by K. T. Tomb
wave-maned steed. The sovran wise
stately rode on; his shield-armed men
followed in force.
The footprints led along the woodland, widely seen,
a path o'er the plain, where she passed, and trod
the murky moor; of men-at-arms
she bore the bravest and best one, dead,
him who with Hrothgar the homestead ruled.
On then went the atheling-born
o'er stone-cliffs steep and strait defiles,
narrow passes and unknown ways,
headlands sheer, and the haunts of the Nicors.
Foremost he fared, a few at his side
of the wiser men, the ways to scan,
till he found in a flash the forested hill
hanging over the hoary rock,
a woeful wood : the waves below
were dyed in blood.
The Danish men
had sorrow of soul, and for Scyldings all,
for many a hero, 'twas hard to bear,
ill for earls, when it's head
they found by the flood on the foreland there.
Waves were welling, the warriors saw,
hot with blood ; but the horn sang oft battle-song bold.
-Beowulf
***
It was one full season since the first ships had set sail from Daneland for Jarl’s Gift in the New World. The settlers there produced a record harvest, the majority of which was stored for the following season, since none knew what to expect. The remainder was shipped back to Jarl Algoth so that he could illegally distribute it to his people and sell the rest for profit. However, the second shipments were delayed significantly.
“If those cargo ships do not dock by tomorrow, we are sending out a recon mission. They shouldn’t be this late,” Algoth said to his advisers.
“Perhaps we should make some… subtle inquiries… with the Guild to see if they intercepted our cargo on its way here?” the Senior Adviser asked.
“I’ve already done that. We have solid men in the Guild these days – men who want to get their families out of here and would never jeopardize their family’s future for Guild loyalty. They assure me that interception was not the cause for this major delay.”
“Well then, sir, the best course of action is what you request. You should wait, and if the shipment was not received by tomorrow, will send a reconnaissance mission.”
The next afternoon, with no sightings of the ships the jarl was waiting for, and no documentation of the ships arriving at their suspected ports, the jarl put together a crew to investigate what the hold-up was. The ship launched immediately, and due to the urgency of the mission, the three sentients aboard worked up a wind storm to blow them to, and through, the veil with urgency. A trip that would normally take a day and a half on the seas took their ship just mere hours.
The crew, upon seeing the shoreline, was devastated. Smoke billowed, a greasy gray and black streak in the sky met their unbelieving eyes. They began sailing in for a closer look when the man in the crow’s nest shouted, “Ships to sta’bar’!”
All eyes turned to see a massive fleet – thousands strong – sailing directly toward them. One sentient cast a wall of energy that would redirect any incoming projectiles back towards their point of origin. The other two sentients quickly re-created the wind to drive them back through the veil. Once on the other side, the three worked together to create a barrier that would immediately transport anything that came through, for a time, into the frozen, ice-locked seas far to the north of their homeland. They set sail for the jarl, and, upon reaching him, they shared with him their findings.
The jarl called an emergency session of the Danish Council. Once all the men were there, he sat them down and said, “The demons from the other side have destroyed the outpost. It’s burned. Everyone we had out there is presumed dead. Prepare yourselves for war.”
The end
The Islands That Time Forgot returns in:
Snake Island
Return to the Table of Contents
SNAKE ISLAND
The Islands That Time Forgot
Book #3
by
K.T. TOMB
Snake Island
Published by K.T. Tomb
Copyright © 2015 by K.T. Tomb
All rights reserved.
Ebook Edition, License Notes
This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.
Dedication
The author wishes to dedicate this book to the late
James Herbert.
Snake Island
Prologue
In the beginning, the god Huracan blew as a great wind over the primeval ocean, causing the earth to rise from the depths. Then Xpiacoc and Xmucane, "old man and old woman," performed magical rites that helped Huracan and other creator deities form plants, animals, and eventually the human race. The gods, Tepeu and Kukulkan, fashioned the first man out of clay, and he melted into the water. The next race of people was made of wood, but was dull, spiritless, and easily destroyed by fire. In their third attempt, they mixed yellow and white maize flour together and made the First Fathers, the ancestors of men, from the dough.
The First Fathers were worshipful, handsome, and wise. The gods decided that they were too wise and feared that the creation would become as powerful as the creators, so they blew fog into their eyes and took away some of their knowledge. Following the creation of the First Fathers, they made the First Mothers and eventually the sun and moon in order to bring light to the world.
The Maya believed that, because they were made out of a mixture of yellow and white maize, humans had been put on earth to nourish the gods. Human sacrifices served that purpose. They also engaged in the ritual called bloodletting, in which priests or nobles pierced parts of their bodies and offered the blood to the gods or to ancestors in exchange for guidance. Clouds of smoke from burning blood offerings were to summon the Vision Serpents, images of snakes with Mayan gods and ancestors coming from their mouths.
One of the great creator gods was Kukulkan, the feathered serpent, who was not only a part of creation, but also an important part of Mayan art and religion. However, his powers went beyond art and religion and had a part in all of Mayan civilization, including codes of the law, agriculture, fishing and medicine.
