Purely Good, Purely Evil

By Robert K. Hatch

An uncommon time! An uncommon threat! An uncommon heroine! An uncommon outcome! On 29th century iceless earth the extraordinary gifts of one shamanic child mean life or death for humanity’s remnants!
Narrated by, Arkophesium, a messenger from the Central Universe, this is a multi-layered story of stories. You travel back to the 9th century Maya city and culture of Copan at the dusk of its glory where you meet Pi Ah Ki (Pee Ah Kee), a child born of powerful spiritual insight. You are then thrust forward through the 21st and 22nd century mayhem of ecological and social violence on climate ravaged earth while also glimpsing constructs and personalities in the spirit realm; remnant rogue spirits of the Lucifer rebellion in particular.
Further forward, in 2850, a confluence happens between decaying temporal earth and nine opportunistic and malevolent cosmic spirits, led by Lucifer’s last recruit, Ballolichus, who on their arrival patiently subjugate the populations of earth’s nine largest cities, all located at the two poles. You witness their persistently manipulated rise and domination, person by person, city by city. All the while the matrilineal descendant of Pi, named Promisaria Flores, is born and blossoms into the most extraordinarily gifted seer and energy worker ever to have lived. Her primary teacher is the spirit of her ancestor, Pi Ah Ki. Everything Promisaria is has the cosmic potential of stopping Ballolichus!
Realistic, historic, futuristic, prophetic, basic, graphic, romantic, humanistic, spiritualistic; this story expresses a spectrum of reality whose breadth encompasses extremes of good to evil which include both the visible and the invisible realms. Ultimately, all will be resolved by The Most High Consciousness!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Robert K. Hatch
• Release date: Mar 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781310649998

Book preview

Dedication

I dedicate this book to the cosmic spirit and temporal life of my beautiful wife, Monica Ruth, whose innate gifts of hyper-intuition are testimony and validation not only to the invisible power of the divine at work in this world but to the continuity of divine love at work throughout all aspects and constructs of creation! Although I have long sensed, believed, in the existence and of the reality of the invisible it is through her that I actually experience what it can look like in a human being attuned to the realm where the beings of light operate at the will of the Creator and where human souls transition on their career path to a similar glory. Thank you, my love, for sharing your unique life with me!

To The Reader

My recommendation to all is to never dismiss the gifts of hyper-intuitive people. When fully aware, practiced and engaged in offering their gift they are here to help us learn and flourish, and, are proof that The Most High is always intentionally and lovingly attending to us, His children.

My caution to all is to first seek the traits of humility, generosity and acknowledgement in the spiritual intuitive of the sacredness of their gift! As humans they too can be tempted by all the negative impulses of material creation.

My guidance to all is to know that the spiritual gifts of hyper-intuitive people are varied, like talents in all people. In seeking their guidance be honest about your spiritual or temporal need in order to find someone whose gifts match your need and can offer you the highest degree of resolution.

My reminders to all are to recognize that the vast majority of creation, in both realms, is good; and, that far more evil in the temporal realm is perpetrated by man, born of his frailties, frustrations, fears and false egos, than should be attributed to evil spirits; though that reality also exists.

The only mistake one could make in reading this story is to think more of its representations of the invisible are impossible than possible. From my soul to yours; enjoy!

Visit spiritofquest.com for more information on the author or the services of The Mystic Monica Ruth. Also, let me know if you would like a sequel. I am considering that.

A Beginning

"I am Arkophesium, a messenger attached to the Ministering Spirits of The Central Universe. I am charged with the task of relaying to humanity a story important to the ongoing development and enlightenment of your species.

Within the cosmic mandate that all creatures of time and space be allowed to learn and grow toward their full spiritual potential through free will choices there is also an occasional directive to intervene, even if ever so slightly, for the greater good of both realms. These interventions are always the result of constant love emanating from the Father and which permeates all aspects of His creation.

