Kings of the Sun Page #2

lxchel, l've tried so many times to tell you,

l do grieve with you

for the death of your father.

Yet there was a time

when you wanted it yourself.

The enemy killed your father, lxchel,

not the king.

And who brought the enemy upon us?

When a man must think of many,

it's not easy to think of one.

Oh, God of Waters, the winds forsake us,

our men weaken and die.

l plead with you, do not abandon us.

We've lost another boat.

The god of the waters has abandoned us.

Turn back before it's too late.

You know the danger that lies behind.

There cannot be greater danger ahead.

lt is not our lives Hunac Kell wants,

it's yours, Balam.

Fear presses down upon you, Priest.

Why not use your power? Pray for wind!

Balam, listen to me,

as you'd have listened to your father.

l now believe this voyage was doomed

from the moment

we did not make sacrifice.

There are things

that belong to the gods, Balam.

And things that belong to man.

ln the name of all that we hold sacred,

give the word to turn back or l will.

-Do so and it will be your last.

-l, too, say we should go back.

BALAM:
Go back to what?

An honorable death.

Once we both wanted that.

Must we all die for you, Balam?

Women and children, too?

(ALL SHOUTlNG)

There is new land beneath our feet

and a new life lies before us.

Let us then begin

with new feelings in our hearts,

old fears and old memories

to be forgotten.

From this time on,

it shall be as though we are reborn.

Before we left the old land, l made a vow,

that if we arrived here safely,

l would make lxchel my queen.

Now, before all of you, l keep my word.

Priest, as the first act in this new land,

prepare to perform this marriage

as soon as possible.

There will be no need.

You were forced to take that vow.

Nonetheless it is sacred.

And that vow was made to my father.

And to these people

who bore witness to it.

lt was made to everyone but me.

But no longer need you feel

the prisoner of a promise.

My father is dead,

and l release you from that vow.

There is much to be done.

We must clear the land,

build a temple to our gods

and houses for ourselves.

Our task will be hard.

But with faith, we shall endure.

Oh, God, lord of hills and valleys,

be patient with us

for we are about to destroy your beauty.

Suffer it, we pray you,

so that we may dwell here

and obtain our daily bread,

for in us there is a great hunger.

Send us the many blessings of thy bounty,

the life-giving sun,

the blessed rain, the fertility of the soil.

We pray you to suffer

no animal to attack us,

nor enemy to kill us.

lt is a sense l have.

Because we saw one canoe

does not mean invaders have come.

The canoe is like none we've ever seen.

Where there is one there could be many.

As your chief,

l say strange boats carry strange people.

lf the council agrees,

l will search for these strangers.

lf l find them, l will bring back one.

lsatai, you will come with me.

One may have to watch,

the other must return

with word to the council.

We have been looking for these strangers

for more than five times

this number of days.

-And we'll look more.

-Maybe there are no strangers.

Maybe there was nothing more

than a big canoe.

Then we'll find that out.

-There is no need for you to do this.

-My place is with my people.

Now they're Balam's people.

You should be their queen.

lxchel, your father was wiser than that.

A king is a lonely man,

perhaps the loneliest man on earth.

Your father understood that.

He knew that for Balam to rule wisely

he needed someone at his side.

Someone he could confide in,

trust and love.

Both of you are lonely.

lf he is lonely,

why doesn't he tell me himself?

How much longer

must you keep our farmers piling dirt

when they should be planting corn?

Until the temple is completed,

l cannot determine the day

the gods will favor our planting.

And there's been no rain.

Perhaps it never rains here.

We will not have to wait for rain.

Come with me.

lxchel works harder than any.

l told her she belongs with you.

lt is no concern of yours, Priest.

My concern is with everyone here,

beginning with the king.

Before everyone l offered her marriage

and before everyone she made...

Because of a vow.

She's a woman. Go to her again.

-l am a king, l cannot plead.

-She will listen.

To degrade me again?

l have in mind to build a wall of stone here

so that the water will be held back.

And then to dig ditches

from here to the fields.

And then

we'll never have to depend upon rain.

BALAM:

This, l think, would be the place to start.

lt may be done, Balam,

but first you must sacrifice.

This stream will become

the lifeblood of our village.

The God of Waters must be given a life

in honest exchange.

All work on the pyramid must,

for the moment, stop

until we have built this wall of stone

and prepared the fields for planting.

That is my command.

Tell your people that Black Eagle

has taken your chief,

and my warriors

will destroy the rest of you.

Let him live.

We have our offering to the God of Waters.

(CONCH SHELL SOUNDlNG)

(CONCH SHELL SOUNDlNG)

(CONCH SHELL SOUNDlNG)

(CONCH SHELL SOUNDlNG)

The barbarian has a killing wound

but he seems too strong to die.

l have felt that strength.

But how do we know the offering

of a barbarian will please the gods?

We are strangers here, he is of this land.

No one could better serve our need.

And we must see to it

that he is made well.

Where there's one there must be others,

perhaps thousands

and every one of them

looking for their chief.

Post guards around the village

and send out more searchers.

lt will be done.

You have done enough for today.

You may go.

lxchel.

There is...

There is something

l have wanted to tell you.

l have wanted to tell you

that l know how hard you work.

All of your people work very hard

and l am grateful.

l will tell them.

-He will let no one near him.

-lt's like trying to help a wild animal.

Go back to him and heal his wounds.

A life offered to the gods

must be a whole one.

He frightens me.

l will try.

Say nothing of the sacrifice.

He will be informed at the appointed time

and in the appointed way.

He's like a wild animal

because he's being treated like one.

Remember, he tried to kill the king.

And remember that your high priest

has chosen him for sacrifice

and he should be properly honored.

Rest easy, Balam.

lf the barbarians are out there,

the searchers will find them.

l only remember how Black Eagle

appeared like a spirit, from nowhere.

When l am asleep,

my eyes cannot see you.

During the long time of darkness

it seemed that l had died.

l hate death.

l remembered the living.

l was angry, it was taken from me.

Then l saw a woman.

l reached out and touched her.

And then l knew l was alive.

But why?

Why am l alive?

Why are you healing me?

Why?

Please sleep now.

Now l will sleep.

Black Eagle was right.

They are people

such as we have never seen before.

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