---

DRAMATIS PERSONAE

King Charles of Spain

Don Francisco Pizarro
Diego del Almagro
Don Alverado
Hernando Pizarro
Gonzola Pizarro
Captain De Soto
Pedro Catano…… Conquistadors

Hauyna
Huascar
Atahualpa…. Incan Kings

Chaska
Palta
Sachamama… Wives of Huayna

Coya Asarpay
Inkasisa
Cuxirimay…. Wives of Atahualpa

Apumayta
Marichanchi… Huascar’s Advisors

Purutu…. Atahualpa’s Advisor

Ciquinchara… Atahualpa’s Translator

Chalcuchima
QuizQuiz
Ruminagui ………… Atahualpa’s Captains

Maizabilica
Urco
Titi
Huamanchoro … Incan Caciques

Vincente de Valverde… Dominican friar

Ekkoko – Incan Priest

Fellipilo… Translator

---

SCENE 1: Huamachuco Village

Chief Huamanchoro is sat with Cuxamiray / enter Cuxamiray who sings Virgenes de Sol

Huascar
Such a very fine song, so finely sung

Huamanchoro
She is my own daughter

Huascar
You must be proud

Huamanchoro
I am – so, Prince Huascar, tell me
Why honor us with your visit today

Huascar
My father is dying

Huamanchoro
I’d heard rumors
On which I could not comment ‘til confirm’d,
But the whiff of his illness upsets us
He is beloved here & far abroad

Huascar
He is a wonderful monarch, & man,
I rush to be beside him, but must rest
From time to time, I will stay here tonight

Huamanchoro
Of course

Huascar
We leave for Cuzco tomorrow

Huamanchoro
While you are with us, anything you want
To take from my village is yours at once

Huascar
Your daughter

Huamanchoro
What

Huascar
I will take you daughter…
You hesitate before your future king

Huamanchoro
No, it is just, I knew this day would come
Her qualities at singing songs exceed
Anything I’ve ever seen, she is yours

Huascar
So, is her talent natural or train’d

Huamanchoro
A wond’rous blend of both, yachaywasi
In younger years taught her enough to frame
Superbian modes of her vocal range
While a talented pongocamayo
Has train’d her in the flauta fantastic

Huascar
Excellent, then send her to my dwelling
Along with that beautiful beverage
For which your village is widely fam’d

Huamanchoro
Yes, sire

Exit Huascar

Huamanchoro
Fetch the best chicha for Prince Huascar

Exit attendants / Huamanchoro sits in silence musing upon the loss of his daughter

---

SCENE 2 – CASTILLE

Don Pizarro has been summoned to speak to King Charles

Don Pizarro
Your Highness

King Charles
Don Pizarro, welcome home
Thou art to the appointment fresh & fair
You look as healthy as I’ve ever seen
What spirits are within thee, & without

Don Pizarro
I’m ecstatic to see his majesty
Oft times across the Ocean in the west,
Scourg’d by tasteless trials of exploration,
Torrents of mischiefs & machinations,
I wonder’d if I’d no more see thy face
& smile, your highness, but the thoughts of these
To once more stand before mine emperor
Maintain’d my stridence to fulfill those vows
To empire of its sacred extensions

King Charles
Your letters tell the tale, but better lips,
How was it over there, how is Peru?

Don Pizarro
The present condition of the country
Discovered alongside Don Diego
Almagro of Malagon, I & he
Were the richest in Panama province,
Is this is, your highness, the truth of Peru
tis but a small poor province, fifty leagues
From the start of the equator, whose name
Extended oer the next twelve thousand leagues
Pepper’d with piddling oppidulums
We fought so many battles in that space
In one bout Don Diego lost an eye,
Many other implacable problems
Each day did beset us as we hack’d
Thro coastlines thick with hardship & swampsuck
Where lizards as long as the fragata
Call’d alligators in a native tongue
Who breed at river mouths like common trout
Who’ll scent a man & with a massive bite
Drag him to the bottom to be eaten

King Charles
You, yourself, what sustenance & succor
Provided by Peru

Don Pizarro
We knew hunger, sire
Such burning fever, inimitable,
Unknown in fertile Spain, the only fruit
Which e’er kept us alive grown in the sea
The salty, bitter flesh of the mangrove,
To split the fishy dishes we would net
Tho’ oranges, lemons, figs & grapefruits
Do grow in much abundance, distances
Defeated all our limited storage
& left us oft in difficulties dire

King Charles
But survive you did, dear Don Pizarro
For destiny was with you, & the Lord,
Whom now mine eyes & ears are in Peru
So, tell me of its natives, how are they

Don Pizarro
Proud & curiously beautiful, sire
The women wear their hair so very short
& naked go about but for a small
Apron to cover up their private parts,
The men, however, go waist down naked
Clad only in a short shirt navel o’er,
Both sexes take delight in golden jewels
& emeralds, in nostrils, & in ears,
Your majesty, deep mines are all about
& there is known the value of silver
Of gold & of diamonds, they worship these
Almost as much as their infidel gods

King Charles
Inform me of this pagan pantheon
Of how they’ve never heard of Calvary

Don Pizarro
They worship the Sun & Moon as great gods
Know terrafirma as their Earth mother
Their priests are nothing but murderers, sire,
Sacrificing animals & men
Searching thro hearts & entrails with hands stain’d
By bloody delving into guts & gore
Waiting to see the signs that they desire
& justify this craven homicide
Saying the gods must not be satisfied
Yet with the sacrifice, blunt knife on knife
Murdering more & more, until they find
The symbols that the seek, & what’s more, sire
The chiefs believe in flesh resurrection
Seated on thrones in vaults seal’d after death
Attired in richest clothing, with the wife
Whom he loves most beside him, her throat cut,

King Charles
Why so?

Don Pizarro
They are expected to return
To life, emanating regality
Clad in majestic fineries

King Charles
What fools?

Don Pizarro
Indeed sire

King Charles
That continent needs cleansing
Of devil customs all, Don Pizarro
Are you prepared this task to consummate

Don Pizarro
Of course, your majesty, at your command
I stand with honour, all that you desire
& bid I will attend with all my strength
My first expedition lasted three years
But in that time, in all its suffering
Thro’ nature’s dangers, Indian attacks,
& inner mutinies of dark reasons,
I have acquired an intimate knowledge
Of how Peru thro mortality moves

King Charles
Dogs might bark but the wagon passes on

Don Pizarro
Indeed, sire, but alas, my wheels are worn
& all my riches dissipated, sire,
As Don Diego’s has – we’re both in debt,
& heavily – if money could be found
We are prepared for more expeditions
In the name of Charles, Spain & Saint Peter.

King Charles
What do you need my fine conquistador

Don Pizarro
Provisions, soldiers, horses, ships & arms
& beg your majesty another thing
I wish to be the royal governor
To compensate for hardships undergone
& yet to be endured

King Charles
This shall be so,
My governor & my chief magistrate,
You shall discover me new settlements
& make me others with wide streets & squares
Where churches bearing the cross of Jesus
Are the brave blanch’d beacons of Christendom

Don Pizarro
My King, you do me the noblest honour
America’s a place for living life
As we have fashion’d it from centuries

King Charles
I hear something of the Incan empire
It is very powerful is it not

Don Pizarro
It is great, my lord, a mass of nations
Held together by a single tribe
The ruling elite they call the Inca,
Every drop of sweat belongs to the state
Whose king is supremely omnipotent
Entitl’d ‘Sapa Inca’ who portrays
His pagan realm as Utopia found
On earth, but underneath a murd’rous veil
They are lunatics, disregarding life
Building a ruthless causeway of corpses
Of lives expendable

King Charles
Who is their King

Don Pizarro
His name Huayna, who has extended
The empire’s heritage to great extent
By all accounts a wise & noble klng
But, but

King Charles
Wise pause, speak up before your king

Don Pizarro
As Huayna grows old, his sons grow bold
Huascar, Atahuallpa are their names
Who swim against their father’s quality
There are loud rumorings of discontent
That part these feather’d princes, a wide gap
In which to pour the resources of Spain
I’ll write thy name in bloody characters
& for the empire claim the Incan realms.

King Charles
With God on your side what else could happen
As my superintendent designate
You’ll be supplied with all you’ll deem a need
&, Don Pizarro

Don Pizarro
Yes sire

King Charles
Spread justice
Tell all you meet if they accept my throne
They’ll be treated with upmost dignity
But if they do not

Don Pizarro
Yes, your majesty

King Charles
Kill them, kill all of them who dare dissent

Don Pizarro
Of course, your majesty

King Charles
You may leave, now
& God be with you, always

Don Pizarro
Majesty

King Charles
Don Pizarro

Don Pizarro
Sire

King Charles
Remember one thing
The end will depend on the beginning

Exit Don Pizarro

---

3: Cuzco

Huayna is on his death bed – it is silent – his son Huascar is there with Ekkoko & Apumayta – enter Chasca, Palta & Sachamama

Apumayta
Emperor

Huayna
Yes

Apumayta
Your wives are entering

Huayna
Then let me gaze upon them one last time
Let sacred lights of Inti shine their cheeks
Ah – Chaska, Palta, sweet Sachamama
I cannot think which one of thee to choose
So women woo my heart & tell me why,
Which of thee has to join me in my tomb

Chaska
My husband, we’ve shar’d so much together
The love of youth when foster’d into age
The supreme symbol of a knot of souls
Who else could ever match our darling depths

Sachamama
My love, listen not to this old lady
None would look better on thy royal arm
When you to life return, your youngest wife
Am I, & thus the prettiest by far

Palta
Great king, of all the conquests you have made
The day you took the palace of my heart
To rule this supple body as your realm
The gods decreed right then which wife would sit
Beside thee at thy portal of rebirth,
You’ll need my beauty, guile, experience
I still look young, but we’ve spent many years
Conversing easy, dancing fiestas,
Deliberating serious matters,
& making love under an Incan moon

Huayna
Chaska, you speak with such a clever chaunt,
It shall be thee

Sachamama
Great king let it be me

Chasca
Huayna, my love, what are you doing!

Huascar
Silence! Respect my father’s wishes, go,
Depart this place, & Chaska, you go too,
Prepare yourself for death, & dress your best

Exit Chaska, Palta & Sachamama

Huayna
Huascar, come near me, son, come hear me
Fear not the devils underneath my skin
These evil trickeries of the White Ones
Are… {cough}

Huascar
Father!

Huayna
When the throne is your own seat
The sons of every empire chieftain
Invite to Cuzco, tie them to our tongue,
For being here their fathers daren’t revolt

Huascar
I will do, thy counselwise respecting

Huayna
Huascar

Huascar
Yes

Huayna
Your brother

Huascar
What of him

Huayna
Within his territories let him reign
Tho’ supreme sapa thou, he’s still my son
The brawl of brothers is a futile sport

Huascar
But, father, I…

Huayna
Promise me Huascar
You will honour me, my orders, & my rule
Without these three you never would be king

Huascar
Forgive me, of course, I shall treat your son
As my own child, tho’ you have sired us both

Huayna
Good, good… my boy come closer, hear my words
Go visit the statues & the houses
Of our forefathers, your Great-Grandfather
Pachacuti yupanqui, & his son
Your grandfather, Topa Inca, listen
To the old songs of their famous exploits,
If anything is lacking there, provide,
& hold great feasts, perform sacrifices
& be the very best of Incan kings

Huascar
Father !

Huayna
I have lived this life

Huascar
Father, no !