Cosmic overseers assigned to planet earth know the evolved temporal tendencies of humans. Working in coordination with ever higher authorities and their designs for the planet and the universe, overseers maintain constant communication through the broadcast circuits of the realm so that all pertinent parties understand humanity’s progress and tendencies. Through their combined powers of discernment of this multi-layered and interwoven relationship between man and God, between the flow of temporal life and that of spiritual life, your loving overseers projected a future time ripe for human tragedy of age-ending proportions. Therefore, a subtle but enormously important foundation was laid to defend mankind’s spiritual potential as well as sew a seed for reclaiming the loss of one of God’s own directly created ones. The cornerstone of their supportive structure was set in place some 2000 years before its developed capacity would be needed. This, dear children, is what unfolded:"

Mesoamerica_hatch_map_2-25-16.jpg

Mesoamerica

"T he day was warm and dry like every day had been for weeks. This uncomfortable June weather pattern of delayed spring rains had prevailed for nearly one Katun, 19.7 Gregorian calendar years, at about the time of King Ukit Took’s ascension ceremony on February 6, 822 CE. Copan’s latest ruler, standing high atop the flat pyramid showcasing a two story royal residence built by his predecessor, Yax Pasaj, was dressed in fur trimmed hide sandals, a Maya Turquoise Blue cotton breechcloth brocaded with gold threads depicting vertical rows of corn stalks holding brocaded orange cobs and held to his waist by a jade encrusted and finely tanned hide belt whose clasp was a carved jade Macaw matching his heavy carved jade necklace of alternating Macaws and corn cobs spaced with rare gold orbs draped low on his bare brown chest. He cast his casually observing gaze northward across the great city plaza where a market day for the trade of all manner of foods and goods was at its height of activity. He was pleased to see normal daily life in these early days of his reign and the broad smile that widened his large, square and ornately tattooed face at this thought exposed two rows of front teeth filed to sharp points in keeping with the traditions of both royalty and warriors.

During this casual time of surveying movement caught his attention from the left corner of that eye. He turned his head that direction to discover a most horrifying vision. A serpentine body of extraordinary size and length was winding its way down a sparsely treed western hillside, the nearest to the city. This enormous multicolored snake, quickly for its size, slithered across the dry barren maize field at the hill’s base and wove its way ever closer to the great plaza, flattening any standing thing in its path. Unfortunately, that included numerous occupied wood and grass roof farm homes near the field followed by the homes of craftsmen and merchant’s families nearer the city’s edge! No matter, it continued its purposeful approach in frightening haste.

Suddenly, a red Macaw also appeared in the western sky and flew over the snake’s route. The king’s eyes were diverted toward this new sight only briefly as the crimson avian was snatched from its airborne journey by the viper’s quick lurch and enveloping jaws. This interruption was so seamlessly incorporated into the snake’s movements it appeared to be an occurrence of destiny. Its incursion continued.

As it neared the slightly raised causeway which bordered that side of the plaza the great body’s meander pulverized the larger stone homes of noblemen and their families. Then its massive head breached the plaza’s west causeway to arc around the north side of the four step royal pyramid at the center of the 1000 foot wide by 2000 foot long commons.

Next, when the huge head swung southward toward the palace pyramid upon which the king stood the sinuous body meandered through the congested plaza, obliterating everything and everyone, and laying waste to the numerous artistically carved stone stelaes, the obelisk like stones with artfully carved histories and depictions of the city’s kings and other significant facts. Frozen in place the king’s eyes bulged in terror and his heart raced with trepidation as he now fixated on the approaching blood red eyes whose focus was clearly on him!

Then, a sudden sense of relief overcame the sovereign ruler. The reptilian beast lowered its head and proceeded sideways to and around the west base of the royal pyramid, and the great body followed. In this brief moment of near relief he turned to see he was alone. His royal guards, who he was certain stood at the ready in their typical stations just moments earlier, were nowhere in sight.

