The Seventh Sun

by Lani Forbes

  “But I thought the sacrifices honored the sacrifices you made—”

  “Do you think I want to be reminded of my losses every day? My children who died to save you all did so because they loved you, as I do. You are our creations. But you dishonor their sacrifice by thinking you need to continue to pay a price that they already paid for you. I know you creatures. You like predictability, you like safety, but you also like control. You want control over your own fate by thinking your rules will save you. You are placing your hope in the rules, not in me and my divine purpose.”

  Mayana could not believe the words she was hearing, and neither, it seemed, did Ahkin. He stared at the Mother goddess as though she were an impostor, as if this were all a great trick.

  Mayana, on the other hand, savored each word of the Mother. The doubts and frustrations that had always plagued her heart were finally given freedom. It was as if leeches had been slowly sucking the life out of her and now had been removed.

  Mayana had been right. The gods, at least the Mother goddess anyway, did not want sacrifices. She didn’t want more pain and suffering. Why hadn’t the Mother made her will known before now? How could she have allowed this to continue for so long?

  “I was right?” Mayana exhaled, a hand over her own heart now. It beat frantically beneath her fingers, as if it were dancing in celebration.

  “Of course. I made you. I put the truth within your heart so that you and others like you could show the truth. It is within everyone’s heart, but you are attuned enough to listen.”

  Mayana suddenly frowned.

  “But—why me? Do you have any idea how much I have suffered because I haven’t submitted to everyone around me?”

  “For exactly that reason. You are not the type to submit. You have water within you, enough water to help wash the mud from the eyes of my people. Like this one.” She jerked a thumb at Ahkin.

  Ahkin stumbled back to a rock and slumped against it, his head in his hands. When he looked up again, his fingers pulling his short hair in all directions, he looked as though he had been told the world had burned down around him without him noticing.

  “I—don’t understand. Are you saying that the sacrifices, the rituals, aren’t … necessary?”

  “They are not how I want to be worshipped and honored. No. Your blind dedication to them allowed you to be fooled into handing over your empire to your twin sister—who did deceive you, by the way.”

  His head drooped, and Ometeotl again faced Mayana.

  “While he sorts that out, I also want to address a concern I have with you.”

  Mayana’s joy shriveled like a grape in the sun.

  “You are strong and stubborn and stand for what your heart tells you. I have watched you closely, as I have all the noble daughters of my descendants. But my darling daughter of water,” the Mother goddess smoothed the folds of her white-and-black dress, “you put your own heart above even my own. You think you know better than the gods, and that will be your downfall unless you trust me. Before your journey ends, you will have to make a choice that will destroy your world or mine. The Seventh Sun may not have been dying after all, but the next true apocalypse is quickly approaching. The bleeding star I placed in the skies is indeed a dangerous omen, and the skies will continue to proclaim my warnings. The world could end again very soon. I hope you will have the strength to trust me.”

  Without warning, the goddess rose shakily to her feet, gathering the remaining dolls into her arms.

  “You must begin your journey now. Ona will guide you, but you face many dangers and trials ahead. At least you both have what you need to survive.”

  “Thank you for our gifts, Ome—” Mayana began before the Mother goddess waved her down.

  “I do not mean your gifts, though certainly those will help.”

  “What do you—?”

  “You have what you need because you have each other.” Her crinkled face broke into a wide, joyous smile.

  “Nothing makes me happier than creating two souls for each other and seeing them find their way together. You are dualities of each other, heart and mind, passion and duty. You will both teach each other what the other needs to learn.”

  Ahkin lifted his head out of his hands again.

  “We—were created for each other? You mean I was destined to choose her all along?”

  “Oh no, son of the sun, just because I created her for you and you for her does not mean that is your destiny. You must still choose. Free will is the gift I gave to all humanity. I know what is best, but you still have the freedom to ignore me. But I do promise, as Mayana must come to learn, that not trusting me often comes with dreadfully painful consequences.”

  Mayana blinked, and she was suddenly staring at empty black stone. The goddess was gone.