Huayna dies

Ekkoko
Sapa Inca dies, Sapa Inca lives
Huayna is dead, Huascar alive
Salute the father, tribute to the son

All
We praise thee Huascar, our lord unique

Ekkoko
{crowning Huascar}
Here is your father’s borla, from his brow
Still warm from life, now in his death on yours
Now Topa Cuxigualpa is your name

Huascar
Leave all of you, I wish to grieve in peace

Exit all

Huascar
I will miss you father, thank you for life,
Thank you for love, & I promise thee
All thro’ my rule the empire will be large
&, prosperous, rest easy with the sun,
There happy be in Pacarina’s halls,
When mingling with our ancestors, where we
Shall meet in Heaven when I meet thee there

---

4: Panama

Don Diego is with Don Alverado playing chess / Enter Don Pizarro with his brothers Hernando & Gonzola

Don Pizarro
Don Diego del Almagro

Don Diego
Hah – so you have returned

Don Pizarro
Of course, to Panama & the project

Don Alverado
You might not receive a happy welcome

Don Diego
Indeed, there is a lingering canker
I am steaming with dissatisfaction
For having read His Majesty’s missive
Indignancy goes churning in my guts
You ! Made my governor ! we are equals !
While my financial outlay’s much larger
In all these explorative endeavors,
The act smacks of mad ridiculousness,
Or something more perfidious perhaps

Hernando
You dog! You insinuate trickery

Don Pizarro
Hernando, stay your tongue, Don Diego
My friend, my country comrade, I pled deep
Your case in court, but I was there not, you
& His Majesty has declined, for now,
To grant what you deserve, & who was I
To question his divine authority

Well, there we go, there’s nothing more to say
Upon a maim’d & imperfect judgement
Pizarro & King Carlo have condemn’d
Myself to distinct nothingness out here
Despite most strenuous determinations
To make Spain great

Don Pizarro
Please, pass me thy bible

Don Diego
A bible, & for what

Don Pizarro
Thank-you, my friend
I oathe & promise on this sacred book
If we can continue conquest onwards
Until the empire satisfied, I shall
Renounce the Chief Magistracy, & then
Petition His Majesty to confirm
The title’s transference to your favour

Don Diego
Hah – we have not come this far Francisco
To fall into some pit of civil strife
Hernando, & you must be Gonzola

Don Pizarro
Yes, these are younger brothers to me both

Don Diego
Welcome to Panama

Hernando
A pleasure to meet you Don Diego

Don Diego
This man is Don Alverado

Don Pizarro
Hello

Don Diego
Don Alverado grunts

Don Pizarro
For my mean brusqueness I apologise
I needed to relay my discontent

Gonzola
It is no matter, sir, we understand
Your status, & your station here respect

Don Alverado
You should have stay’d in Spain, Don Pizarro
Lunacy would be too gentle a word
Peru is godforsaken, to return
Means death to all but Spain’s luckiest son
I would not gamble my life’s breath again
Upon such chaotical cecity
As conquering the scorching equator

Hernando
The Roman empire not Ceasar’s alone
Augustus never knew its full extent
Such things as glory need the arc of time
On which to flourish, as the bolting colt
Tamed by an expert handler of the horse
So too shall all these lands of the Andes
Be temper’d by the mighty hand of Spain

Gonzola
So, we go again, Don Alverado

Don Alverado
You are mad, I will have no part of it
The precious porcelain of human clay
Lies brittle in these hands of brutal barb

Hernando
Then why remain still with this company
Depart & graze low pastures, while real men
To highest business of the realm attend

Don Pizarro
After-traces of awkwardness & doubt
Should be converted to cool ambition
Men died, will die again, but in the end
Peru will stand among the Spanish lands

Don Alverado
The end! When will that come! Our lifetimes? No!
I wish you luck, I do, but you’ll need more
Than luck, you’ll need God with you every step
I shall send letters to your families

Exit Don Alverado

Don Pizarro
We shall need stouter hearts than his

Don Diego
Indeed
But come, gentlemen, the ocean is vast
& you would have feasted on sprigs & seeds
Continents ne’er won on empty bellies
Let us eat, let us plan, let us parley
Today, there is much to be determined,
Men, if you’ll follow me, please, step this way

Don Pizarro
I have miss’d you old friend, how is life
Out here on the boundary of the world

Don Diego
As ever, as it was before you left
A paradise of sweat

Don Pizarro
Hah Panama!
In the New World there is nowhere like it

Gonzola
But after Panama, as soon as soon,
Let us see peruse the beauties of Peru

Don Diego
Your brothers are most eager, let us hope
Their thusiasms survive the jungle

Exit all except Don Alverado

Don Alverado
More fodder for the foolishness of greed

---

5: QUITO

A feast in the central plaza of Quito – Atahualpa is sat with his sister-queen, Coya Asarpay – they are wearing vermillion, the colour of the Incan Kings. Before them & around a totem pole full of jaguars, pumas & condors a “taqui” is in full flow – the dancers are male & female, their faces painted crimson with gold or silver bands, ear-to-ear, above the nose – one has a tambourine – there are also dancers with animal masks wearing animal skins & one dressed like a devil – the beat is played out by a huge drum mounted on the back of a male porter & beaten by a woman – music is provided by bone flutes, stone syrinxes, pan-pipes, trumpets & whistling jars – as they move around the totem pole the dancers take various steps forwards, backwards, left, & right, clapping & twirling as they go.

YA GOTTA LOVE THE MAN

Big up the Quito with my amigos
Adore Atahualpar wherever he goes
Him born among us, him always one of us
Happy & glorious singing the chorus – its

You gotta love the man !!
But he’s more like a god to us
So I’ll do what I can
Yes we will do what we can
To make him love us too
My lord (my lord) My lord
I’m so in love with you

When I saw his eyes
I’ve never seen no finer thing
Life’s a paradise
When Atahualpa is your king
Yes Atahualpa is our king

Where the old Guayllabamba flows like a tamber-
Rine to the beat of the queen o’ the samba
He is among us, him always one of us
Happy & watching us singing the chorus – its

You gotta love the man !!
But he’s more like a god to us
So I’ll do what I can
Yes we will do what we can
To make him love us too
My lord (my lord) My lord
I’m so in love with you

When I saw his eyes
I’ve never seen no finer thing
Life’s a paradise
When Atahualpa is your king
Atahualpa is our king

You are our everything

A conch blows – Coya Asarpay stands

Coya Asarpay
Citizens of Quito, subjects & kin,
As his sister-wife Coya Asarpay
I speak upon Atahualpa’s behalf
Such love as ours an endless summer makes
& so, on this day of Purucaya
We feast to celebrate the noble life
Of our shar’d father, & thine emperor
The Sapa Inca we call Huayna
From Tupac & Yupanqui descended
Let us add his legend to the noble rolls
Who stabiliz’d the distantmost frontiers
Civilized all countries we have conquer’d
Imposing laws & justice ever fair
Many of us here have walk’d the great roads
He laid out between Quito & Cuzco
To see the Sun Temple, newly rebuilt
With gold & silver plates lining the roof
But let us turn the pages of the years
Deeper in time, to when King Cacha reign’d
& conquer’d sought a just peace thro’ marriage
Therefore Princess Paccha of the Schyri
First met Huayna, fell in love at once
With him, her beauty heal’d him of warlust
& lovingly foster’d a family
Emblemiz’d by my brother-king & I
Who reverentially demand a toast
To King Huayna, father, emperor,
& Sapa Inca, vessels to the sun !

All
{raising glasses}
Huayna, Sapa Inca, glorious!

Coya Asarpay
These are the clippings from our father’s feet
& these are cuttings from his royal mane
& this an entrails from his belly drawn
Together they shall form a fair statue
To set up in a house in Qutio, where
All can still worship him as if alive

Enter Apumayta & Marichanchi with Chalcuchima

Chalcuchima
Your majesties

Coya
Tell us Chalcuchima
Who are these men

Chalcuchima
They are both ambassadors
From Huascar

Atahuallpa
Welcome, speak freely, please

Apumayta
Atahuallpa, we are come from Cuzco
Five hundred leagues along thy father’s road
Bringing your brother’s verdict on these days
We have heard you are very good-temper’d
Carry yourself with Royal Dignity
Therefore these words will nobly be receiv’d
Which we intend to say

Atahuallpa
Please, say them now

Apumayta
Before

Marichanchi
All the Incas know you are a bastard
That considering yourself an equal
To the true Sapa Inca, Huascar,
Insults your brother & the royal line

Apumayta
He wishes, nor bids, you swear allegiance
Command Quito a common curacas
Tho benefiting from fraternal love
You shall be favorite among his chiefs
As does befit a son of Huayna

Atahualpa
Dissatisfied am I of this discourse
My brother’s desperations, by thy voice,
Boasting his powers is an ugly thing

Apumayta
You dare offend the Unique lord again
These scraps are from the once elegant suits
Of fine hammer’d gold you sent to the king
He knows you wish to bribe the Cuzco lords
& so returns them torn & trampl’d all,
This the head of the noble who brought them
Flay’d into silent insignificance

Atahualpa
My brother’s a drunk, an amarucu
Gnawing on a thousand foolish things
Wife-stealing, he slays complaining husbands
Nobody dares to give him wise counsel
Else suffer his ego’s ferocity
Yet, one must act with grace against the crude
& I dare not betray my father’s will
Quito belongs to its ancestral line
My mother first inheritor of this
& while prepar’d to swear obedience
To Cuzco & my brother, this province
Lies far outside his primogeniture
Ambassadors of Huascar, hear me,
Take this message to him, yet with silver
& gold, Callucuchima go with them
& Quizquiz too, my valiant captains
Escort these men to Cuzco in safety

Marichanchi
Not just your captains – your entire army
Your brother has demanded this as well

Atahualpa
He what? my warriors? he wants my men?

Apumayta
Yes, every soldier that fights for you
Now fights for him, commands Sapa Inca

Atahualpa
Let us oppilate the northern borders
I must maintain an army in Quito
The frontiers & the warring tribes beyond
Are held in place by my meritous men

Marichanchi
My great lord said if this you did refuse
Reprove the dare, declare thee enemy
& state thou will be attack’d for certain
Let fierce & bloody war enforce his rights

Apumayta
& all of you who Quito calls a home
By this vile treason shall be attainted

Atahualpa
Then take defiance out of this grim mouth
Quito lies not within my brother’s realms
Depart in peace & tell Huascar this
The sullen presage of his life’s decay
Shall haunt me day & night, unless he veers
Unto understanding this possession
Is mine, always was, always shall be
Now be gone, delay this feast no longer

The ambassadors bow & depart

Atahualpa
This is a dark disturbance of the soul
My shadowselves are skulking at my feet
A reckoning is coming to these times
Commander of our armies, speak you first,
Your years & well proved valour carry weight

Coya
It would be wisest to reach agreement
With oour elder brother, Incan power
Will spoil & mold if rotten at its core

Atahualpa
But I could never fasten to such terms
Insulting to our father’s honour, no!

QuizQuiz
We should strike first, seize important places
A battle better fought on chosen ground

Atahualpa
Altho’ this war inevitable seems
Let rash, hot haste not hurry us to fight
As our vital mind responds to events
It drives our bodies, we are what we think
Making decisions twyx wrong & right
Should always be easy, our conscience king,
But sometimes intolerance crowds, corrupts
All our natural rationalities,
& then, when brains embattl’d agitate
Contorted, discordant, distorted thought
Destroys our harmonious decisions
I must retire

Coya
Brother

Atahualpa
Alone my love

Exit Atahualpa

Coya
The feast has ended, go back to your homes

Exit Coya

Quizquiz
What do you think

Chalchucima
It will be a long war
Especially when the pale-faced White Ones
Are now at Tangarala, riding sheep
As large as chinchona

Ruminagui
A sheep’s a sheep
& timid creature ridden by dumb fools
Whose tricks, explosions, might have terrifed
The Mayans & Aztecs to the north,
But Incas are of stronger fibers born
We’ll toss them from the Andes peaks, break bones
As down they’ll fall, to never more return

Chaluchima
Better to stay united, even so
Just in case

QuizQuiz
The Incas have a thousand
Warriors for every one they muster,
We could easily defeat Huascar
& later on destroy the Spanish host

Rumanagui
Enough – there’s still plenty of wine about
Now left undrunk

QuizQuiz
Ah! a terrible waste

Chaluchima
Yes, let us toast Huayna & his son
Atahualpa, our future Incan King

Exit all

---

6: An Indian village

The Conquistadors are lying about in pain & sickness – de Valverde is attending to the sick – enter Hernando & Felipe

Don Pizarro
How did you do Hernando, who is this

Don Pizarro
Tell him your name

Felipe
My name is Fellipilo

Don Pizarro
You speak Spanish

Felipe
Yes

Don Pizarro
How

Felipe
I’m from Tumbez
I learnt the language off the garrison
You once left there yourself Don Pizarro

Felipe
You know my name

Felipe
Your legacy is long

Don Pizarro
Hah!

Felipe
I can also speak Quechua, sir

Don Pizarro
Quechua

Hernando
It is the Incan language

Felipe
Since conquer’d by Inca Pachacuti
Quechua’s the second tongue of Tumbez

Hernando Pizarro
He’s been very valuable so far
On making inquiries of this sickness
Drew truth-hoods from a hiding native’s mind

Don Pizarro
Which are?

Hernando
Felipe, speak

Felipe
You have eaten crabs
Whom have partaken of the poison tree

Gonzola Pizarro
Mountains of trials, mires of miseries
This land is haunted by the devil’s own
Where this satanic epidemic endured
Of goblin warts, deep-seated verrucas

Pedro Catano
& getting to this desperation place
Jungles thick with rampant disillusion,
Leagues of treeless & waterless deserts
Wastes our vigour, as do wide estuaries
Which we must swim with all our gear in tow

De Valverde
Do not forget the mosquitoes, Pedro,
The most evil creation upon God’s Earth

Hernando
Indeed, o priest, why e’er He gave them life
I’ll never understand

De Valverde
No, you would not
The ways of God beyond the reach of minds
Made merely mortal by Him, let us thank
Him we are still alive, his purpose yet
Seems unreveal’d, but as we tread the roads
The gleam of truth grows nearer, we’ll survive

Don Pizarro
I am sure we will, Felipe

Felipe
Yes

Don Pizarro
Tell me,
What of the village governor, & why
There’s not a living soul among the huts
& all of them burnt down apart from his

Felipe
He & his people fled into the hills
Leaving behind the ashes of their lives
Obeying their commanders in Cuzco

Don Pizarro
In Cuzco, you mean the new Incan King

Felipe
Yes, Huascar is his name, he is strong

Don Pizarro
I am sure – so, Felipe, can you help us
& if you can, you’ll be awarded well
By his majesty imperial, Charles
We need good food & accurate guidance
Out of these god-forsaken pits of pain

Felipe
I can do all those things Don Pizarro
This is a bad climate – the next province
Guamcavilcas is a land of plenty
Lacuma fruits and waddling caimitos
Will serve a tasty banquet for your men

Valverde
This man has been sent to us from heaven
As I have said to all you all along
We are just agents of a divine force
Which swept across the ocean to fulfil
Some deeper destiny, to spread the word
Of Jesus & his sacred sacrifice
Whatever scourges we must here endure
Is nothing to his hardships on the cross
So, find your faith, conquistadors, & sing