Then, a new sight of grave concern! The head returned! Now it emerged from around the east side of the pyramid. It became tormentingly clear to the king that the serpent was circling the structure en route to its intended target, him! He remained as frozen in place as any of the stelaes throughout the city. He had no escape! He watched the beast’s muscular girth pass below him midway up the pyramid and then he turned his head toward the east again to eventually see those cold red eyes socketed under their sleek scaled brows. In that moment, for the first time, he saw the forked black tongue of this massive beast’s mouth thrusting forward at him, glistening with wetness as it flexed. This image sparked an instantaneous thought. His right hand moved swiftly to his right hip where he’d always added to his daily attire a sheathed knife, the blade being of a long razor sharp shard of obsidian attached to a bone handle wrapped with deer sinew, hide straps and capped with a knob of jade carved, oddly enough, with the image of a Harpy Eagle, known to be snake eaters on occasion. He pulled out his knife, stepped back flat against the surface of the palace’s north wall and waited.

The head came closer, closer until the flicking tongue almost touched him. The head was now directly in front of him, staring, turning side to side as if to ponder him for a moment. Slowly, it moved closer, within striking distance thought the king. Fighting through his fear the king quickly lifted his now lethal hand and plunged it downward into the intricately scaled head of the snake.

‘But, no! It couldn’t be!’ He thought.

He felt his hand swing through the air freely and pass through the head before him as though it were a vacuous mist! He literally had to strain to halt his downward thrust so as not to impale his own leg.

‘Impossible! It was there, but it wasn’t?’ He queried.

The snake now recoiled and rose above him. It flicked its tongue, blinked its eyes and opened its mouth allowing its spear length fangs to unfold into strike position. The king sensed his imminent demise and felt his limbs begin to shutter. At the moment he saw the fleshy white mouth descend toward him he screamed out, voiding his lungs of all the air they held!

‘Aaaaaahhhhhh! ‘

He screamed, then shot up into a sitting position, dripping with sweat, but positioned, safely, in his bed. The outcry aroused the sleep of his wife, Ka El A’, who drowsily reached out for him. Her hand felt the wetness of his back causing her to inquire:

‘Are you okay?’

He paused, and responded softly:

‘Yes, I’m okay. It was just a bad dream. I’m going outside to calm myself. I’ll be back shortly. Please, go back to sleep.’

‘Are you sure? Do you want to tell me?’ She said sleepily.

‘Perhaps later; you sleep now.’

‘Alright.’

Ukit left the room and walked down the narrow set of cool corbel arched limestone corridors, dimly lit by ceramic fire-bowls, leading to the same outer stone platform that was the setting of his terrible dream. He was still shaken by it. This was a powerful dream, one that carried much meaning to it, he was sure. When he emerged into the early morning darkness he saw that his guards were indeed there. He stood briefly then strolled to a stone bench to be seated.

At that point adrenaline had him fully awake. His mind began to ponder the elements of his dream, a dream he would later share with certain of his priests for interpretation, but in that moment his mind raced through a myriad of thoughts in search of answers. His most pressing question was why a snake? Because snakes shed their skin as they grow they are often considered to be symbols of change.

‘Hmm; change?’ he whispered to himself.

But what change? Perhaps this was referring to his recent ascendance. That change. But this was such a vicious vision, how was his royal position to be considered vicious, destructive? And why was he personally the ultimate target in his dream? But, then, his mind raced through the method of his gaining kingship.

All Maya positions of power passed through royal kinship, typically father to son, rarely a daughter, other male family members, through marriages among royalty, or, at the very least, to noblemen of the city state.

Ukit came to power through political maneuvers arranged through the royal family of his native city sate of Quirigua on the Montagua River, a former vassal of Copan a half day’s walk to the north, and his predecessor in Copan, Yax Pasaj. Ever since Quirigua gained its independence in 738CE through the capture and execution of Copan’s then king Uaxaclajuun and they took control of trade on the Montagua River Copan’s loss of income and influence burdened the Copan royal families that followed as well as their city state of some 26,000 plus inhabitants, already under stresses from other sources, especially lower crop yields. During Yax’ rule Copan was increasingly dependent on trade and closer ties with Quirigua to provide Copan with life supporting staples. He even celebrated his last royal Katun ritual in the city of Quirigua in 810CE. It was during this time that Ukit, a wealthy merchant known for controlling a prosperous flint trade throughout many city states, seized an opportunity.