Kukulkan also represented the forces of good and evil in a paradigm similar to the ying-yang of oriental religions. He was also the god of the four elements of earth, wind, fire and water upon which the nine levels of heaven rest. With such great power and influence over so many aspects of Mayan culture, it is no wonder that the feathered serpent is one of the most important deities in the Mayan pantheon.
Kukulkan was a deity closely associated with the Itza state in the northern Yucatán Peninsula, where the cult formed the core of the state religion. Although the cult of Kukulkan had its origins in earlier Mayan traditions, the Itza worship of Kukulkan was heavily influenced by the Quetzalcoatl cult of central Mexico. Throughout the centuries, Kukulkan headed a pantheon of deities of mixed Mayan and non-Mayan provenance, which was used to promote the Itza political and commercial agenda. It also eased the passage of Itza merchants into central Mexico and other non-Maya areas, promoting the Itza economy.
El Castillo in Chichen Itza served as a temple to Kukulkan. It is interesting to note that during the spring and fall equinoxes, the shadow cast by the angle of the sun and edges of the nine steps of the pyramid combined with the northern stairway and the stone serpent head carvings create the illusion of a massive serpent descending the pyramid.
Modern folklore speculates further to the origin of Kukulkan and what became of him when the Mayan people began to decline in power and influence over the Yucatan.
In one tale, Kukulkan is a boy who was born as a snake. As he grew older it became obvious that he was, indeed, the plumed serpent and his sister cared for
him in a cave. He grew so large that his sister was unable to continue feeding him, so he left the cave and plunged into the sea, causing an earthquake. The story says that in order to let his sister know that he is still alive, Kukulkan causes earth tremors every year in July.
A collection of folk stories from the Yucatán tell how Kukulkan was a winged snake that flew to the sun and tried to speak to it, but the sun, in its pride, burnt his tongue and that he always precedes the Mayan rain god, creating the winds as he sweeps his tail in order to cleanse the earth before the rains come, from that, one can predict the coming season of rain.
Some say that Kukulkan is an evil, monstrous snake that is the pet of the sun god, while others still connect him with the advancements in art, architecture, astronomy, law and culture that was abundant in the Yucatan during the Mayan heyday. What truly became of him?
Some say that he destroyed himself after the Aztec god, Tezcatlipoca, began to rise into greater influence over the entire region, having deposed Itzamná. After having been seduced by Tezcatlipoca, he exploded his heart and became the bright morning star. Most, who belong to the cult of Kukulkan, however, believe that he plunged back into the sea and will return again in the End Times.
The most prominent of legends says that seeing how powerful Tezcatlipoca had become, Kukulkan left on a raft made of snakes, promising to return and restore the Mayan people to even greater glory than they had before.
***
“Great Kukulkan, we beseech you to return to us and cleanse our land.” The snake priest raised the still beating human heart high above his head and presented it toward the massive stone image of the feathered serpent. “Our people are in bondage and we cry out to you. Receive this meal of flesh from one who has been lost and departed from your people. With the heart of this one and the blood that is shed, regain your strength, rise again and return to the land of your people.”
The young woman, though in a drunken state of delirium was conscious long enough to watch her beating heart being lifted up toward the image of the serpent, though she was completely unable to process what her eyes were taking in. It was only a moment more, as she listened to the words of the priest in some ancient tongue, before her eyes grew dim and all light slowly faded away into eternal darkness.
Long after the ceremonial sacrifice was over and all who had been in attendance had left, the apprentice to the priest unfastened the bindings on the wrists and ankles that held the lifeless body of the woman in place on the table. As he unfastened the strap that was buckled across her nude hips and the one that was fastened over her ample breasts, he couldn’t help feeling a tinge of regret that such a beautiful and sensual woman had been sacrificed.
In spite of the ancient beliefs of his people and his desire to one day be a powerful priest, he couldn’t help thinking that she might have made a beautiful lover, wife and mother. It had been his final sacrifice as an apprentice. The next equinox would mark his entry into the priesthood. He would be expected to not only select the young woman for the sacrifice, but perform the ritual as well. He wondered if he would be able to carry out what was expected of him. Could he take a human life? He lingered a moment longer, battling with something deep inside of himself that regretted his choice, but was eventually able to push aside his emotions and focus on the greater good. Our people need Kukulkan to become strong again in order to restore us to greatness.
With that justification in mind and the bindings unfastened, he took hold of the lever, undoing the catch that kept the table in the horizontal position and then pushed up on the end that supported the woman’s feet. Giving it a healthy shove, he raised the table and watched as the body slid off, the head smacking into the stone ledge of the pit with a loud crack, before the weight of the body caused it to tumble over and plunge into the darkness below.