MERCY

A-e-g-d

I see sometimes
I sense the essence of these seminal times
Sometimes I’m up where the sun always shines on my life
{Lord have mercy)

But I feel sometimes
I taste the flavours of these terrible times
I find im flagging when the sun never shines on my life
{Bring me mercy)

Lord give me mercy
Give me your mercy
When you’re waiting for mercy
O what in the world must I do

I see I feel
This things amazing but its terribly real
The futures coming but the devil is stealing our days
{Lord have mercy)

I feel, I see
This things incredible but getting to me
When future comes no-one knows if its been all staged
{Bring me mercy)

Lord give me mercy
Give me your mercy
When youre waiting for mercy
O what in the world must we do

All I can see is the end of the road
I want to die of my own accord
No one likes a sailor
To die on land with mud on his feet
I cant find a hope to hold onto
Don’t have a clue of where they’ve all gone to
No one likes a sailor
To suffocate so far away from the sea

Good men, calm down
Let’s find solutions to this merry go round
We’ll follow royal roads going to Cuzco town
{Bring me mercy)

Calm down, good men
We’ve hit the bottom but were close to the end
Because tomorrow we’ll be hearing the tender sound
Of mercy

Lord give me mercy
(Give me mercy)

Pedro
Felipillo, tell us of the Incas

Felipe
Beyond the straits of Huayna Capac
Begins their empire properly, these days,
However, them disunified,

Gonzala
& why

Felipe
They’re divided into warring factions
Huascar claims hegemony of all
But has a young brother, Atahualpa,
Who dwells in Quito, they have come to blows
Like toddlers squabbling over rattling toys
Now only one of them shall win the crown
The other brother destin’d then to die

Valverde
Another sign ! If they were unified
Our little force could never win the day
But that they battle at each other’s throats
Must be ordain’d by heaven, let us pray
Dear Father, who gave us life, who loves us
Thank you for making Inca fight himself
Their power like the leaves which brown on floor
Give us the strength to brush them all aside
When underneath, upon the land pristeen
We’ll build thy churches, raise royal standards
Enlarge thy Christendom in Jesus’ name
Thy son you gave to teach us of mercy
& merciful we’ll be to the Incas
Once they’ll accept thine article divine
Per Dominum nostrum Christum
Filium tuum, qui tecum vivit
Regnat in unitate Spiritus
Sancti Deus, per omni saecul
Saeculorum… amen

Conquistadors
Amen

Felipe
Amen

Don Pizarro
Felipillo

Felipe
Yes

Don Pizarro
Can you find us food

Felipe
There are dogs here, waiting for their masters
Hidden in the hills

Gonzala
Their meat is good

Felipe
Yes

Don Pizarro
Then that will have to do, Don Hernando
See to it, take any of my soldiers
With strength enough to hunt, on my command

Exit Hernando & Felipe

Gonzala
A moment Francisco

Don Pizarro
Yes, what is it

Gonzala
Optimism, promises, hope & faith,
This Incan empire sounds omnipotent
& we so very few & fading fast
Let us return with stronger forces soon
But better to renew our strength than fail
When under-strength, slain, never to return

Don Pizarro
Thick-eyed musing to melancholy leads
Do not be frighten’d, brother

Gonzala
I am not

Don Pizarro
There will be no turning back, we are few
But we are very strong in every way
& once this sickness passes we shall rise
& march upon the Incas as King Charles
Has order’d, let that be an end of it
Remember how the Portuguese seamen
Imagin’d that beyond Cape Bojador
Sea monsters swam thro sheets of liquid flame
Man are prone to habitate the unknown
With whispering images of terror
We shall defeat the Incas, mark my words

Gonzala
Brother, I am sorry e’er to doubt thee

Don Pizarro
From now on let us put our faith in God
& let him fill the weapons in our fist
The vitality of our bodies
& render spirits inviolable

Gonzala
Of course

Don Pizarro
Now let us go & hunt some dogs
Like when we children in Trujillo

Gonzala
We are a long way from Trujillo now
But my heart is at its happiest here
Yes, let us go & hunt these damn dogs down

Don Pizarro
Good man – a wager on the contest

Gonzala
Sure

Exit Don Pizarro & Gonzala

---

7: A Narrow Mountain Pass

Huascar is marching with a few of his men including Marichanchi & Apumayta – Huascar is wearing a golden tunic, a golden helmet & carries a golden shield full of feathers & war insignias

Apumayta
My lord I do not like this road at all
Why leave the army’s bulk & risk attack

Huascar
There’ll be no problem, Apumayta,
Beyond all that bustle & congestion
This road, tho’ steep, is quicker, yet narrow
Then high above the plains of Quipaipán
Spread under this rapid reconnaissance
We’ll see where Atahaulapa moves his men
While there’s a further bounty to this march
We need to be in Quasca by tonight
& fortify its walls, or let our foes
Reach them first, & aim warak’as at us

Marichanchi
This war we fight unsettles steadily
The traitor has taken Caxamalca
With forty thousand men there camp’d entrench’d
Twould better be to settle this elsewhere
We’ll never take that town, we should return
To Cuzco, gather superior force

Huascar
The traitor must be hunted down & slain

Apumayta
My Lord, all respect to your majesty
The importance of thy posterity
Depends upon a winning victory
But in this dark campaign you’ve lost so much
I am your only living general
& most of your veterans are slain
The army is shock’d & demoralized

Huascar
& the army will do as I command
{turns to soldiers}
Warriors, we march on Caxamalca

Warriors cheer – they begin to beat out a rhythm on wancara drums

Marichanchi
Hail to Sapa Inca, the Unique One
Generous his bounty, stormy his might
An enduring pillar of battlerage
Sing forever of his prowess & rage
A lion for valour dauntless in deed
Vanquisher of warriors, howe’er great

HUASCAR’S TRAP

We’re soldiers of Huascar marching off to war
Our wise & able master’s fighting to restore
His father’s sacred empire, & when they come ashore
We’ll push the dreaded white ones over equator
Hu-as-car, hu-as-car devoted are your boys
& we’ll march with you anywhere with pride & poise

Enter QuizQuiz & Rumanagui with many warriors

Huascar, Huascar – we’ve caught you in a trap
We’re promising your brother king we’ll bring you back
& we shall hunt you anywhere you’ll dare to flee
Just come with us without a fuss you’ll soon be free
Huascar, Huascar, no need to fight today
You’ll soon be back in Cuzco where the chullus play

There is a skirmish – Apumayta is slain, Huascar is captured

Huascar, this axe shall go slicing thro your neck
If just one of your soldiers comes out of the speck
That snaketh thro the valley, below us in the plain
So send to them your messengers, else die in pain
Altho’ they might outnumber us thirty to one
What use is such an army when its head is gone

Huascar is led away

Huascar, Huascar, must come with us today
Your army might be larger but its miles away
Huascar, Huascar, must come with us today
Your army might be larger but its miles away
Huascar, Huascar, must come with us today
Your army might be larger but its miles away

---

8: Paita

The Conquistadors are dining in Pizarro’s tent, which is made of boughs & palm leaves

Don Pizarro
How swift can change swoop in on shining wings
Twas just eleven days since when we squirm’d
In filth & hunger, waiting but to die,
& now… Paita’s perfect little port
The best on all this coast, a friendly place
Abundant with fresh foods of the district
Its position reachable easily by sea
From Nicaragua now re-supplied
With twenty men & seven stallions
Captain de Soto, welcome to host
& Caballeros, to our sov’reign toast

Don Pizarro
Eat

Gonzalo
It is most impressive, this progress
Spain has never known a greater extent

Don Pizarro
In honour of this we intend to found
A city on the banks of the Chira
So ships from Panama can safely berth
A native township call’d Tangarara
Shall be the nucleus

Captain De Soto
A native name?
Something more Spanish surely should befit
Our first true civic settlement betwyx
Equator & Capricorn

Valverde
San Miguel
The enemy of the fallen angels
He drove them out of Paradise, his blade
Admonishing the greed of Satanus,
The Incans are devils, so let them hear
The name of our martial archangel

Don Pizarro
San Miguel? Of course… any objections
Then San Miguel it is, a fine, strong name
It shall have a church, a hospital, houses
Of authority, each Conquistador
Shall have a stone brick’d villa handsome made
& Indians to run its quaint estate

Valverde
I want to build a monastery here
& bring Mercedarians from Seville
Whose bright, white habits shall dazzle our foes
Like lights of heaven, drawing them to Christ

Don Pizarro
You shall be given anything you need

Captain De Soto
I have a letter for you, Francisco
Don Diego de Almagro sent it

Don Francisco Pizarro
Give it here… what does the old dog want now
{begins to read it}

Gonzola
What does it say

Don Francisco Pizarro
He has built a large ship
Is almost ready to embark

Hernando
For where?

Don Pizarro
Here – with as many as he can recruit
He wishes to claim those parts of Peru
Which lie outside the boundaries assign’d
To me in the concession of our King

Captain De Soto
That was two hundred and fifty leagues south
Of the equator, right

Don Francisco Pizarro
He can have that
But something rankles worse in this letter
He stakes a claim to half the gold we find

Hernando Pizarro
Half the gold! The bandit!

Don Pizarro
But I’m afraid
The King decrees it so

Enter Pedro & Felipe with a local chief – Urco

Pedro
Caballeros

Don Pizarro
Pedro Catano, you are late for lunch

Pedro
My apologies, Don Francisco

Don Pizarro
You bring an Indian to my table
Why?

Pedro
He is the chieftain of Paita

Hernando
And? we can speak with him after we eat

Don Pizarro
No let him stay, he clearly needs to speak
Tears well within his eyes like empty bowls
Left in the rain outside, Young Felipe

Felipe
Sir

Don Pizarro
Do you speak his language

Felipe
Yes I do, sir

Don Pizarro
Extract from him the best account you can

Valverde
& Felipe, translate it accurately

Felipe
I shall
{he speaks to the chief}
His name is Urco… he says this
He was a great lord once, ‘til Old Cuzco
Came conquering, those crude Capucunna
Destroy’d twenty-five of his villages
& all who liv’d within them put to death
They’d even slice open pregnant bellies
Bring out the babes & slay them just before
They kill’d its mother, a mad massacre…
He says he will be happy to assist
To him the Incas just detestable

Don Pizarro
Thank him for his honesty, & inform
Him, he’ll now be the chief representative
Of his Imperial Highness from now
In this place, soon to be call’d San Miguel,
Tell him we shall be bounteous with gifts
Out of the sea they’ll come from far off lands
& all the richest pickings shall be his

Felipe
He thanks you & offers you his daughter

Don Pizarro
His daughter, tell him there’s no need for that
You may leave us now

Exit Felipe & Urco

Valverde
The Incas are beasts
The sooner we defeat them the better

Gonzola
Agreed

Hernando
How many are we now

At the last count
The Christians among us number thus
There’s sixty-seven horsemen, while on foot
We number one hundred & seventeen
Among them are three well-train’d bombardiers
& a squadron of keen-eye’d crossbowmen

Pedro
I’ve heard there are a million Incas
Arm’d to the teeth, all itching to despoil
Our Spanish skins

Gonzola
I’ve heard you are frighten’d

Pedro
Not frighten’d, a realist, we are few
They are many, there’s logic in caution

Don Pizarro
Anyone who wishes to stay behind
& build this town has my blessing, they shall
Be given Indians enough to aid
Their settlement, for San Miguel shall be
A vital link in the long chain to Spain
& needs to be completely protected
Spread the word among the men, next morning we depart
At nine, that they must make their choice by then
But I intend to advance & conquer
With such as stay with him, whate’er the count

Captain de Soto
My men will march with you Don Pizarro
We havn’t sail’d this far to idle sit
None of them have titles to go home too
The best hidaglos, but most are peasants
An artisan or two, in Spain they’re dust
But here they’re mighty fiefdoms in the flesh

Hernando
The Indians are rigid in the field
Their system of command depends on fear
Of whomever commands them, common sense
Is rarely used, just blind obediance
Compar’d to them each of us an army
Who exercises his initiative
Thro’ carefully co-ordinated plans
Our arsenal contains traps & treachery
Our tactics are Ceasarian in style

Gonzola
Let us march to their mad endamagement
our muskets have their bowels full of wrath
Ready to out spit iron indignation

Valverde
& whether we’re twenty or two hundred
Our victory has long been fate ordain’d
Indians are sinners, to purge their faults,
By higher spirits summon’d to this place,
Idolatrous practices, abhorrent
Customs, religious rituals
Are all the devil’s work, they sacrifice
Each other – no we have to defeat them
Irredeemably, so we can save them

Don Pizarro
& so we shall Vincenzo, let us toast
Once more, in brotherhood, to victory

---

SCENE 9: Cuzco

Outside the temple of sun

Ekkeko
Your imperial majesty, welcome
Huascar is no longer Cuzco’s king
This is his golden tunic, his helmet,
His shield & war insignias, all these
Were pluck’d from the defeated personage
Of your defeated body, so our lord
May have the honour of treading upon
The things & ensigns his enemies
Lord Atahualpa, Cuzco’s halls are yours
O Unique King, the lover of the poor
Son of the Sun, Zapalla Inca, heil!
This city is the Incan capital
The royal seat from where four well-built roads
To Cuntisuyu, Collasuyu lead
To Antisuyu, Chinchasuyu too
Out from this city of your destiny
Thine ancestors emanated glory
& so, as their successor, them ye’ll meet
Initiatory ceremony
Each of the Sapa Inca has peform’d
Are you willing, sire, to permi its rites

