Another day in the life of Yak Balam, the High Diviner of his tribe, was coming to an end as the sun was hiding behind the peaks of Chiapas; but his feelings were strange today, keeping him wary for the entire day. He was receiving strange signals from their gods every day, and was eating larger amounts of sacred mushrooms to get in the gods minds and talk to them, seeking answers.
Then he got through the dense jungle to reach the Sacred Cenote nearby, the most sacred place for his tribe and the place believed to be their gods dwelling. But something very odd was happening there
- W
whats this? Theres fire here? Better
. No better go inside and try to find out whats happening..
[approaching carefully the cenotes cave, wondering whos the infidel which would set a fire inside]
- Someone here? the voice of the Diviner echoed inside the cenote, with no response.
And, for his very surprise, the smoke appeared to be mist, as the iced vapors touched his face it only left him even more puzzled.
-Mist
here? Without cold air even in the high mountains?....
-YAK BALAM, MY DIVINER!
-W..Wh..Whos there?!?!
- Im Kukulkan, the Feathered Serpent. I have an important message from Heaven to your people.
-T...The
Kukulkan? And what the Kuku
Kukulkan has to say to our humble people, My Lord? said the still puzzled priest, still unbelieving that situation.
-The message is: THIS LAND IS NOT FOR YOURS, my Diviner! and the mist suddenly turned to a fire breath, with shadows resembling either buildings, or rocks, or both
-These lands here offer no future to your people, Balam. You must MUST get out of here, and seek for better lands in the Great North, where your true heartland lies!
-Th
The Great North, sire? Nobody ever returned from there
alive
-And youll not stand alive forever if just sit down here and wait the prophecies to become real. You must gather the people, and begin to search for new lands.
- Youre warned now. Take your actions and get safe, or ignore my warnings and get lost.
The Diviner of the Yucatec tribe then watched the mist and the fire to vanish instantly, and the cenote returned to its clean and empty appearance.
Then, Yak Balam ran to his tribe as fast as he could, still thinking if gods, as humans, could get mad.
-The Great North? We really need to do it? questioned the tribesmen from Yucatan. Now, they wondered, their priest has gone entirely mad. These mushrooms definitely arent good for anyone to eat
- YES, because the Feathered Serpent, Kukulkan, told me to get you on the way for our True Motherland!
-But were born here. Our fathers, and grandfathers, and all our ancestors came from this soil and to this soil returned. Why must we get out of here and try to survive survive is the word somewhere else?
- And no one even returned from there alive! -shouted another hunter nearby.
- You want all of us to die, you fool? a furious hunter shouted from the trees.
-My people!!! Please, it was the Words from Kukulkan!!! He set fire in the cenote, and said that our future tribes would be on fire as well, if we stay here!
And then, a blinding light turned white the sky and bright the lands, followed by a huge explosion somewhere nearby, making the ground tremble. The sky remained red for hours, until night.
The following day, all the Yucatec tribe was departing their long held motherland, with their belongings on shoulders, seeking for the place suggested by their Feathered Serpent.
-Then, its here?
-Im hungry and tired! This land seems to be perfect!
- Well settle here! Its far enough from that damned land!
But Yak Balam was unsure about the exact location desired by Kukulkan, as he hadnt eaten sacred mushrooms nor entered any sacred cenote for weeks. His people wanted to rest and eat, and he would use this hiatus to try another talk with the gods.
But his people hadnt even prepared any fire pit there, when the ground started to
tremble and to break apart, swallowing trees, rocks and people.
It was enough to show that people they were still far from their future home.
[Years after]
-And then, we are the Kaaj Xiimbal. The Walking People. Without home, without food, without...
- Shut up your mouth, sacrilegious fool! Were searching for our destined land in the Great North! We are alive and well up to now, and were bound to find a new land and settle there!
-But when? Weve walking around for years, many of our people have already died or disappeared through this tedious march
When well finally settle in a ground which wouldnt explode or swallow or burn us?
After years walking through a mostly desertic wasteland, the Yucatec people now, the Walking Peoples were in all-time low morale after seeing many of them dying and getting sick through the journey, and were faithless about finding green plains in that wasteland.
But their luck was about to change when the mist occulting the horizon finally was gone and the green forests of the Northern Rocky Mountains were finally visible: what a sight for that hopeless band.
- GREEN LANDS! GREEN LANDS! FINALLY! shouted in awe the frail Yak Balam, suddenly sure that theyve found their promised land. He knew that his days alive were nearing their end, but at least he was allowed to see the Kukulkan promise accomplished.
- Marvelous!
- This is our land!
- We can live here forever! Its far better than the old jungles!
The tired and starved band of Mayans reached a fairly fertile, humid grassland. There was corn nearby, which Yak Balam interpreted to be the divine sign of their lands they are not to be starved again.
As the old priest was falling into his eternal rest, his mind was fully directed to the words of Kukulkan, who said:
- Youve guided correctly your people. I want to let them know thats really their land, and Ive marked it with a huge patch of corn. Now, welcome to the Eternal world, great priest!