  Ahkin turned to look at her, confusion, pain, fear, desire, so many things swimming in his eyes at once it was a miracle he was not drowning in them. Perhaps he was. The pleading posture of his body made him look so lost. Did he want Mayana to tell him what to do?

  Mayana felt just as lost. They were supposed to travel through the levels of the underworld, somehow steal the bones of Quetzalcoatl from the Lord of the Dead, and find their way back to the mortal world before the end of the calendar year? That, and the next apocalypse was truly coming and Mayana would make a decision that could save or destroy them all?

  Her stomach suddenly rolled with nausea. How was she supposed to do this?

  Mayana slumped down on the rock beside Ahkin, afraid that if she opened her mouth at all, she would be sick.

  Ahkin didn’t say anything to her, but instead slid his hand over hers and wove their fingers together. He squeezed her hand so tightly it hurt, but she returned the pressure with equal intensity.

  A lifetime ago, she had gripped the handle of her knife as the only steady thing in a world shifting beneath her feet. Now, his hand would be that anchor.

  Mayana didn’t have any idea what they were facing or what they would have to endure, but she did know that she wouldn’t have to walk through hell alone.

  Perhaps together, water and light could bring color into a world succumbing to blackness.

  A Note from the Author

  I have always been fascinated by Mesoamerican history, and when my family moved to Mexico, I knew I wanted to set the story in a fantasy world roughly based on the diverse ancient cultures of South and Central America. As the daughter of a research librarian, I began doing what I love to do best: research! I started scouring through original sources for inspiration, and after reading the origin myth of “The Five Suns,” this story began to take shape. Though the Chicome Empire is a fantasy, I did try to remain true to various historical details whenever possible. That being said, I did take some creative liberties to tell Mayana’s story. For example, the original myth states that we are living in the age of the Fifth Sun and not the Seventh Sun. I also changed some names for the sake of continuity. Xibalba is actually the Mayan name of the underworld, as opposed to Mictlan, which is the Aztec version. As far as I am aware, the Aztecs also did not practice the self-sacrifice of a wife upon the death of her husband. Just as with ancient Egyptian culture, sometimes servants and animals were buried with their ruler to serve them in their journey through the underworld. The Aztecs were a highly ritualized culture, which I felt would be the perfect foil to a heart like Mayana’s. She is ordered to follow certain practices because they are accepted as truth, even though she knows they are rules created by man. In so many ways, it mirrors some of my own personal spiritual struggles.

  The Aztecs were a syncretistic society, often adopting the myths and practices of the societies they conquered. For this reason, there are many different versions of various mythologies. Ometeotl is an example of a highly debated deity. Some scholars believe the Ometeotl did not exist, while other sources refer to Ometeotl as the original creator coup
le. I chose to use Ometeotl as the Mother/Father creator. Duality, or balance between opposites, is such an important concept in Mesoamerican thought. I wanted her/his character in the story to really embody that important element. That is also why I wanted Mayana and Ahkin to be dualities of each other, a balance of heart and mind.

  The issue of human sacrifice can also be highly controversial when discussing the religious practices of ancient Mesoamericans. Western culture likes to represent harmful “bloodthirsty” stereotypes that do not do justice to the deeply spiritual practices. In my story, I wanted to make sure that the religious context was explained. When citizens of various genders and ages were sacrificed, it was considered a great honor. The Mexica believed that the gods sacrificed themselves in order to create mankind and the sun itself. Blood held the power of fertilization. Because of their belief in duality, you cannot receive without first giving. They believed that the offer of blood was an act of thanks for the origin sacrifice and a way to offer a gift in exchange for life-giving sustenance. This was sometimes done through animal or human sacrifices, but also through ritual self-sacrifice of blood. Usually, self-sacrifice included pricking oneself with a sharp instrument such as a stingray or cactus spine. Because of their belief of the power held in blood, it made sense—for the sake of the story—for blood to hold many forms of power. This is why my magic system is so closely tied to the idea of bloodletting. It is not meant to encourage any kind of self-­mutilation but was chosen in recognition of the specific historical practice.