Atahualpa
Yes

Ekkeko
Bring out the Inca, Atahualpa
Take this anointed censor in your hand
Wave it until the smoke ascends, then ask
& you shall have your answers, but be brief
The mighty dead brook no long questioning

The first mummy is brought out

Ekkeko
This is Manco Capac, the first Inca
& founder of this wonderful city
He who brought together all the ayllu
& brought them here, to the Cuzco valley
& one-by-one defeated the three tribes
Who once dwelt here, the Alcahuisas,
The Sahuares & the Huallas and Alcahuisas,
& settl’d in the swamp between the streams
Where now the plaza lies most grandiose
& being settl’d in this famous place,
Wrought ire from larger, more powerful tribes
The Pinaguas & Ayarmacas
Confederated but were well repell’d,

Atahualpa
Spirits of my fathers,
The great burden of your empire, renown’d,
Has descended upon my bare shoulders
Most mighty Manco, founder of the line
Am I, in your eyes, worthy of command

Ekkeko
Mancu says you are welcome & worthy

Atahualpa
Father, do you approve

Ekkeko
Huayna says
Your brother broke the funerary bond
To rule in perfect harmony with thee
& has thus lost the crown, the angry gods
Ensur’d his fate, the other kings agree,
Sinchi Roca, Lloque Yupanqui
Mayta Cápac, Yahuar Huácac
& Pachacútec, he who builedth this
Great temple dedicated to the sun

Atahualpa
Tell them I humbl’d by the honour

Ekkeko
They hear… Atahualpa, King of Inca,
This was your father’s crown & now tis yours
{Ekkeko crowns Atahualpa}
This is the royal borla, crimson hued
A single strand is all you need to send
With messages, obeisance to ensure

Ekkeko clicks his fingers & the royal wives are brought out

Ekkeko
These were wives of Huascar, & all queens
Train’d in the graceways of regal manners
& of them you may have your pick; sire, choose

Atahualpa examines the wives, pauses at Cuxirimay

Atahualpa
What is your name

Cuxirumay
I am Cuxirimay

Atahualpa
You are very beautiful… I choose her
And this one… & her… execute the rest

Ekkeko
Of course your majesty, take them away

Atahualpa
Take her, Cuxirimay, to my chambers
But wash her first, I do not wish to smell
My brother’s flesh upon her

Ekkeko
As you wish

Exit Atahualpa

---

SCENE 10: CAJAS

Hernando & Captain De Soto enter the village of Cajas / There are women spinning & weaving / there are three men hanging upside down from a tree

Hernando
What evil is this hanging trinity
This despicable Incan Calvary
Felipe ! ask these women what here occur’d

Felipe converses with the women

Felipe
They say ‘tis the will of Atahualpa
The middle one snook in the regal nest
& took advantage of one of his wives
The guards, who let him in, hang either side
& I would not want to be related
To any of them, their poor families
Are destined to be massacr’d entire

Felipe
Hither off, find me the village cacique

De Soto
These not the first to die of woman’s lust
But look, the way they go about undress’d
Those dark & dusky deer-eyed damsel does
Enough to prise the passions of a priest
I’ve loved the pretty maidens of the Tagus
I’ve kiss’d the blissful beauties of Madrid
I’ve even broken Barcelona hearts
Alack, the crucifixes round their necks
Were wards of deft protection from the flesh
But here, the flesh, the skin, the nipple hues,
Tis Eden, still, before the applefall

Hernando
There will be time enough come the conquest
When we shall wive ourselves into old age
For now, let us avoid their distractions
& focus on the massive task at hand
The spirit of Atahualpa is strong
& must be broken, else we shall return
As empty-handed fools, if still alive

De Soto
There’s nothing wrong with looking, Hernando,
Anticipation is half the passion

Felipe returns with Titi, the village chief

Felipe
I have found him, the cacique

Hernando
Excellent

Chief brought out

Hernando
Ask him of Atahualpa’s whereabouts

Felipe speaks to the chief – there is silence

De Soto
Speak up man, nay, just speak, what holds the tongue
Solemn preoccupation scythes thy face
With troughs of apprehension goug’d by fret
Felipe, tell him to speak else tortur’d be

Felipe speaks with Titi – this time he responds

Felipe
He says he is afraid to speak with you
Now Chaluchima roams the provinces
Punishing with death Huascar’s allies
& killing those who with White One’s converse

Hernando
Tell him he is under our protection
& safe – when, on the Governor’s behalf
He & his people now gladly receiv’d
As vassals of the Spanish emperor

Felipe translates

De Soto
Ask him what he knows of Atahualpa

Titi speaks more to Felipe

Felipe
He says he is the thirteenth Inca

Hernando
Thirteenth – one’s luck must run out sometime
Tell him to tell us his story

Felipe
Yes sir,
His name is Titi, this village Cajas,
Whose bursting passions into plaints now pour
When Atahualpa came, he hid in fear
Igniting a great fury in the king
Slew four thousand of my five thousand men
& took three thousand women for his troops
Then stripp’d his wealth, planted higher taxes
Than ever the Old Cuzco or his son
Impos’d on them, combin’d

Hernando
Felipe, tell him
Those taxes now abolish’d in the name
Of Carlos, King of Spain

Felipe translates – Titi starts crying

De Soto
Is he alright

Felipe
He says that his children were sacrificed
Their youth made them the purest of beings
& being noble-born & beautiful
King Atahualpa gave them to the gods

Titi
Capacocha, capacocha

Felipe
All three
Of his children sent to Mount Ampato
Clad in the colour’d aksu tapestry
There drugg’d & clubb’d & left to freeze & die

Hernando
Poor soul, his face has been confused with tears

De Soto
A tragic tale… but, ask him does he know
Of Atahualpa’s military might

Felipe
He says there are two armies in your way
At the foot & summit of the mountains
& another one at Caxamalca
The largest force led by the king himself
Of fifty thousand men, or maybe more

Hernando
Caxamalca, is it far

Felipe
Ten days march
Across these spreading green peaks over there
He also notes that Atahualpa’s pride
Promises & boasts of Christian deaths
That none of you will leave his lands alive

De Soto
I well believe he is a great soldier
But tell this Titi my lord Emperor
The King of Spain, the Indies & the World
Numbers many great men as his servants
More powerful than your Atahualpa
My own brother, Don Pizarro, is one
Who has defeated mightier rulers
Than any of the Cuzcos

Hernando
I have it
Felipe, you shall go to Atahualpa
There guided by some of this old chief’s men
Ask him at once

Felipe
He says he can help us

Hernando
Good, good, & so my boy, listen to me
Tell Atahualpa how we Christians
Give good & noble treatment to caciques
Who share a proper peace with us, but those
Who dare attack we will obliterate
& tell him you are telling him the truth
According to everything you have seen
& tell him that if he treats us kindly
My brother shall be his brother, & shall
Favor him & aid him in his regions,
& in high state remain shall for all time
But if he chooses war, he shall be fought
& punish’d to the height of our pleasure
& kill’d just as the caciques of Tumbez,
Santago & all others who oppos’d
The march of Don Pizarro, & Felipe

Felipe
Yes

Hernando
In that same space act a spy inside
While speaking, assess everything you can
The qualities of weapons, men & mood

I shall, but I have many things to fear
The whims of Atahualpa are deadly

De Soto
{giving a musket}
Take this, as a token of our friendship
Make sure he hears its power, fire it off

Felipe
I shall do everything you ask of me

Exit Felipe & Titi

Hernando
Let’s hope that gun is never used on us

De Soto
There’s only powder for a ball or two

Hernando
Fifty thousand men at least, that’s a lot

De Soto
Better not to muse on simple numbers
The quality of arms decides the day

Hernando
Those mountains look treacherous for horses

De Soto
But ours are Christian horses, my friend
& the Lord’s with us, Hernando
Come, enough doominess & gloominess
Let us enjoy our dinner & the scene
This truly is a beautiful valley

Exit Hernando & De Soto

---

Scene 11: Caxamalca

Atahualpa is sat with his wives in the Royal Tent in the camp outside Caxmalca with his wives – Cuxirimay is singing The YMA Sumac song, Taka Rari

Atahualpa
Cuximiray, Cuximiray, my queen!
What joy you have given to the empire
Its emperor the happiest he’s been
To Heaven elevated by desire
Your face entices, as your neck enthralls
& if singing to your tynya’s pinions
Shaking your chajcha’s sea-shells & bead-balls
What freshness sweeps across these dominions
Invigorating beauty, when beheld
In such close quarters, hypnotizes minds
When all life’s weary niggles are dispell’d
By stunning vision as its glaze spellbinds,
Your pulchritude’s but worthy of a king,
& I am he, buzzing on the bee sting!

Coya Asarpay
Come & sit with us, my sister… a chair

Servants bring a chair out – Enter Purutu with Felipe

Purutu
Sire

Atahualpa
My good Purutu, who is this man

Purutu
He is the White Ones’ messenger, my lord

Atahualpa
Well, what does he have to say

Purutu
Step forward
Tell the emperor everything you know

Felipe
Great lord & king, praise God for this meeting,
Such mutual conference high honour
For poor Felipe from Tumbez, I am he,
Who travel’d with the Spanish to this land
Whom are so very powerful & brave
They have horses that gallop like the wind
& give men death with teeth & leaping hooves
Whose riders carry lethal lances long
& them who fight on foot have such sharp swords
That slice a man in two with single blows
Whose fire-shooters fling death from a distance
Whose enemies are ever slain in pain

Felipe gives Atahualpa a musket

Atahualpa
Is this a fire stick

Felipe
It is

Atahualpa
Very strange

Felipe
From them a simple message I’ll relay
They say if you’ll accept them as rulers
You will be permitted to reign in peace
As Incan king, but subject to their king,
But if you snarl hostilities in war
Annihilation is your just reward

Coya Asarpay
You dare to speak so brusquely

Curixamiray
Let him speak
He is only the messenger

Atahualpa
Of course
Return to the White Ones with my blessing
Tell them they can travel to this city
In perfect safety, that when they arrive
They shall find all Caxamalca empty
With lodgings to suffice a Prince of Spain
While I’ll make camp beyond its walls, once
Ensconc’d, let deliberations ensue
As to the future status of my realm,
Purutu – give him everything he needs
To give his journey comfort,

Purutu
Of course, sire

Atahualpa
& go with gifts, there’s goosemeat skinn’d & dried
Aplenty in the stores, & give them wine,
& milk, & sheets of silken comfort clean
& take them seven baskets full of fruit
Guava, Caimitos & Guayba
Egg fruit, sweet potatoes, albondigas
& Yuca for to make Cassava bread

Purutu
All shall be done, & well
{to Felipe}
You, come with me

Exit Purutu & Felipe

Curixamiray
That man had a curious countenance

Coya Asarpay
He is a dog, Tumbez provincial pit
& please Curixamiray, stay your tongue
Your inexperience effects discourse

Curixamiray
My inexperience

Coya Asarpay
Yes

Atahualpa
Be silent

Coya Asarpay
But

Atahualpa
No! both of you haste yourselves away
I wish to play with Inkasisa now

Exit Coya Asarpay & Cuxirimay

---

Scene 12: Caxalmaca

The Spanish arrive in Caxamalca square to the sound of trumpets – the square is deserted

Don Pizarro
Cease the song of sennets, as sole tenants
Of this city, surplus sound… deserted,
Why?

Gonzola Pizarro
I do not trust the Inca, brother

Valverde
Perhaps this is a trap, & thus our tomb

Don Pizarro
The truth soon subsentient, lets inspect
Each house, make sure we are truly alone
Keep the horsemen fasten’d in their saddles
Battle-ready, ‘til when we feel secure

Pedro
Well, in practical terms, Don Pizarro
There is no better position than this

Don Pizarro
Father De Valverde, what day is this?

Valverde
The fifteenth of November, a Friday,
The year of our lord, fifteen thirty two;

Hernando Pizarro
On this day of heavenly endeavor
I feel as if Phoenicians Pillars pass
Before even Cadiz was ever built,
Or if Vasco de Gama has landed
In India, incessant labors drawn,
But we are Spain, Islam now not alone
In such an adventurous enterprise
The Andes are like their Himalayas
The arid Chihuahua their Sahara
But we command the ocean every side
Such is the limpieza de sangre
Which flows thro all our progress

Enter Captain de Soto

De Soto
They are here

Don Pizarro
What prospect from the battlements, Captain

De Soto
Their camp is on a mountain’s lower slopes
A league or so away, so many tents
I’ve never seen so many in my life

Don Pizarro
Is Atahualpa’s among them

De Soto
Yes, sir

Don Pizarro
Will you go there & request a meeting
With me, in Caxamalca, tomorrow

De Soto
Of course

Don Pizarro
Take twenty-five horsemen with you
& when presented tell the Inca this
I will not assign Christians quarters
Until we know Atahualpa’s pleasure
Where they should lodge, & in his mind instill
A great desire in me that we’ll be friends

De Soto
But what if there are tensions, & combat
Erupts

Hernando
Do not pick a quarrel captain
However critical the disturbance
& hard you are provok’d, with priestly peace
& calm ambassadorial conduct,
Pursue your negotiatory talk
‘Til its satisfactory conclusion

Gonzola
Some waste their lives, yet some their time redeem
To be the first among us who shall speak
With Atahualpa, is a great honour

Don Pizarro
Go with the ambitions of our glory

De Soto
I shall not let you down, Governor

Don Pizarro
Good

Exit De Soto

Valverde
Conquistadors, let us together pray
For the success of Captain de Soto

Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto. Sicut erat in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis. Agnus Dei, qui tollis peccata mundi: miserere nobis. Agnus Dei, quitollis peccata mundi: dona nobis pacem. Contra nequitiam et insidias diaboli esto praesidium. Imperet illi Deus, supplices deprecamur: Satanam aliosque spiritus malignos, qui ad perditionem animarum pervagantur in mundo, divina virtute, in infernum detrude. Amen.