Yax Pasaj had lost potential family heirs through illness and wars to which he could pass on his royalty. Just as disturbingly he was having increasing conflict with the noble families of his city over the gradual but palpable decline of Copan. Ukit, working through Quirigua’s royals, floated the idea of forming an alliance between their cities through a marriage between himself and the eldest daughter, Ka El A’ Chan, of a Copan nobleman who was the last Copan trader in jade on the Montagua River. Yax saw this as a way to assure his city’s ability to flourish under capable and noble, if not royal, leadership and two years later this marriage happened. From then on Ukit skillfully gained the confidence and amity needed among Copan’s nobility to become king upon the death of Yax Pasaj a few years later.

So, was this pathway to leadership being attacked by Ukit’s dream? Alliances such as his were not unheard of in the many city states of the land. And, it was a necessity to continue Copan’s royal household. After all, it was the role of the royal household in every city state of the realm to employ their vast knowledge of the spirit world to assure the continuance of its blessings by performing the many and special rituals including personal, animal or slave blood lettings that supplication, gratitude and honor required. He was an agent of life itself; so why him?

And then a new thought flashed through his mind. The snake! Was the snake an omen from the past? When his home city of Quirigua prepared to assert its independence from Copan so many years back it had called upon the royals in the powerful lowland city of Calakmul to offer support. They obliged by sending many warriors to assist Quirigua. There were Calakmul warriors in the party that captured and executed Uaxaclajuun, and, Calakmul was called the snake kingdom! His skin prickled!

Also, if he was the target why was there so much destruction in the market place, including injury to so many other people? Why did his nightmare snake come from the hills to the west; why did it eat the red Macaw, a sacred bird? Why were the fields so bare and dry during a time of planting assisted by irrigation canals with water from the Copan River?

His questions became too numerous and were spiraling into directions with neither answers nor insights. He must seek counsel! In spite of the early hour he walked to his nearest guard and commanded him to go directly to the temple to retrieve the priest called Ja La Ja Ku’ Kual, the oracle.

Ja La came from a family known to be gifted with spiritual insight. Others in his family, his grandmother, great grandfather and others going much further back also had the gift, and, its subsequent training. In times long past he would not have been a priest but would have held a distinct and separate title and role as an shaman-like oracle, or Chilam, one who has direct contact with the spirit realm and can seek out values and meanings of temporal issues through meditative spirit walks and intricate ritual. In current times the priesthood incorporated a variety of specialists including scribes, astronomers, diviners, numerologists, genealogists, calendrics and more as well as royalty into its ranks, sometimes blurring roles. However, Ukit knew Copan and its resident nobility well enough to seek out Ja La specifically for his advice. Unlike a diviner, who used ritual and herbal induced hallucination to invoke messages, an oracle’s inborn gift, his capacity, was more direct. He could speak with spirits one on one. Ukit needed to know what the Gods were telling him and for that he wanted Ja La to intercede on his behalf.

Ja La arrived at the sovereign with sleep on his face. But even in this dark early morning hour, not fully awake, the intuitive felt the king’s angst.

‘My king, tell me how I can serve you’, Ja La began.

‘Wise counselor, I’ve had a terrible dream and I must know its meaning. Let me tell it to you.’

Ja La listened intently as Ukit laid out the details of his nightmare. With each new dream element the king conveyed the oracle’s expression gradually morphed from soft respectful listener to tight, brow-furrowed owner of an ominous forecast.

‘Wise one’, said Ukit, ‘I see my dream troubles even you. Can you tell me its meaning?’

‘My king, you have been granted a heavy message which I must meditate on for enlightenment. However, my instincts tell me there is a great trouble, perhaps even a great retribution from the gods at hand, which is coming to Copan and perhaps all the cities. It could affect everything and everyone. This, I fear, is what the consuming of the sacred bird tells. When I leave this meeting to seek greater illumination you must do a personal blood-letting ceremony to appeal for wisdom, direction and for forgiveness of any offense you or others in the royal house might have committed. Do not pray to each day god. Your appeal must be to all the gods and for all of Copan. I will return with any other insights as soon as I know them.’

