The invincible guardian of the sun, bathing Tenochtitlan in eternal dawn. Huitzilopochtli, the Aztec god of the Sun and War and supreme protector of the Mexica, has a name that evokes an ever-burning arrow streaking across Mesoamerica's skies. He sprang from his mother's womb wielding fire serpent, shattered the moonlight, and cast the four hundred rebellious stars into eternal night. The sun rose for the first time. From then on, warriors' blood sustained the struggle between day and night, and each dawn defeated the darkness anew. He led the wandering tribes across the wilderness and revealed a divine sign in the reeds of Lake Texcoco: an eagle perched atop a cactus. There, the Mexica founded the lake city of Tenochtitlan. The Templo Mayor's twin temples pierced the sky like great swords, one for him and the other for the god of rain. He was a ravenous sun, and every conquest demanded hearts. Obsidian blades cut open chests,