Amen

---

Scene 13: THE MEETING

The Incan camp – Atahualpa’s apartments, a gallery looking down on a garden – walls are plaster’d with bright red bitumen – wood stained with same dye – Atahualpa is sat on a low seat at the door of the lodging – there are many caciques around him including the royal concubines – these have their faces hidden behind masks of beaten gold, their gowns adorn’d with precious stones, their bodies shaded by canopies – Enter Ciquinchara

Ciquinchara
Your majesty

Atahualpa
Are you Ciquinchara

Ciquinchara
I am

Atahualpa
You’ve spent time with the Spanish, yes

Ciquinchara
I have

Atahualpa
Tell me, are they truly the gods
Have you seen any miracles perform’d

Purutu
If they are gods, give them obedience
To make you even more powerful, sire

Ciquinchara
They are not gods – they’re men & men only
When I first saw them I was frighten’d true
& felt that they were gods but very soon
I watch’d them conversing with my people
& do no harm to any one, but those
Who tried to give them harm

Marichanchi
Where is their realm

Ciquinchara
At the far ends of the earth

Atahualpa
Well, these must be
The gods who live at the ends of the earth

Apumayta
How many are they

Ciquinchara
Two hundred, or more

Atahualpa
Well, now they are firm in Caxamalca
& some of them are due any minute
So, you shall translate for me, you do speak
Their tongue, I was led as much to believe

Ciquinchara
I speak enough

Coya Asarpay
Tell us, how do they look

Ciquinchara
These men come so well cloth’d no skin appears,
But for the hands & their half-bearded faces

Inkisasa
Would they consume our flesh if they kill’d us

Ciquinchara
The only meat I’ve ever seen them eat
Are sheep & lambs & ducks, deer & pigeons

Marichanchi
They’re not worth the shit that drools out their arse

Purutu
Whatever they are, whether gods or shit
They are now here

Atahualpa
Let them enter

Purutu
Yes, sire

Enter Captain de Soto, Hernando & Felipe with Ruminagui

KING OF THE INCA

He’s Atahualpa
(please dont look at him)
Atahualpa
(dont go anywhere near him)
Atahualpa
(you be dead if you do that)
Atahualpa
(with your head on a brushmat)

He is A-ta-hu-al-pa he is the King of the Inca…

Atahualpa
{standing}
White Ones welcome to my country
So very welcome to be here
As long as you’ll accept that I am your lord

He is A-ta-hu-al-pa he is the King of the Inca…
He’s Atahualpa

Atahualpa sits down – Ciquinchara speaks to Felipe – a look of love passes between Cuxirimay & Felipe

Ciquinchara
You may speak to the emperor, captain

De Soto
Through you

Ciquinchara
No, thro’ Felipe, he better speaks

De Soto
Tell him my name is Captain de Soto
Hernando de Soto, the governor
Of Spain’s empire is in Caxamalca
Who sends me here today to visit thee
To say how much desires he to see you
& greatly shall be pleas’d if you’ll agree
To go tomorrow into the city
& there become his friend, what say you sir

Felipe translates – Atahualpa does not answer – speaks to Ciquinchara instead

Ciquinchara
He says if seeking peace why cometh arm’d

De Soto
Say we have a right to defend ourselves,

Felipe
Defend yourselves? or indiscriminate
Slaughter, Maizabilica, speak your truth

Maizabilica
He was on the Zuricara river
When the Spanish ill-treated its caciques
Wrapp’d their limbs in chains, & about their necks
Slung collars of the heaviest iron
Then slit their throats in outrage heinous

Felipe
Sire, this is Hernando Don Pizarro
Who assures his majesty these men were held
In just constraint, as due to criminals
Such as stole on us in the secret night
& murder’d three men & stallions slew
A rogue operation, I am quite sure
Your majesty would never have deign’d it
But if he did Hernando says this,
His brother’s Don Pizarro, a great man,
Whose promis’d fair treatment to the peaceful
But will attack until he has destroy’d
All foolish enough to make war on him
& likewise, the enemies of his friends,
Shall also be obliterated, so
As to be Atahualpa’s friend seeks he
& if that friendship seal’d just say the word
Then he would ride to face & fight thy foes
Upon his mighty battlesteeds of war

Ciquinchara
Hi majesty is happy you are here
& wishes friendship also, as the ways
Of Inca celebrate such amity
The company shall drink

Atahualpa orders female servants to get the drinks

Hernando
We’d rather not

Felipe
{to De Soto)
You must, there’s no choice, insults are treason
If Atahualpa bids a man to drink
If he does not he’ll never drink again

Ciquinchara
He says four marches from this royal camp
There are many rebellious subjects
Still to his brother loyal, all despite
Him being Sapa Inca… these must die –
If the Governor wants to be his friend
His men shall march with yours to slay traitors

Hernando
You warriors are better off as guards
However large an army they could field
The rebels will be destroy’d easily
By only ten Christians on horses

De Soto
Your soldiers are unnecessary, sire,
Except, perhaps, to search for those conceal’d

On hearing the translation Atahualpa laughs

Ciquinchara
He says he’ll discuss all this tomorrow
With the Governor

Enter Ekkoko women with gold cups, 8 inches high, full of wine – each woman drinks from her cup before passing it on to the Spanish & the caqiques & returning to her place

Ekkoko
Friends of the Inca
The seeds of amity planted today
Shall into friendship flower by the morn

The drinks are down’d – Atahualpa summons a woman who offers him her palm into which he spits

De Soto
Your majesty, there is another point
On which my Governor your word awaits

Ciquinchara
He says speak

Hernando
Our lodgings in the city
He wishes not your hospitality
Offended, by some sacrilegious act
Perform’d in ignorance to Incan law

Ciquinchara
Lodge where you want, except the well-built fort
Beside the square, leave that a neutral space

De Soto
Thank him

Ciquinchara
He says to take another drink

Hernando
We must refuse his generous offer
The Governor did not grant permission
For us to dawdle in a drinking bout
His anger’s goat is not worth the pricking

Atahualpa gestures to the women

Ciquinchara
He says take another drink – he insists

De Soto
It is a very decent beverage

Hernando
Very well, we’ll consume another draft

Ciquinchara
There’s something else he wishes to ask you

Hernando
Yes

Ciquinchara
He’s heard many damaging reports
That say as you ravag’d his provinces
Many gold & silvers have we stolen
& says to tell the Governor, before
They can be friends he wants it all return’d

De Soto
Tell Lord Atahualpa, with all respect,
Go cautious with his visionary brain
Tell him Don Pizarro is a good man
& will alleviate his discontent

The drinks are brought out once more – Atahualpa holds out the vessel for a moment then drains his glass – the Spanish follow suit

Ciquinchara
He says tomorrow he’ll be very pleas’d
To meet the Governor & be a friend
Of Christians, since they are all good men

Hernando
Thank him for allowing us this time
An honour we shall entreasure always

Ciquinchara
He says there’s a chamber in the courtyard
Where he shall lodge tomorrow, keep it free
But anywhere else in Caxamalca
Is ours, & all within, to aid our stay

Hernando
Thank his majesty

De Soto
It is time to go

The Spanish & Felipe withdraw with a bow

Atahualpa
Ruminagui, I should end your life now

Ruminagui
Your majesty

Atahualpa
Why did you not kill them

Ruminagui
But, but

Atahualpa
I am very upset

Ruminagui
But sire,
We dared not attack, for if they escaped
Whatever plans we would have tomorrow
Would be corrupted, they’ll all be captur’d
In the trap of Caxamalca

Apumayta
My lord
The Christians are not good warriors
We could defeat them with a hundred men
& we are fifty thousand

Maizabilica
He’s right, sire
The White Ones are few & very lazy,
Tiring easily, must ride giant sheep
They call horses

Coya Asarpay
Are you sure we will win

Ekkoko
For as long as the dawn comes each morning
The children of the sun shall hold the throne
Their children after them throughout all time
& from failure are forever immune

Atahualpa
Take alive as many as possible,
Some to be castrated, then guard my wives
& as our custom is the rest shall die
In solar sacrifice to thank the gods
But now the drink turns weary, let us sleep,
& energize our best for the contest

Atahualpa enters his house – the rest of the Incas are reverential – the queens also exit

Ruminagui
It is a fine moon tonight, like the one
We saw that night oer the Quipaipán plains

Purutu
I hope you are correct Ruminagui

Ruminagui
I cannot for tomorrow wait to face
Pathetic & proselytizing scum
Cough’d up by the sick goddess of the sea
Let our greatest indignation prevail
Perfervid, as we spring the spider’s trap
Their fire-sticks are few, our spears galore
So, let them come, when we shall kill them all

Maizabilica
Our victory is certain

Apumayta
Yes, it is!
So let us clean our mean macana clubs
& we will see how much fresh blood we’ve spill’d

Exit Ruminagui, Apumayta & Maizabilica / Quicihincara follows

Ekkoko
I do not like the omens I have seen
I fear for Atahualpa tomorrow

Purutu
What could we do

Ekkoko
Suggest to him to hide
In the province of the Chachapoyaqs
In a place called Labando, wait there ‘til
The White Ones wilt away

Purutu
I will ask him
But cannot imagine the concession
Of Caxamalca

Ekkoko
His pride is too strong
& alas, that shall serve a swift downfall

---

Scene 14: Caxamalca

Caxamalca square – the Spanish are waiting – enter Felipe

Gonzola
This is a sunny day, the sun feels good

Don Francisco Pizarro
I sense we hold the bulldog by its leash
It pulls & jerks & gnashes but is ours

Don Pizarro
I sense the same but still this day’s in doubt
Immortal fame & infamy are sired
By Destiny, whose pre-determin’d moods
No man can know until he’s on the verge
Of triumph, or mud-trampl’d in the dirt

Enter Felipe & an Incan woman

Felipe
Governor Don Pizarro

Don Pizarro
What is it

Felipe
This girl is from my very own village
She was enslaved by Atahualpa’s men
& snook away this morning, risking death
With information on the treachery
Awaiting us today

Don Pizarro
What does she say

Felipe
She says to run away, you all are doom’d

Hernando
Doom’d!

Gonzola
What perfidy is this

Don Pizarro
Tranquilo
It was to be expected after all
Titanic struggles lurch to denouement
There’s only this single variable
How ready are our arms

Gonzola Pizarro
We are ready
The men secreted secretly about,
While all our cannons train’d upon the mass
Of men that move towards us this morning

Don Pizarro
How many

Gonzola Pizarro
I would say thirty thousand
Each wielding spears as long as Spanish pikes

Valverde
Look

Don Pizarro
Steady your weapons, cabalerros

Enter Quiz-Quiz – he speaks with Felipe

Hernando
What does he want

Felipe
He says because you came
To Atahualpa’s camp baring your arms
Then he shall do the same with an escort

Don Pizarro
Tell him that the king might come as he likes
& when he does a brother shall he be

Felipe & Quizquiz converse

Felipe
The king suggests he’ll be sequester’d
In the House of the Serpent, a statue
Within provides the name

Don Pizarro
It shall be so

Felipe & Quizquiz converse / exit Quizquiz

Don Pizarro
& so, the stage is set, the hour is hot
Today the Spanish conquer the Inca
My distant cousin, Hernando Cortez,
Massacring the people of Choula
Did Montezuma sieze, after that day
The peasants, hidaglos & artisans
Of his little, unentitl’d army
Burst thro’ Iberia’s rigid strata
& founded priceless fiefdoms of their own

Valverde
It is all because they carried the cross
& are the vanguard of Emmanuel
The Indians have sinn’d, so we must purge
Their faults & all their pagan progeny
Deliver irredeemable defeat
To sacrificial rites of human flesh
Idolatrous practices, abhorrent
Customs & sexual depravities,

Don Pizarro
The Indians fight in a rigid host
Following, like catterpillar’s legs,
Their captains crowing orders, if we slice
The head off that vast host the rest shall fright
This is my plan, to seize Atahualpa

Gonzola
How

Don Pizarro
A co-ordinated battleplan,
Of course, & carefully executed
Our arsenal contains traps & treachery
If we can snatch the king, then spring surprise
Of deathly blows upon his men, morale
Will plummet to the panic-pits of rout

De Soto
If, buts & maybes, the scourges of fate

Gonzola
Are you afraid, then, Captain de Soto

De Soto
Of course not, just concern’d, there’s no escape
For those without a horse, if things turn sour

Hernando
Then this day’s another in the Indies
Small-pox, eruptions, floods & privateers,
Famines & cyclones & murd’rous revolts
But thro’ them all the bold Conquistador
Pour’d waters of the oceans thro’ our roars

Enter Pedro

Pedro
Sir, the King is very close

Don Pizarro
This day’s work
Is about to begin, let us go
& arm ourselves in strictest concealments
Restrain your men when the enemy here
Until you hear the fire of Spanish guns
Then rush the plaza with speed & fury
Coming out fiercely, fight them steadily
& when you charge take care that the horses
Avoid all collisions, we must be seen
As a brutally unstoppable force

