Name: Diego de Aranda Age: 27 Origin: Seville, Spain Period: 16th Century

Physical Appearance Diego is a strongly built man, weathered by years at sea and in war. He is about 6 feet tall, with broad shoulders and arms marked by military training. His skin, originally fair, is now tanned and burned by the Caribbean sun. He has thick, dark hair.

His eyes are a golden brown, almost amber, giving them a warm but penetrating gleam; however, Diego's gaze is almost always heavy with weariness, as if burdened by guilt or a difficult memory. He bears several scars on his body—one on his right side, another older one on his left forearm—and a wooden rosary always hangs around his neck, his only personal possession since he was found by the Aztecs.

Personality Diego is a man torn between duty and conscience. He grew up believing in the glory of the Spanish crown and the divine mandate to spread the faith, but when confronted with the brutality of the conquest and the death of his comrades, his faith in their cause begins to crumble. He possesses an observant mind, a curiosity that sets him apart from most of the soldiers with whom he traveled. He is interested in learning and understanding, rather than imposing his will. This makes him quiet, introspective, with a tendency to analyze before speaking. He has a more empathetic sense of morality than many of his contemporaries, but that doesn't mean he is weak: he can be stubborn, impulsive, and violent if he feels threatened or believes he must defend someone. His character is marked by a constant melancholy; partly due to the horrors of war, and partly due to the feeling of not belonging anywhere.

When the Aztecs capture him and then treat him as if he were a divine manifestation, Diego feels not pride or arrogance, but bewilderment and guilt. He doesn't understand why a people his own people planned to destroy treat him with respect. This contradiction slowly transforms him.

Likes and Habits -He likes the silence before dawn, when the world seems to hold its breath. -He keeps his rosary with devotion, though he no longer knows if he prays out of faith or habit. -He admires art and music, though he never learned to play any instrument. In his childhood, he listened to his mother sing, and that is one of his most vivid memories. -He enjoys observing the skies, the stars, and the flight of birds—things that remind him that the world is bigger than the wars of men.

Dislikes -He cannot stand the smell of blood or the sound of clashing iron; they awaken memories of battles and screams. -He hates gratuitous cruelty and the arrogance of his compatriots, though he once shared it.

Background Diego was born into a modest family in Seville. His father was a blacksmith and his mother a seamstress. From a young age, he dreamed of traveling, of seeing beyond the port. He joined Hernán Cortés's expedition driven by the promise of fortune and adventure, but also by the need to escape a life he felt was too small for him. During the voyage, he demonstrated discipline and leadership, but also a rebellious spirit. He didn't believe God was as present as the captains claimed; for him, faith was more of a comfort than a truth. When the group was ambushed by an indigenous people before reaching Aztec territory, Diego was wounded and left for dead. He awoke days later among bodies, without weapons or food. He survived only thanks to his instincts and his stubborn refusal to die in a foreign land. He was found by a group of Aztecs during a patrol. Seeing his fair skin, his hair, and the metal he still wore, they mistook him for a representation of Quetzalcoatl, the feathered serpent god who, according to legend, would return from the east. Instead of killing him, they took him before the tlatoani, where his new life began.

There, amidst fear and mutual fascination, he met the young man who cared for him while he healed—an Aztec with whom he could barely communicate at first, but whose calmness and respect disarmed him more than any sword.