‘I will do the ceremony you have advised. Also, once you see more we must confer with the other priests to do ritual and prepare offerings to renew our good standing with the gods. Lastly, we must not let news of this dream outside our royal walls.’

‘I will do as you say, my king.’

Ukit now felt an immediate need to address what he knew of the message brought forth in his cruel dream. He went quietly into the palace, got a three legged ceramic blood bowl and a piece of thin inner fig bark paper. Before exiting he went to his garment chamber to retrieve his royal headdress, a turban-like hat made of colorful layers of embroidered cotton trimmed with jaguar pelt and variously and vibrantly colored Macaw plumage, his obsidian knife, and, the exact breechcloth accurately portrayed in his dream. He put them on. Now, grabbing a small torch which he lit on his way, he went back out into the dark morning air which was offering a subtle but promising glow of sunrise to the east. In the place he had been standing in his dream, he commenced ceremony.

He pushed his hands skyward, looked into the star speckled blackness and in a barely audible voice beseeched the gods with a prayer of humble gratitude.

‘Hear me, oh my gods above, below and here with us. To all the spirits of the masculine, the feminine, to the spirits of nature and all the sacred places and to the altars of our people I humbly ask for your blessing and release from the terrible weight on this land of the dream you have brought to me. Accept this gift of my blood.’

Ukit placed the paper inside the bowl, reached under his breechcloth with his left hand and pulled out his penis. With his right hand he removed his knife from its sheath and, with teeth clenched, cut both the top and bottom of his foreskin allowing the two ears of flesh to loosen and the blood to drip onto the paper. Tears trickled down his cheeks as his cut skin eventually swelled and the bleeding lessened. Once most of the bleeding was over he picked up the flaming torch and lit the paper. The paper caught with a flash of light and stream of smoke then the fire ate at the fuel toward the bottom of the bowl and the pooled blood. Upon the flame’s arrival the blood bubbled and sizzled, sending a thicker and more acrid smell of smoke into the night air. The pained sovereign lifted the smoking bowl skyward.

‘For all you give to me and my kingdom, please, accept this essence of myself in return’, said Ukit in a final request. After this the king went into the palace to dress his wound and return his tools. He did not return to bed.

Ukit did not hear from Ja La until a day later when the oracle asked for a private audience. A guard notified Ukit and the two went to a small unoccupied room for conversation.

‘What message do you bring, Ja La?’

‘First, did you do the sacrifice?’

‘Yes, I offered my blood and prayer for all the land and the people to all the gods throughout the other worlds of above and below and to those in our midst.’

‘Good. Indeed you were offered a powerful vision, my king. In my meditation our creator god, Itzamna, spoke only this to me: The land will soon be cleansed and all dead things will disappear. Nothing more than this was offered, my king, though I implored for more. I think we must now speak to the other priests, tell them your dream, and decide a course of further appeal to the gods.’

Ukit was visibly troubled.

‘Itzamna’s message is ominous! All the land will be cleansed? This is why the evil serpent of my dream destroyed everything. But, what is meant by all dead things will disappear?’

‘Perhaps more will be shown to me later, my king.’

Ukit pondered briefly before making a pronouncement.

‘We must act. That is clear. Make haste to assemble all the priests and the heads of all the noble families. I will tell them I have received a message from Itzamna to increase our efforts in all aspects of our lives so that we will prosper and avoid this awful prediction!’

‘My king, would it not be better to…’

‘No more right now, Ja La. I have decided. Tell me if more messages are offered but we must act on what we know.’

‘Very well, my king, I will call for an assembly to commence one hour after full sun tomorrow morning.’

‘That will be good.’

Ukit was now in command mode. He would have been wise to seek further counsel as Ja La suggested but he wanted to take control, more as a merchant would than as the leader of a city state.