Valverde
This is the intercession of our lives
Men, I exhort you to display courage
For it shall make a fortress of your hearts
Since you have no other, & no other
Help except from God who aids his servants
In keenest moments of their greatest need
Since the Divine will must ever favour
Such important, necessary enterprise

Don Pizarro
& there is one firm thing to remember
We need to take Atahualpar alive
Vengeance the only force that masters fear

De Soto
It shall be done

Don Pizarro
& God be with you all

Exit all – enter Atahualpa carried by men in blue livery – the litter is litter lined with multicolour’d feathers & gold/silver plates – he is preceded by singing Incas in red & white chequer’d livery wearing gold & silver crowns – two carry banners on lances – they clean the square of straw as they proceed – Atahualpa orders silence

Atahualpa
Well, what has become of the bearded ones

Chalcuchima
They must be hidden sire

QuizQuiz
They are frighten’d

Ruminagui
Wait, there’s one, with the traitor who translates

Enter de Valverde with a bible in hand, & Felipe

Chalcuchima
You, who speaks the tongue of the White Ones

Felipe
Yes

Chalcuchima
Where is their principle cacique

Felipe
He waits
In his lodgings, invites Atahualpa
There to dine

Atahualpa
Well, tell him these things first
We will not leave this place without a vow
To restitute all that he has usurp’d
Across these realms, all property purloin’d
Must be restor’d to its rightful owners

Atahualpa rises up in his litter & gestures to hi men to draw their weapons / Felipe translates to Valverde who responds with Felipe translating intermittently

Valverde
What is this soaring, caustic insolence
Atuahualpa, king of Inca, repent!
The spirits ye call gods are nothing but
The strangest creations of pagan minds
No – let me tell you of the only God
Who made us Earth & Heaven & devode
His sacred omniscience into three;
The Son, the Father & the Holy Ghost !
Of how he form’d our primal ancestors,
Made Adam His first man who trod the world
Who gave to God a rib, from which there grew
His womanlove, fair Eve, of Eden green,
Of whom we’re all engender’d, you & I
Their features share, their marrowbones & blood
Alas, in fruity disobedience,
From Paradise rejected, centuries
Of epic generations slowly pass’d
Until, at last, our Lord, in His mercy,
Now Knowing Humankind could not achieve,
Following faultless lives of good events,
The grace of seeing Him up in Heaven,
Sent Christ the Redeemer via virgin
To save us all, from passion-thorns, thro’ death,
Resurrection & blessed Ascension,
Leaving the world evangelical laws,
Led by his representative on Earth,
Saint Peter first, the rock that Jesus knew,
& follow’d on the Popes in succession
Down to this day, administering truth
From regal Rome, of distant Italy
Who to the kings & princes of Europe
Entrusted each with Christian conquest
& thus, this vast Peruvian province
Was given to his majesty in Spain,
In whose great name Governor Pizarro
Given the task this day shall satisfy
Surrender yourselves & souls to Jesus
Treat Don Pizarro as a living saint
Who says, if you choose to believe, receive
The waters of baptism, & obey
This awesome government of Christendom
His Majesty will act thy defender
Maintaining peace & justice thro’ thy land
As in all other countries who’ll accept
His rule, without the risk of cruel war
But if, Prince Atahuallpa, ye should spurn
Such an offer of dignity in peace,
The governor is free to raise his lance
& drive it deep into your beating heart.

Atahualpa
You say we are pagans, but I listen’d
To thy tale intently, & all I heard
Were subjects teeming with absurdities
What makes you think these lands belong to Spain
My father & his ancestors took them
Where were your beards & boats when then we bath’d
In all the blood of fighting’s sacrifice
Since when we’ve held hereditary rights
That to Huascar came & then to me
As he’s my familial prisoner
I am Atahuallpa, King of Inca
& as for your Saint Peter, who is he
Decreeing lands that Oceania parts
Belong to other Princes – not at all,
His powers hold no significance here

Valverde
That is a very foolish utterance

Atahualpa
I own my thoughts – as for your Son of God
& how he is his father all the same
I never have heard anything like it
God is the sun, look there he is, so bright
Life prospers in His rays, there, that is God

Vaverde
Blasphemer! Ye confounded troglodyte!
Your perpetual damnation assur’d,
The sun was created for us by God,
But is not God

Atahualpa
Where is your proof

Valverde
The truth
Is written in this book call’d the Bible
The Lord speaks here, voicing sacred scriptures
Thro the mouthpiece of his son, Lord Jesus

That cannot be, I am the sun’s own sun
& the sun is god, if Jesus his son
We would be brothers – yet I know him not

Chalcuchima, QuizQuiz & Ruminagui
Yes, Atahualpa he is our only lord

Atahualpa
Let me peruse this little book of yours

Valverde
Adam is in the text of Genesis
That beginneth this beautiful Bible
Jesus comes later, in the four Gospels,
Whose perfect, glorious earthly sojourn
Witness’d by saintly Matthew, John, Mark, Luke

Atahuallpa
{turning the pages slowly}
Is this the word of God, to me it speaks
Nothing –
{throws Bible to the ground}
In fact it does not speak at all

Valverde
Ye fiend ! Demon dog ! At them ! At them !
Christians, on you I call to avenge
This insult to the name of Jesus Christ

A gun is fired from the ramparts at the Incan army – the Spanish attack the plaza – Felipe flees

Valverde
Jesus, King Don Carlos & Pizarro!
Draw strength from honour, safety from prayer
Advance ! Advance ! Fate’s blessing closes fast
Maintain the day, slacken not from slaying

Atahualpa’s litter is attacked & slash’d, its bearers slain, some losing arms & using bleeding, mutilated stumps to support him – Atahualpa receives a wound to the ear Don Pizarro grabs his hair throws him to the ground, putting a knife to his throat – at this point his warriors become frozen in disbelief, mesmerized by the sight of their living god in captivity

Don Pizarro
Back ! Back ! All of you get back, else I’ll slit
Thy king’s naked throat – Atahuallpa lives
Or dies on your choice
{To Atahuallpa}
Do you want to live

Atahualpa cannot understand Don Pizarro

Don Pizarro
Where is Felipe, get me Felipe

Pedro
Yes sir

Atahualpa’s warriors begin to surround them led by Ruminagui

Don Pizarro
Back, back I tell you, or your king shall die
(to Atahualpa}
You shall be slain if they take one more step

Don Pizarro urges on Atahualpa the urgency of the situation without words – Atahualpa stills his soldier with a wave of his hand

Enter Felipe

Don Pizarro
Tell the king he is now our prisoner
His states are forfeit to us & to Spain
That his army must leave Caxamalca
If they do not I will slice off his head

Felipe translates Atahualpa orders his men to withdraw – the Spanish soldiers start pushing them back – some begin shooting – the Indian drop their weapons & begin to rout

Don Pizarro
Captain De Soto, let the hunt begin
Slay all you come across, no mercy hold
We have the head, lets strip the serpent’s scales
& you Atahualpa, Felipe, tell him
Let’s turn his defeat into victory
When, proud partner of imperial Spain,
All honour will be given to his reign

Felipe translates – Atahualpa nods / Don Pizarro passes him to Pedro

Don Pizarro
Take him, keep a musket keep deep in his back
& take him to my lodgings to await
This day’s fair outcome by heaven ordain’d
Whose grace of God has given us glory
As he gave us his son, to victory

The Spanish cheer in celebration

---

Scene 15: The royal apartments of Caxamalca

Atahualpa is meditating – enter Hernando & Felipe

Hernando
Your majesty… ask him if he’s content

Felipe
He says he is

Hernando
& the wound to his ear

Felipe
He says it is healing, the pain has gone
He wonders on his wives’ whereabouts

Hernando
Tell him that they are safe & very near,
That we went to his camp & found them there
With many costly treasures; silver, gold,
Emeralds, but the beauty of his wives
Were jewels without price

Atahualpa laughs at the translation

Felipe
He wants to know
If ever he shall see his treasures, both
Flesh & precious stone, both cherish’d by him

Hernando
His wives, when all is settl’d, he shall see
His treasures now the property of Spain

Enter Don Pizarro & the Valverde carrying a bible & an Incan idol

Don Pizarro
Is he well?

Hernando
Yes brother

Don Pizarro
Felipe, listen
Please tell the king these words as best you’ll hear
Upon these unruly moments in time
Two destinies convergent, his & mine,
& thro’ this alchemy their springeth change
The nursemaid of humanity, so strange
When coming, our mind’s armour disturbing
Thro mankind its energy reverbing
But Change is necessary to convert
Grief into joy & happiness to hurt
& now, King Atauhalpa, change has come
On thee, the Incan leadership, your thumb
Releas’d from the jaguar’s jugular
The land’s you once posses’d have been wrested
Forfeited to the family of Spain
A wond’rous, worldwide, welter of nations
Ten thousand languages & dialects
A tapestry of famous architects
In Mesoamerica, the Mayas
Mosca & Aztecs, acknowledge my king
& made Castalian the common tongue,
As you will too, all of these lands once yours
Have come directly to the reign of Spain
& you will govern peacefully, as long
As you accept this change

Felipe
He says he does

Valverde
Tell him also this, our Lord Emperor,
Who is lord of the whole world, order’d us
To let the Incas understand our faith
In case good Christians they’d deign to be
This is my Bible, this is your idol
One word of God, the other rough-hewn stone
You fear this devil more than us, I know,
Not from devotion, but for augurs crude,
That fester on the tongues of your warlock

Don Pizarro
You’ve witness’d our Christian victory

Felipe
Perhaps, it was the judgement of his gods
That not enough respect to them was shown
He might have overstepp’d by mortal task
When dealing with his brother

Don Pizarro
Huascar

Felipe
Yes, that is his brother’s name

Don Pizarro
Where is he

Felipe
He is being held captive
By Atahualpa’s men

Don Pizarro
That will not do
I wish to hold all here, who might attempt
To raise an army thro’ kingly prestige

Felipe
He’s very well secur’d

Don Pizarro
Nevertheless
Have Atahualpa bring his brother here
To Caxamalca

Felipe
His majesty asks
When he shall be allow’d to leave this place

Don Pizarro
While armies are at large he will remain
In residence & royal comfort, here…
What says he now

Felipe
He speaks of so much gold

Hernando
Gold?

Atahualpa
Gold

Don Pizarro
You speak Spanish your majesty

Felipe
He says that he will learn your language soon
But gold the lingua franca of the world!

Hernando
What of the very excellence of gold?
That turns mens’ liquid promises to stone
That even sends our souls to paradise

Felipe
He says as the Governor’s prisoner
He hopes he will be treated properly
Says he possesses enormous riches
& knows the Spanish are hungry for gold
& so, to accelerate his release
He promises a ransom to fulfil
& fill up this tamba from floor to roof
With treasures summon’d from his realms, more gold
Than you have ever counted in your dreams

Don Pizarro
Is that so, how long will it take

Felipe
Two months

Don Pizarro
I cannot see how that might be acheiv’d

Felipe
He says he will send troupes of messengers
To all parts of his empire

Don Pizarro
His empire?
Remind him there’s no empire anymore
& all belongs to Spain, but very well,
I will accept this ransom, tho’ far-fetch’d,
& hope it appears here as so promis’d

Felipe
He says you should not doubt an Incan King
His reach, his power, & his gold is great

Don Pizarro
Very well, tell him he shall see his wives
Without partition, they might warm his bed,
As soon as we have seen first glimpse of gold
Beyond what we have taken already

Don Pizarro
Hernando stay here with Atahualpa
& Felipe, teach the king of Spanish ways

Hernando
Of course

Exit Don Pizarro & Valverde

Hernando
Felipe, pass me a sharpen’d stick
{Felipe gets the stick}
Tell Atahualpa this is Europa
& this is Spain & this the mighty sea
We call Atlantic, this America….

