimalpopoca thought of sacrificing a teotl to his gods. With a war cry invoking the might of Camaxtli, Chimalpopoca rallied his troops, and upon reaching the line Xicotencatl had designated, the Tlaxcaltec forces surrounded the teotl and launched a volley of arrows and spears. Some of their spears hit flesh, but most bounced off their armor.

As the pale-faced invaders responded with a volley of gunfire that killed many warriors instantly, and as their beasts trampled the Tlaxcaltec, Chimalpopoca engaged in combat. While the main formation held strong, Chimalpopoca staggered one of the enemies with a blow but had to dodge another soldier's attack. As the other Tlaxcaltec warriors struggled, Chimalpopoca killed a deer-beast by leaping and striking its neck with his macuahuitl, but broke some of his weapon's teeth in the process. The tecuhtli admired the invaders' sense of loyalty as three of them came to the then-unmounted rider's defense.

As Tlaxcaltec warriors fell around him, Chimalpopoca realized the enemies' strategy: kill or disable rather than capture. As a last-ditch effort, Chimalpopoca swung his broken macuahuitl and breached the enemy line. After this brazen act, he was quickly surrounded and seized before being bound and dragged further behind the enemy lines. After his capture, his warriors fell into disarray and sounded their retreat.

Withdrawn into the trees, the armored invaders pursued the retreating Tlaxcaltec as Chimalpopoca was marched through the forest to a captured village. The village's temple had been overtaken by the teotl; one of them, Alfonso del Castillo, was particularly rough with Chimalpopoca as he was thrown into a house with another Tlaxcaltec prisoner. The other prisoner, a young boy, told him that the teotl wanted peace, not war. Chimalpopoca dismissed the notion, as his fate had already been decided by the signs.

Imprisonment

While being held prisoner by the Spanish, Chimalpopoca's pride and general distrust of his captors would not allow him to accept their food offerings. He simply kept his composure and alertness, keeping his eye on the soldier that was rough in his handling of him. Two of the strangers approached and acted as translators to each other: Doña Marina who spoke Chimalpopoca's native Aztec tongue, and the priest Gerónimo de Aguilar who spoke Marina's native Mayan language.

Attempting to negotiate his surrender, Chimalpopoca refused as he would rather be sacrificed to the gods. Death was his honorable fate, and evasion would be cowardice. The two translators wanted him to become their messenger for the rest of his people, but still he refused. Marina and Aguilar eventually left to get their commander, Hernán Cortés, while del Castillo kept watch over Chimalpopoca.

With the arrival of Cortés, Chimalpopoca still believed he was to be sacrificed and prepared for his death. Even when offered gifts and reassurances, he remained skeptical. Only when Cortés spoke of freeing his people from Moctezuma's tyranny did Chimalpopoca's stance begin to shift. It was with this speech from Cortés that Chimalpopoca felt himself believing his words wholeheartedly as he sensed the power and confidence the conquistador exuded. Eventually, influenced by the power of the dagger Cortés held, he agreed to act as a messenger.

Legacy

In October 2016, Chimalpopoca's descendant Javier Mondragón, with the assistance of Sebastian Monroe, relived his memories in the Animus while his friend Owen Meyers relived Alfonso del Castillo's memories, in order to find the Faith Prong of the Trident of Eden. While reliving his ancestor's memories, Javier felt confused at Chimalpopoca's heterosexual attraction to Cortés' translator and lover, La Malinche. He also experienced the mind bending powers of the Faith Prong when used by Cortés against Chimalpopoca, though Monroe ended the simulation before any real psychological damage could be done.

Later, when Javier relived the memories of another ancestor of his, the Templar Cudgel Cormac, he recognised the Faith Prong instantly when Cudgel retrieved it, remembering the power the dagger had over Chimalpopoca.

Personality and traits

Chimalpopoca was an aging but fierce warrior, driven by his determination to outlive his fated end. He was a follower of the god Camaxtli and would invoke them on occasion. He also despised cowardice, seeing his leaders' attempt to negotiate with the Spanish invaders as an act of weakness. Despite his distrust of the Spanish, he was capable of feeling a sense of admiration for his enemies when they displayed loyalty for their own.

Through the power of Cortés' dagger, Chimalpopoca's convictions changed and he no longer thought of courageously accepting a death sentence or being sacrificed, instead agreeing to be the Spaniard's messenger.

Skills and equipment

Owing to his status as a tecuhtli, Chimalpopoca was a seasoned warrior. He was capable of fighting on par with a Spanish conquistador, but found fighting two more difficult. Chimalpopoca was also extremely skilled in the use of the macuahuitl, and despite its heft and limited cutting ability, he was able to kill a horse by leaping and striking at its neck.

Behind the scenes

Chimalpopoca is character appearing in the 2016 young adult novel Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants, written by Matthew J. Kirby as the first in the trilogy of the same name.

Etymology

Chimalpopoca shares his name with a ruler of Tenochtitlan. The name itself is derived from the Nahuatl language and is comprised of chimalli, which means "shield", and popoca, meaning "smoke, smoking."

Gallery

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  Concept art by Studio Lounak

Appearance

• Assassin's Creed: Last Descendants