In the months and years after his nightmare Ukit ordered his headmen, governors on his behalf, in the villages under his state control to send more locals to the capitol city to work the surrounding fields, quarries and in the forests to increase productivity. He also sent his warriors to city-states further away for the capture of more slaves for their labor, especially for the recently commenced monument in his honor, and, for his increased penchant for human sacrifices. Ukit began performing human sacrifices at the annual feasts, occurring every 260 days, and later at other events to accommodate the gods which he perceived to be angrier as living conditions in Copan became increasingly harsh.

Maya city-states only sacrificed humans for significant ritual ceremonies such as the ascension or death of a king, who were typically considered divinely blessed. Most rituals featured blood-letting through animal sacrifice. The sacred and sparingly used practice of human sacrifice was the result of the Maya religious belief that their creator gods actually sacrificed pieces of their own bodies to produce earthly human life. Human sacrifice was the deepest form of gratitude and homage possible for the gift of their very existence.

Another Ukit endeavor was to use his connections with Quirigua to secure rights to a jade mine formerly controlled by Copan but which had been lost during Quirigua’s independence. However, Quirigua exacted a heavy fee for this right which made Copan’s profits marginal at best and further complicated relations between the two city-states.

Ten years after taking the throne in Copan late spring rains became more prevalent and a few years of drought had also occurred. Ukit and his agriculture priests utilized their best crop rotation practices to alternate maize, beans, squash, peppers, amaranth, cotton and other crops for best results. They dug more irrigation canals and aqua ducts to move Copan River water more expansively. But the river received less water regeneration at its own source so provided less as its channel thinned. People ate less often and less nutritiously which lead to more illness and disease.

Also, for the same reasons Ukit stalked his neighbors, they too performed raids on Copan. Sometimes outright war broke out between Copan and nearby cities-states. These conflicts required ever more human and material resources. Workers were diverted to the making of large quantities of flint or obsidian tipped spears with throwers plus axes, knives, clubs and long lances. Equally necessary were more wood and mat or skin covered shields. Numerous colorful padded cotton armor and mantles were produced as well as elaborately decorated and colorful head-dresses, all designed to inspire. However, regardless of any inspiration, deaths and injuries mounted with each battle and battles increased in both frequency and intensity interfering with trade, general peace and harmony and accelerated the gradual deterioration of the region’s quality of life.

Copan’s population was now declining below 20,000 as its cultural and environmental carrying capacity slowly evaporated!

Poj Ah’

It was into this time of rising stress and turmoil in Copan, in 832 CE, that the infant girl Poj Ah’ Chan Huk was born. Her home was a small two room house of vertical wood poles having clay plaster filling all spaces topped by a typical grass over wood branches roof and located on the eastern river side of the main city.

Her parents were crafts people. Her mother, Pi Ah’ Chan, a blood relative as a niece to the oracle priest, was an exquisite weaver. Father, Mo Tep Huk, was a stone cutter and sculptor. He had more work as a cutter the past few years as less sculpting was being done and any available sculpting work went to those better connected to the nobility. Even his cutting work was becoming scant as less and less building happened. He spent his extra time working their family garden adjacent to the house while Pi Ah’ diligently and artfully created and traded her cotton clothing. She specialized in making women’s Huipils, or blouses, ornately and colorfully crafted and often featuring Maya blue in her geometric or maize god honoring serpent patterns.

Poj Ah’ was the youngest of three. She had a sister, Sa Ji, five years older and a brother, Mo Kuuk, three and a half years older. She came into the family when her parents were becoming more dedicated to personal family survival by working diligently at producing sufficient food, acquiring their own water reserve by digging a stone and plaster lined cistern near the house, attending only the most sacred festivals and by helping neighboring families who returned their assistance. Often such assistance was in the form of fending off attacking warriors sent from other cities to obtain captives for slavery. All households had weapons and Mo Tep was one of the first local organizers of a rotating night watch system. If attackers were spotted the watchman trumpeted an alarm using a shell horn, which typically served as a musical instrument for the more joyous activity of dancing, a very prolific social activity throughout all Maya city-states.