---

Scene 16: The apartment of the royal wives

Cuxamiray is playing a set of zampoñas panpipes– enter Felipe

Cuxamiray
What are you doing here

Felipe
What is your name

Cuxamiray
I am Queen Cuxamiray – & you are

Felipe
My name is Felipe – I am from Tumbez

Cuxamiray
Tumbez – are you not afraid to be here

Felipe
Terror is a stunning woman’s beauty

Cuxamiray
What

Felipe
I saw the way you were gazing on me

Cuxamiray
I gaz’d on you – hah – I did no such thing

Felipe
Yes, you did, not once, but every time
I came inside the king’s court to translate

Cuxamiray
What if I did, a look is just a look

Felipe
A look is not a look, a look’s a book
On which is written the story of love
Glances confess the secrets of the heart,
Intimate celebrations of desire
Lock perfect memories within us all
To some it is passion’s rogue explosion
To us it was the moment that our eyes
Enlock’d, as when the first ray of the sun
Skips oer Aconagua’s lofty peak
& lights our lovely land, there was a gleam
Of solar power in your pupil-shine
An oriental passion-lamp of love

Cuxamiray
Of love, what foolish nonsense you do speak

Felipe
Cuxamiray, your frowns are fairer far
Than smiles of other maidens are, when we
Lock’d eyes we magick’d joy & pain, both,
You felt it too, I know, & so you know
How I felt too, it took but a second,
As I thro’ Heaven’s gates did gladly go,
This iris a veil, eternal life lies
Behind, & when you see the soul once join’d
With yours, something exquisite breaths & falls
& all the glory of existence miss’d
Arrives at last, I know the stars by name,
& know the paths they take, my loving eyes
Gaze on thy form & cannot find its flaws
If ever they’ve existed

Cuxamiray
Stop this now

Felipe
Your words mislead, but your eyes cannot lie
Kiss me Cuxamiray, our lips must meet

They kiss

Cuxamiray
If you portray my eyes as beautiful
It is because they are looking at you
I see loving in your answering smile
You must be very brave my darling one
Tell me for truth the measure of your love

Felipe
When first I saw you first I felt love’s force
& all my petty previousnesses
Became the path until I’d fell in love
Thy being is my goddess, to the law
My services are bound

Cuxamiray
If bound to me
Why does thee tarry at the White Ones’ work
They steal from us & murder like daemons

Felipe
They are irresistible – as are you

Cuxamiray
Your flattery is reckless, how should I
Respond to such an insult from your rank

Felipe
But who would kiss the lips which insult them
You might be queen, but you’re a woman too

Cuxamiray
He doesn’t love me – I am a trophy
There are twenty women in this marriage
& his sisters favorites – I’m mere flesh
No soul nor substance, but a diadem
Of dull necessity to decorate
His reign & ego

Felipe
One more travesty
That ails us all beneath the Incan throne
Atahualpa is but a dim-eye’d fool
Not to fall in love with Cuxamiray

As ocean waves are crashing in on my Island phantasy
I like these signs of passion vibes That shine in front of me

Well she might want a whiter man & she might like the king
But when I sit beside her I’m the one who makes her sing

I know her heart is bossin’ it Its time to follow thro
With all those secret promises Our aching hearts withdrew
There is a gaze between two lovers When that love is true
O my darling sweet Curaximay I’m so in love with you

So, baby face my face Why waste another second on the chase
I know that you & me Are meant to be infinitely

I like the cauldron of your eyes That boil in front of me
It all some kind of salutary mystic hymnary

WelI might seem regality I might be a queen
But all thro my humanity No finer boy I’ve seen

& yes my heart is bossin’ it Its time to follow thro
With all those secret promises Our aching hearts withdrew
There is a gaze exchanged twxy lovers When that love is true
My foxy cocky fellipo Im so in love with you

Enter Queen Inkasisa

Inkasisa
What is he doing here… are you crazy

Cuxamiray
Its… we are… the thing is…

Inkasisa
Queen Cuxamiray, if ever the king
Would hear of this, he’d send the borla strand
To raze your village, slaying all who dwell
In thy precious, little Huamachuco,
& kill ten thousand people roundabout
& slaughter all the sheeps, sow fields with salt
Fell every tree, demolish every home
Do you want such destruction on your hands
Because of this thing who dines with White Ones
Go, begone vile slug-ling LEAVE THIS PLACE NOW

Evil yunga dog

Exact such a punishment that noknowlegde would remain of him his lineage & his nation

Cuxamiray
Haste yourself away
We’ll make amends on a friendlier day
& take care of your smile
A splash of sunlight flashing fertile

Felipe
{exiting}
I’ll wait for your signal, sing a sweet song
Deep in the forest & I’ll come to you

Cuxamiray
I beg thee, Inkasisa, breath no word
To anyone – he came uninvited –
T’would be you who slew my native country

Inkasisa
If I see him here again, I will tell

Exit Queen Inkasisa

---

Scene 17: The Royal apartments, Caxamalca

It is meal time / Atahualpa is being served by his wives & is eating from their hands – enter QuizQuiz

QuizQuiz
Your majesty, a cacique has arrived
From Huamachuco, baring bags of gold
Are you ready to receive him

Atahualpa
I am

Inkasisa licks Atahualpa’s hand clean – QuizQuiz brings in Huamanchoro & a porter who is carrying a bag of gold

QuizQuiz
Chief Huamanchoro of Huamachuco

Huamanchoro takes the bag, places it on his own back, takes it to Atahualpa’s stool then showers the gold at his feet / Huamanchoro then raises his hands to the air & is weeping

Huamanchoro
In the presence of my only master
I Heaven thank, for blessed is the sight
These tears I shed are fill’d with liquid joys
I love you, Atahualpa, adorate
{Huamanchoro kisses the hands & feet of Atahualpa who says nothing in response}
I trust my daughter has been good for you
To me she was a princess, thus a queen
She would have made quite naturally, sire
{Atahualpa is still silent, but looks around for Cuxamiray with his eyes noticing she was not there}
As I told the general we shall rise
As one arm’d mass, White Ones to terminate
When reveng’d upon the whole pack of them
The Inca shall resume their sacred rule

Enter Don Pizarro, Felipe, De Soto & Gonzola

Don Pizarro
What did he say

Felipe
I did not hear it sir

Don Pizarro
You two can leave

Dimisses QuizQuiz & Huamanchoro

Don Pizarro
I heard they’d brought you gold
Is this it

Atahualpa
Yes, some

Don Pizarro
You speak Spanish now

Atahualpa
A little – but I am learning quickly

Don Pizarro
This is just not enough, you waste our time
Two months have pass’d, we still can see the floor
Within the chamber you promis’d to fill

Gonzola
& each new day brings tidings of armies
Advancing swiftly on Caxamalca

Atahualpa asks Felipe to translate – he responds in Spanish

Felipe
These men bring gold

Gonzola
They might be bringing war

Don Pizarro
This hoard of gold might be a fake façade
Delaying time for to collect a force
In order to attack us – what says he

Felipe
He says you are wrong to be suspicious

Don Pizarro
Restless when unfulfill’d promises drawl
I’ll be as agitated as I like
Will you remind our captive who’s in charge

Felipe
He says that you should satisfy yourselves
On whether the promise can be fulfilled
Or not, a month of little consequence
If still you’ll get your gold…. He also adds
The chief place where his treasures are obtain’d
Is Cuzco, long hard journey on bad roads,
When all is carried on a breaking back,
So many precious objects; vessels, pots
& golden plates pried from the polish’d wals
Of Qurikancha Temple of the Sun

Don Pizarro
Tell him whatever the circumstances
Time is always finite

Atahualpa
Don Pizarro
I am here, my wives are here, why would I
Risk a rescue, or dare to displease you

Don Pizarro
Well, just in case, your brother’s coming here

Atahualpa
My brother

Don Pizarro
I want you both together
As my prisoners, to ensure the peace

De Soto
He might a fine facilitator prove
In gathering the gold of the Inca
Another month trapp’d in Caxamalca
& we might lose our minds, the days grow drear
Caught by your promise, on a dull hook hung

Atahualpa
My brother has no power

Gonzola
But he might
We are the masters of your country now
Drive its delegatory rivulets
Let us decide its rightful succession
Whoever conjures finest carat gold
In greatest quantities shall be the king

Don Pizarro
Gonzola, quit your idle surmising
Ignore him Atahualpa, but know this
Your brother comes to Caxamalca soon

Gonzola
& when he does your sentiments might change
We’ve heard he’s buried all your father’s wealth
Loaded upon the backs of many men
& slit their throats to keep the caskets safe
But all these treasures ten to fifteen days
Away from Caxamalca at the most

Enter Don Diego & Don Alverado

I like dance, I like girls, I like romance, I like pearls
I like money, I like dogs, I like fires with logs

Because Don Diego de Almagro is my name

I like music, I like slaves, I like weapons, I like waves
I like silver, I like songs, I like righters of wrongs

Because Don Diego de Almagro
El Adelantado and El Viejo, are my names

I like goblets, I like gold, I like furniture fine & old
I like islands I like wine, I like sunshine all of the time

Don’t wear it out now, don’t wear it out now
Don’t wear it out now, don’t wear it out

During the song Atahualpa has a discussion with one of his captains, who leaves

Don Pizarro
Don Diego

Don Diego
Is my name

Don Pizarro
Welcome friend,
To Caxamalca, & look who it is
Don Alverado – have you changed your mind?

Don Alverado
We’ve all heard about the Incan riches
Is that gold, & this, & that, is that gold

Don Pizarro
It is

Don Alverado
At once this sight extinguishes
My life’s vexatious experiences

Don Diego
And the rest

Don Pizarro
We shall discuss that later
Atahualpa, this is Don Almagro
Come hither lately from our seaboard camp
With him march men, the first of many more
Who come to stabilize our conquest here

Don Diego
With a little a web as this, have we
Really snar’d the noble Atahualpa
Whose ferociousness is now frothy-mouth’d
Reduc’d to draining treasures from his realm
In order to only remain alive

Gonzola
It is him

Don Diego
& that chain around your own noble neck
I’ve never seen a finer worksmanship

Don Alverado
His promis’d opimaspoil, where is it

Don Pizarro
In-creeping slowly, there is much to come

Don Diego
With such a great prisoner in our grip
We ought to drive this bargain that will turn
Our penury to opulence, & send
Us home rich merchant princes

Don Pizarro
Not so fast
Cabalerros, I have far nobler aims
Than storing up on gold – I did not put
My hand to this adventure in the hope
Of soul-less wealth divorc’d from sov’riegnty
Tho empire’s aim is mine, you’ll have your gold

Don Diego
Gold is the chosen manna of the gods

Don Pizarro
Enough of money, you must be hungry

Don Diego
I am more than well, my men, however,
Are famish’d, many leagues this week we’ve march’d

Don Pizarro
Then they shall eat a handsome feast tonight
Let’s spread the joys of victory among
Our gang of happy comrades, let us talk
Of empire, & to toast the health of Spain
Come

Don Alverado
There was a battle yes

De Soto
One of sorts
Our victory a sign spectacular
That Christians destin’d to rule the world

Exit Don Pizarro, Captain de Soto Don Diego & Don Alverado with Felipe following

Hernando
Your Spanish is improving all the time

Atahualpa
It is a good language, as you are man
But who is he who the Governor loves

Hernando
He is Don Diego de Almagro

Atahualpa
He has an evil heart, I trust him not

Hernando
You are fine, Don Pizarro respects you
Tho’ I expect his patience might run out
If your golden promise fades unfulfill’d

Atahualpa
It shall be so, I’ll fill that room with gold

Hernando
As you have told us many times, but time
Will only solve that quandary, lets play
A little chess, I have a set with me

Atahualpa
Chess

Hernando
Chess… it is a very ancyent game
This is call’d a board, like a battlefield
The winner of the game will master it
& these its pieces, soldiers every one
The Queen, the Bishop, Knight, Rook & the King…

---

SCENE 18: A Country Road

In the Juaja district, Huascar is marching along a road in captivity / enter hammocks carrying QuizQuiz & Chalochima, drawn by two runners after a long relay

QuizQuiz
Huascar, we have come from your brother

Huascar
I know that look, those are the eyes of death
That sheep see last as shepherds drop the veil
Who’d thought them safe, protected from jackals
When all along they were meant for the pot
I knew when first you nail’d me to these chains
I’d never live to see them unshackl’d
The White Ones gave me hope, but in my heart
I knew that Atahuallpa would decide
If I’m to live or die… the latter, yes?

Chalochima
Yes, Huascar, you are to die today

Huascar
Hah! At the hands of one of my subjects?

QuizQuiz
Atahualpa orders it

Huascar
So be it
But to behead me like some common slave
A craven death & unbefitting most
Asphyxiation is the only way
But strangulation’s a criminal’s death
& drowning has a glow of the divine
Thus I, being a deity of sorts,
Deserve a bloodless passing such as that

QuizQuiz
You wish to die by drowning

Huascar
I do, yes

QuizQuiz
We have orders to end thy life at once
There is a river there

Chalochima
Then let us go

Huascar looks around at nature as he’s led to the river bank

Huascar
O what a wonder is this world of ours
& all of it was mine until the hour
I fell, forgotten by my higher gods
Abandon’d to lonely enormity

QuizQuiz
Will you step within the waters

Huascar
I will

Chalochima
Walk slowly in, where we shall hold you fast,
Immers’d until your lungs can draw no air

Huascar
Then that shall be the death of me, will I
Be buried with my treasures & best wife

QuizQuiz
That is for Atahuallpa to decide
Your highness, it is time,

Huascar
When you return
Unto my brother, making a report,
Tell him only this – the White One’s justice
Compels all men to die who take a life
& when his moment comes, remember this
Huascar consents to retribution
For I am my brother’s natural lord
& yet my death he orders, Heaven knows
The brazen illegality of this

Chalochima
Will you step inside yourself, or be forc’d

Huascar
When I return to life I’ll find you both
& slay you in as many ways as known
& hunt down all your family & friends

QuizQuiz gestures to his men to force Huascar into the water, where he is drowned

---

19: The Forest

Cuxamiray is playing the flauta & singing Yma Sumac’s Chuncho (the Forest Creatures) – at the end of the song Felipe arrives & they embrace without words

---

---

20: Caxamalca

Don Diego is in his rooms – he is reading by a fire – there is a knock on the door

Don Diego
Come in

Enter Felipe

Don Diego
Ah Felipe, thank you for coming

Felipe
Don Diego

Don Diego
I trust you are happy
Among the Conquistadors

Felipe
Yes, sir

Don Diego
Please take a seat… would you like some wine

Felipe
Yes

Don Diego
So, to business, I hear you are in love

Felipe
What

Don Diego
Love, with one of Atahualpa’s queens

Felipe
How did you, how did you know

Don Diego
I have eyes
& had you follow’d on one of your trysts
But do not panic, boy, your secret’s safe
But there is one thing I’d like you to do

Felipe
Yes
My mind is clear therefore my words are few

Don Diego
The situation is rather simple
While Atahualpa lives all of his gold
Bethroth’d only for ransom, none of which
Am I entitl’d to not being here
W,hen was that promise made, if he were dead
However, then equally divided
Would the treasures be, &, if he were dead,
His wives would not be married anymore

Felipe
You want me to murder Atahualpa

Don Diego
Of course not, Don Pizarro is no fool
He would suspect & seize the gold in lieu
No, it must be done within the bounds of law

Felipe
I do not understand

Don Diego
Listen to me
You must tell Don Pizarro you have heard
Atahualpa plotting with his men
That he is treacherously deceitful
Sends stealth-orders out to his native land
& all his other provinces to raise
An army large enough to kill us all
That now approaches daily, at its head
Ruminagui, his greatest captain, aims
For Caxamalca, & arriving soon
& swear upon the Bible all you say

Felipe
The book, you want me to swear on the book

Don Diego
In this case, he is a pagan king
Refusing still the Savior as his Lord
He is beyond redemption & to Hell
We’ll send him

Felipe
I – I

Don Diego
Think of your lover
With Atahualpa gone she shall be yours

Felipe
I shall do it

Don Diego
Good boy, good boy, more wine

Felipe
No – that was enough, thank you, I shall go

Don Diego
I suggest create the illusion of an army
Light some fires, trample, grasses,
All convincing needs …

Felipe
As soon as Atahualpa has been slain
You’ll never have to sneak around again

Exit Felipe – Don Diego pours himself another drink

Don Diego
My dear, dear friend, my dear Don Pizarro
Why should you have first plucking of the fowl
I leave me a scanty set of feathers
I have not travel’d all this way from Spain
To watch other Spaniards grow wealthy – hah,
Too long has the prodigal course remain’d
Out of my hands, wealth unproliferate
{inspects gold}
But all is changing to a golden glut.