The apprentice then passed out of the underground temple along a passage that led to a series of small caves that served as preparation rooms, with heavy, embroidered curtains as the only separation between their occupants and whoever might pass along the corridor. He could hear the voices of some of the others as they had already finished removing their ceremonial garments, dressed in regular, civilian clothing and passed along the corridor toward the exit. Their conversation gave no indication that they had just participated in sacrificing a fellow human being.
Still struggling with the reality of what had just taken place, what would be expected of him in the very near future and reassuring himself that his part in the ancient traditions of his people was for the greater good, he too, changed his clothing, donning the work uniform that he wore during the day. Hanging up his ceremonial robes on the pegs inside the room, he drew the curtain closed behind him and started along the corridor which led to a small, hidden cove.
As he approached the wider cave of the hidden cove, he could hear the sound of outboard motors coming to life and then the sound fading into the distance as they made their way back out into the open ocean and off toward whatever jobs they held in modern society. He considered the irony of it all only for a moment and then he, too, climbed into his boat, flipped the switches and then tugged on the cable several times before being rewarded by the sound of the motor coming to life.
As he slowly pulled out of the quiet cove and out into the open sea, his mind lingered over what would be expected of him in six more months. It was a very long time to carry the burden that was upon his shoulders, but it would come very quickly. Of the thousands of years of sacrifices, he would be a part of providing one more; there would be many more before the great Kukulkan awakened from his slumber and returned to the land of his people.
Chapter One
I’m one of those people who always has to do things the hard way. When others took on a research project, they took on something easy enough to do the minimum amount of effort required. Not me, I had to go a little bit further, do a little bit extra and, consequently, stress myself out in order to get things done. So, my paper on Mayan archeology had pushed me to yet another level of stress.
With spring break starting and plenty of invitations to party on the beach, I, Adam Andrews, often called AA, was breaking with tradition in order to engage in some research for my senior thesis instead of joining the group of friends who had given me my rather sarcastic nickname.
I’d put off the trip to the Yucatan several times, mostly because I was shy and didn’t speak very good Spanish. With a crowd of party goers, I was the life of the party, but alone? Not so much. I was even more nervous because Eva Lunes, a fellow student in my Archeology of the New World class, had decided to join me.
Both of her parents had immigrated to the U.S. from somewhere in Central or South America. Eva had reasoned that because she spoke Spanish like a native and because she was also doing research on Mayan mythology, it made sense for us to pool our resources. It was sensible and I had agreed. Working with a partner who spoke excellent Spanish in Mexico ought to have made me feel more confident and relaxed. The problem I had was that I had been secretly in love with Eva Lunes from the first moment that I saw her and up until that point, hadn’t been able to spit out more than a couple dozen words, mostly, “hello” and “see ya.” When she presented her proposal, I didn’t do much better. I said, “sure.”
Eva had started making the arrangements and presented me with itineraries and new information on a regular basis. Whenever she asked for input on the travel arrangements, my vocabulary did increase a little bit to, “that sounds good.” So, needless to say, sitting next to her on the flight to Cancún was incredibly uncomfortable; at least it was for me.
My buddies had tried to help me out with the whole thing.
“Dude, a week in Cancún by yourself with Eva Lunes; you’re so gonna get laid. I’d do that instead of hanging out with us in South Padre. I mean, I’d seriously DO THAT. You know what I’m saying?” Squid slapped me on the back, grinning at the others.
“We’re going there to do research and explore the Mayan pyramid
s and ruins.” I’d responded, turning red as they teased me.
“She’s got a pair of pyramids I’d like to explore,” another of my wonderful friends put in.
“It’s not like that,” I answered. “Look, I’d rather be hanging out with you guys, but I have to finish this paper and to do it, I have to go to the Yucatan.”
“Yeah, right, we got ya, AA.” Squid winked. “You’re abandoning your friends so you can be all up in Eva’s Yucatan.”
The entire group exploded with laughter at my expense.
“Up in her Yucatan? Dude, that doesn’t even make sense.”
It really didn’t matter. They had already made up their minds that they were going to equate the Mayan pyramids and the Yucatan with various parts of Eva’s anatomy. The overall effect had only increased my nervousness about the trip exponentially.
“Are you okay?” Eva asked from the seat beside me. “You’ve been awfully quiet.”
The fact that she had been doing most of the talking was only a part of the reason that I was being quiet, but, of course, there was no way in hell I was going to tell her the reason I was so nervous around her. “Yeah, I’m alright.”
Eva had smooth, caramel-toned skin that had the entire female population at University of St. Paul envious. If that wasn’t enough, the sculpted features of her face were framed by glistening, raven hair and her large, penetrating green eyes looked out from lashes that looked like belonged on a doe. The effect of those features alone was enough to leave nearly every male student speechless when in front of her and fantasizing about her when they weren’t. To top it all off, Eva was curvaceous. Even when I tried to look away or straight ahead in order to avoid staring, the very prominent feature perfectly encased in a low cut tank top and partially hidden by a plaid shirt kept drawing my mind back to the jokes about exploring the pyramids. I was pretty sure she had caught me looking and was surprised that she hadn’t slapped me yet.