Life wore on in much the same way for another decade and beyond as Poj Ah’ and her siblings grew. Her very feminine sister, Sa Ji’, who became skilled in ceramics, something her father also did well but had little time for, was blossoming into womanhood. Her tattooed oval face, featuring almond eyes, and ears elongated with ceramic ornaments of her own making was framed with long jet black hair, often wrapped in a colorful cotton head-dress. At 16 she attracted a marriage proposal from 19 year old Kalaxuul, an emerging young master of plaster crafts, a Copan city-state specialty, which Sa Ji’ and her parents accepted. In keeping with tradition, after the ceremony Kalaxuul moved into their home to prove himself. If within one year Sa Ji’ thought him unworthy she could leave him. This was not the case, however, and in their second year together Kalaxuul built them a small plastered stone house of their own, a construction quality more typical of nobles. It was not far away from her family but closer to the river and the city, an advantage for Kalaxuul’s work.

Her brother, a round faced, sturdy and physical young man adapted his early interest in his father’s stone cutting to the crafting of flint and obsidian tools, especially weapon tips. With age, prowess and training Mo Kuuk became a skilled tracker and hunter. As early as 15 he was venturing off into the distant hills for days at a time with older hunters in search of game, something that worried his parents who feared him being captured. During one such trip a hunting partner introduced Mo to a weapon new for him, the blowgun; the most effective bird hunting weapon for all Maya and particularly effective with a Maya favorite, turkeys.

Mo practiced long hours to become expert with the blow gun, which used hardened clay pellets for game. He actually contracted with his older sister to make them for him by the hundreds. It certainly was not a favored artistic endeavor for her but it was practical. Game was harder to find. Flying birds and monkeys, more easily downed with blowguns, were being hunted in greater numbers out of necessity. Sa Ji’ complied.

Poj Ah’ moved into her early adult years as an interesting combination of her two siblings. She had feminine grace and gentleness paired with a strong will and athleticism. Her face was round with brown almond shaped eyes that glimmered with tinges of yellow and were exceptionally striking against her black hair which she preferred to let hang unadorned. At 14 she was 5 feet tall, shorter and more muscular than her shapely but lean 5’ 4 sister, trending toward her thickly muscled 5’5 brother, Mo, yet well-proportioned to evince a curvy silhouette.

Being strong willed she knew her own mind early on. She had little interest in ornamenting herself bodily or in dress except for a stylized jaguar tattoo on her left cheek. She gravitated toward male interests and her parents allowed this tendency, up to a point. She watched her brother crafting weapon tips and practicing with his spear and blowgun as often as she could. When young he ignored her pleas to show her his skills but later did spend time doing just that. Eventually he unloaded her by simply telling her to practice.

Mo never appreciated just how much she did practice until she challenged him to a blowgun shooting competition one morning, many months after his last day of helping her.

Women typically rose from their woven matt beds about 4:00 in the morning to prepare food. Men awoke about an hour later to eat and then go into the fields or to hunt, returning in the afternoon to bathe, eat and then work in their own gardens or at other crafts. The mid-summer day of Poj Ah’s challenge she did her morning duty, using a friction bow to start and build their outdoor oven fire while her mother prepared and baked maize pancakes. After they all ate her father left the house first, to be at a cutting project on a nobleman’s house. When Mo went outside Poj followed him with a small ceramic bowl in one hand and her blowgun in the other.

‘Mo! Before you leave I want you to see how good you’ve trained me with the blowgun. Let’s each take a shot at this bowl and see who can break it.’

‘Poj; what are you up to? I need to go.’

‘Please, it will be quick.’

‘Yes it will, especially if I go first. I’d have to let you shoot first because you know I’ll break it. How far do you think you can shoot; and hit something?’ Mo was grinning widely.

‘You’ll see.’

Poj laid down her blowgun then walked to an outside corner of the house where a tall, two handled ceramic water jug was resting on the ground. Empty, she lifted it with one hand and walked 30 paces away from the house into the scrub grass field which bordered the cotton field another 20 paces further. She looked back, put the bowl down, and then placed the jug upside down on the ground. Lastly she placed the bowl on top of the jug and walked back to Mo, picking up her gun.