21: Caxamalca

Atahualpa’s apartments / he is playing chess with Hernando

Hernando
What is this

Atahualpa
It is call’d the coco plant
You chew & suck the leaf – it makes you sharp

Hernando
Thank you – it is your move I do believe

Atahualpa
I check you with my bishop

Hernando
A fine move
& one as if you have conquer’d the game
A feat impossible in one short month
Nevertheless, as princes master men
They master games

Atahualpa
& writing too, I love
The way words travel forth thro space & time

Hernando
Spanish, also, you master this as well
In only three months, quite remarkable
When I return to Spain, as I will soon,
The Governor has order’d my return,
To take the King of Spain his legal share
Of your regal ransom & other gold
& when I am safely over ocean
I will send you a letter from my homes
Describing fertile Andalucía
& all the beauties of my perfect land

Atahualpa
But I shall never read it

Hernando
Why say that

Atahualpa
It pains me you’re leaving Caxamalca
I sense the moment you are departed
The fat man, with the single pitch-black eye
Whose ugly stare rolls with disillusion,
Will slay me in the cause of Incan gold

Hernando
You mean Don Diego de Almagro

Atahualpa
Yes

Hernando
But he is a good Christian man

Atahualpa
He worships not your God but only gold
Speak of the Devil & the Devil comes

Enter a furious Don Pizarro with Don Diego

Don Pizarro
How sordid can a situation swing
I’ve kept you like a prince, but in your turn,
You treat me like a swine

Atahualpa
What, me, I, I

Don Pizarro
Princes do not die accidental deaths
You’ve killed your brother to secure your throne
& furthermore armies are amassing
Approaching Caxamalca at your word

Hernando
Brother, what is happening

Don Pizarro
This traitor
Is plotting our destruction

Hernando
I object
I swear he is a good man

Don Diego
You’ve been fool’d
He’s hatched a scheme, worthy of the devil
Is that not so

Atahualpa
What plot, no, not at all
His majesty, the emperor of Spain
Has treat me well, has promised me my lands
Why would I jeopardize security
& honour, on some plot, while imprison’d
It makes no sense

Don Pizarro
I share that sentiment
So sad when I took you as a brother
Heard your inviolable promises
Sacred, indisputable, & worthless
I have heard reports

Hernando
What is reported?

Don Pizarro
Tell me of your captain, Ruminagui,

Atahualpa
He is a fine warrior, cool of head
What of him

Don Diego
He marches with an army
On Caxamalca where he doth intend
The deaths of every Christian he sees
In order to release your royal spine
From this incarceration

Atahualpa
If he does
Tis not at my command he cometh here

Don Pizarro
Independent Incas do not exist
They are your words that draws him to this place

Atahualpa
Ha-ha! this is your Spanish mockery
That’s always making jokes at my expense
How could I & my people possibly
Cause anxiety to valiant men
You must be silly-talking, just as jest
My children in the jungle playing ball
If there was such an army drawing near
I would know every detail of the march
Such eyes & ears do Incan kings possess
Nobody will ever move in this land
Unless the word I’d given – look at me
A prisoner of the bearded White Ones
You have nothing to fear

Don Pizarro
But your escape

Don Diego
I think he should be kill’d

Hernando
But why, he is sufficiently guarded
Only a fool would attempt a rescue

Hernando
How do we know he is telling the truth

Don Diego
Who

Hernando
Your source for Rumanagui’s attack

Don Pizarro
We cannot waste time investigating
When balancing upon on a razor’s edge
& all this points to a singular choice
Being a bar to the permanent peace
Tho’ most noble, Atahualpa must die

Atahualpa
Die! But why should I die?

Don Pizarro
It has to be
Pain & strife assembl’d are, while horror
Paves a pathway to us while you are living

Hernando
Death thro’ false testimony is sinful
Thou shalt not bare false witness

Don Pizarro
Enough

Hernando
But the town is defendable
Surely twould better be to wait & see
If Rumangui does truly approach us

Don Pizarro
& if he does our safety compromised
No, Athualpa has to die, & soon
When halls of morn from mists unfolded seen

Atahualpa
I beg you, Don Pizarro, let me live

Don Pizarro
Enough – men put a chain around his neck
Tight-fasten’d so he utters no more lies
Captain De Soto gather in a host
& take with you a hundred horse, relay
To every part that Atahualpa’s slain
Such news might sting enough to end the cause
We should maintain a careful watch meanwhile
All thro’ the night our cavalry shall tour
The outer walls, patrolling the ramparts

De Soto
Yes sir, I shall tell all the men at once

Hernando
But brother

Don Pizarro
This is no concern of yours
& besides, your horses are now ready

Hernando
My horses
Don Pizarro
I have ended the terms of the ransom
All that we now possess have smelted down
To distribute among my warriors
According to their station & service
As does befit an army’s valiance
& you shall take the quinto to the king
Four boats approach San Miguel
To carry thee, via Panama, home
There’s one hundred thousand pesos of gold
& twenty thousand marks of silver pack’d
In saddlebags, with handsome figurines

Hernando
You are painting me out of the picture

Don Pizarro
There is nobody else that I could trust
So, brother, say your farewells to the King
{to Atahualpa}
You have twenty minutes
{to his soldiers}
Make sure he comes

Exit Don Pizarro

Hernando
I do not know what to say

Atahualpa
Say nothing
You have been a very good friend to me
I wish all White Ones were noble as thee

Hernando
Likewise, I wish all kings could share thy grace
Embrace me
{they embrace}
Farewell King Atahualpa

Exit Hernando – the soldiers chain Atahualpa

---

22: Caxamlaca

Don Pizarro’s apartments / Don Pizarro is at a desk with Valverde, Gonzola & Captain De Soto – Atahualpa is brought in

Valverde
This court shall now convene, the prisoner
Shall now pronounce his name – tell us your name

Atahualpa
I am Atahualpa

Don Pizarro
Where are you from

Atahualpa
From?

Don Pizarro
Your place of birth

Atahualpa
Its call’d Caranqui

Valverde
In the name of his majesty King Charles
These are the charges Spain brings against thee
Incest, idolatry, heinous plots
Against your Christian captors, & the
Murder of your brother, King Huascar

Don Pizarro
How do you plead

Atahualpa
What

Don Pizarro
How do you plead

Arahualpa
Plead

Don Pizarro
There is no need for pleading, all your sins
Shall be accounted for when put to death

Atahualpa
Buy why want to kill me

Don Diego
Not want, but must
Trusting the ways of justice among us
In the name of his Divine Majesty
King Atahualpa here condemn’d to die

Atahualpa
Die ! No ! No ! double my fetters & guards
& wait until you see there are no plots
To challenge thy authority absurd
For I am in your power, bound with chains,
If you think men come without permission,
You misunderstand the obedience
Commanded by my power in this land
If I do not wish it, no bird will fly,
& not a leaf will stay upon the trees

Valverde
Whate’er you say this verdict shall not change
& flames shall be thy fate, to ash & bones
Your flesh reduced, you shall accepting
Jesus as Savior, the heretic dies
In agony, stake-tied, melting in flames
& there’s no afterlife for bodies burn’s
As is your freakish custom, Christians
However, do enjoy a swifter fate,
When if in Jesus’ name ye’ll be baptized
Death’s fire will be dows’d, how chooseth thee

Atahualpa
I-I

Valverde
You must call your fate this moment

SAVE YOUR SOUL

You, you, you know its true
The Azrael wont come for you
& the Holy Ghost comes into view
when Jesus Christ in you renews
King of the Jews

Yes, you, you who are to blame
It’s not too late to cleanse your shame
If you don’t want Satan’s hated flame
Baptise yourself in Jesus name

Save your soul my son
Save your soul O special one

You, you, know what to do
The everlasting avenue
Of Christians shall pray for you’
our paradise on earth is due

King of the jews

Yes, you, you I do proclaim
Ever since the saviour to us came
We’ll never let Satan stake his claim
Baptise yourself in Jesus name

Save your soul my son
Save your soul O special one

Valverde
So who shall it be, Jesus or Satan?

Atahualpa
Jesus

Don Pizarro
Fray Vincente de Valverde
Bring his soul’s sheep into our happy fold
Take him away, the execution tim’d
For two o clock, the sooner the better

Exit Atahualpa & Valverde

Gonzola
Don Francisco, I urge thee, change thy course
We are hierarchical in our bones
& regicide astonishingly wrong
I know the King of Spain will not approve
When executioners of low estate
Slaying a veritable Suleyman

Don Pizarro
‘Tis pity he must die, but die he must
I cannot keep him more my prisoner
The center of fermenting hopes
His life brings vigor to his warriors
His being dead all obstacles are gone
That bars our forward passage to the realm
If he were old then fain I’d let him live
But he is young & well, with strength endow’d
The only answer’s Atahualpa’s now
Condemn’d to death’s cruel necessity

Gonzola
Mercy, God’s first & final attribute
This would be the worst deed we’ve committed
In this entire empire of the Indies

Captain de Soto
Subjects & sovereigns are not the same
To kill him would be wrong, even a sin

Don Pizarro
Enough, it is decided, no more talk
I love you brother but now you must leave
But be pregnant in your preparation
At two o’clock the King of Inca dies

---

23 : Caxamalca main square

Atahualpa is brought out & tied to a stake – De Valverde comes with a bible

Valverde
The Bible tells us we are God’s children
& belong in the Kingdom of Heaven
May your Holy Spirit surround us, Lord
& welcome this new child into thy church
So your son may dwell in his heart though faith
& the grace of Jesus Christ throughout him flow
Being rooted and establish’d in love,
Fill’d with the measure & fullness of God
By the authority vested in me
In the name of the Father & the Son
& the Holy Ghost, I baptize thee Paul
As was the name of the first apostle
Paul, do you acknowledge God’s love this day
Already works within thee

Atahualpa
Yes I do

Valverde
Then, as Jesus took children in his arms
& bless’d them, so now we ask God’s blessing
Heavenly Father, we praise this child’s birth
Surround him with your blessings, so he’ll know
Your love, & know your goodness all his days,
As are your faultless ways Amen

All
Amen

Enter Felipe & Cuxamiray hand-in-hand / straw thrown over Atahualpa & lit / he is garrotted

Valverde
So end the days of a man so cruel

Enter Pedro with Ciquinchara

Pedro
No

Don Pizarro
What is it
{They speak in silence / Don Pizarro points to Felipe}
Arrest that man

Felipe
What is this

Don Pizarro
Now you’ll share your Inca’s fate
While you are now censur’d to share his fate
I know, Felippilo, what you have done

Felipe
Done, what do you mean

Don Pizarro
You betray’d your king
Told disgusting lies of phantom armies
Sent Indians to trample grass & build
Camp-fires of deceptive regiments,
All for to make Queen Cuxamiray yours

Felipe
It is not true

Don Diego
Yes, it is, I recall
Hearing something with that gist from his mouth
Now it all makes sense

Don Pizarro
Never traitors trust
Take him away, tear his body apart
With horses roped to every limb

Felipe
Wait, no!

Valverde
Let Felipillo forever
Be the name of a traitor in Peru

Cuxamiray wails

Don Diego
& now, if there are no more Incan kings
There can’t be any queens, she’s lost her rank
Do what you will with her, please shut her up

Conquistador 1
Who’s the first lads

Conquistador 2
Allow me

Conquistador 3
Hold her down

Cuxamiray is raped while Atahualpa is taken down from the stake by Valverde / Atahualpa’s grieving wives hang themselves