  Though there is much evidence for human sacrifice, there is also much debate around the scale to which the practice was performed. It is often believed that the Spanish priests exaggerated claims of numbers in order to support their own agendas. In reality, societies all over the world practiced killing for religious purposes, including those same European churches that burned countless people at the stake to “purify” their souls. The Aztecs also did not kill indiscriminately during war. The purpose of many battles was to capture enemies that would be later sacrificed for a specific religious purpose, as we see in the story with the Miquitz soldiers in Tollan. The ritual of the noble daughters being sacrificed to bless the emperor’s reign was fictional, but sacrifices were often performed during important ceremonies or times of the year. So, for me, it made sense that an important sacrifice would be performed to initiate the reign of a new emperor.

  If you would like to learn more, I highly recommend the book Handbook to Life in the Aztec World by Professor Manuel Aguilar-Moreno. Thank you for taking this journey with me, and I can’t wait to share the next part of Mayana and Ahkin’s story with you!

  Acknowledgments

  In writing this book, I channeled so many of my own emotional and spiritual struggles. Like Mayana, I am fortunate to be surrounded by loved ones who challenge me to face difficult questions and continue to love me as I wrestle through them. First and foremost, I want to thank God, for teaching me the true meaning of love and sacrifice and showing me unending grace. And I want to thank my mother for not only instilling a deep love for books in my heart, but for showing me what it means to be a strong woman. Mom, you taught me to never give up and to always pursue your dreams, no matter the obstacles that stand in your way. Without those lessons, I am sure this book would not exist.

  Samantha Wekstein was my superhero agent, brainstorming ideas and helping me get this book out into the world. I am so grateful that you fell in love with this story as much as I did. Thank you for helping me navigate the publishing waters and being willing to patiently answer my never-ending questions. The amazingly talented editors Betsy Mitchell and Courtney Vatis polished this manuscript until it really shined. I know it wouldn’t be the story it is without both of you! I am still amazed at the beautiful cover and artwork done by Kathryn English. You took my vision and not only made it come to life, but blew my expectations out of the water! To Josie Woodbridge, Lauren Maturo, Greg Boguslawski, Jeffrey Yamaguchi, Mandy Earles, Rick Bleiweiss and everyone else at Blackstone Publishing for taking a chance on a young debut author. You all made my dreams come true. I am so lucky to be with such a talented and successful publishing house!

  There are so many people I want to thank for reading early versions of this book, and I know I will probably forget some, but I will do my best! *deep breath* Here we go. To my sisters, Hana and Noelle, thank you for letting me talk your ears off about story ideas and being my cheerleaders through the whole process. To John for sharing your love of Mexico with me and being such an amazing father to our family. To Kevin, you are the other half of my duality and you always will be. To Raelyn and Zach, thank you for being patient with mommy during all those hours I spent on the computer writing (and to Beverly, Dale, Becky, Dan, Julie, GG, and Uncle Fat for helping watch them with Mommy’s crazy schedule!). A special thank-you to my critique partners Angie Howard, Marilyn Allison, and Dana Lange; Erica Cruz, Rachel Scott, Tanager Haemmerle, Angela D’Ambrosio, and Margo Kelly for reading my earliest drafts. To Bethany Kaczmarek for teaching me so much about writing and editing. To my first beta readers Brittany Salling, Melissa Kirscher, Matt Moncrief, Brian Coultrup, Alaina Henry, and Meg Alberda. I am so grateful for the feedback of the incredible readers at Writers House: Sarah Grill, Nikki Sinning, Christopher Cappello, and Hannah Sutker. To Merrie Destefano and Rachel Marks, thank you for believing in me and giving me the courage to believe that I could really do this “author” thing. To all the wonderful authors who were willing to read and give blurbs about this story before it was even published. You are all rock stars for helping me walk through this process!

  And lastly, thank you reader for joining me on this journey and letting me share the crazy world I made up in my head! I can’t wait to see where else this journey takes us!