‘Let’s shoot, you first.’

‘That’s quite a distance, sis. I can hit it though. You should try first.’

‘Not just a hit, brother. I’m going to break it; you first.’

Mo began to bristle at his little sister’s impudence but quickly dismissed it with a smirk.

‘Okay sis.’

Mo took a pellet from a pouch on his belt, placed it between his lips and raised the long wood barrel to his mouth. Breathing through his nose he filled his lungs then sighted the bowl, a bit high for an expected drop due to distance. When he felt right he let loose the air with a sudden burst, propelling the pellet unseen toward the bowl.

They both heard a high pitched cracking sound and watched the bowl wobble, but it did not shatter.

‘You hit it Mo but its standing.’

‘Wait, I think I broke it. You heard. We need to look at it.’

‘Okay brother, for you.’

They both walked across the dry field to the bowl which was definitely cracked with a space on the front edge of the lip where Mo’s shot had broken off a piece.

‘There; I broke it.’

‘It’s standing Mo. We’ll go back and I’ll shoot.’

‘Okay sis, for you. Then I need to go.’

Back at their start point Poj picked up her gun and took her own pellet from her waist pouch. She placed it between her lips, took a deep breath through her nose that even puffed out her cheeks, sighted, steadied the barrel and blew a gust of air larger than would seem could fit inside her small frame. Craaash! The bowl burst into pieces that flew in all directions. Mo stood motionless for a brief moment before anything audible could pass his lips.

His head shaking slightly in disbelief one word finally came out.

‘How?’

Poj reached into her pouch and pulled out a pellet. Holding it in an open palm she stretched her arm forward.

‘Here, look at it.’

Mo took the brownish and orange colored pellet from her hand.

‘This is…this is copper! No wonder! Where did you get it?’

Knowing how difficult it was to find metals of any kind in Maya cities-states throughout the territory Poj was proud to have come by her special pellets and used them sparingly.

‘I got them from Kalaxuul. He was cleaning the large fire pit he uses to heat limestone rock that he hammers into powder to make his plaster. At the bottom was a dried pool of copper that he thought must have come from some ore mixed with his other rocks. He offered it to me so I brought it back, chiseled off small pieces and melted them in a small sand tempered clay mold of ten small cupped reservoirs Sa Ji fired for me. Later I formed them into balls for my gun.’

‘Hmm, you did well, sis. They must be fun to shoot. Pieces of that pot flew everywhere.’ He said smiling.

‘Don’t use them too quickly though and don’t tell anyone you beat me either. I’ll deny it till my death!’

Mo turned his head to the east.

‘Look where the sun is! I’m going to catch up with the others now for the hunt. You go now and do something girls are supposed to do,’ he teased as he jogged toward the trail chosen for that days hunt.

Poj picked up a wooden spoon by the oven and threw it at him, narrowly missing his head and causing him to duck and sprint while laughing loudly at getting under her skin a bit. She returned to the house feeling confident and placed her blowgun in a light cotton blanket with other treasured belongings.

After a short while she left the house again telling her mother she was going to work in the garden because she knew both her father and brother would be home later than normal. She retrieved the water jug, filled it from the nearly empty cistern and began working in the frail garden.

The fortunes of the Copan city-state continued to deteriorate with the drought and conflict driven illnesses and deaths of many residents, including several priests and the kings wife, Ka El A’. There were even rumors that the king was ill. However, in keeping with typical cultural stamina everyone pressed on to endure.

Poj was now spending her 15th year adapting to changes also, for her family, herself and for Copan. There were blessings manifesting first with her brother, needing to marry before age 20 by Maya law, going to live with his new wife whom he’d met less than a year ago. Shortly thereafter her sister gave birth to a baby boy. But then, tragically for everyone, her mother succumbed to the silent illness creeping throughout Copan and infesting the entire region. The family buried her in a simple grave next to the family’s house, per the tradition