The Controversial Mayan Queen: Sak K'uk of Palenque (The Mists of Palenque) Read Online Free

understandings.
    Pasah Chan cleared his throat noisily. Slowly the old man turned toward him, watery eyes blinking and toothless mouth opening. His corneas were clouded and whitened. He tilted his head to obtain better view of this visitor, wrinkled lips pursing and popping like a gasping fish. His thin, clawed hands picked tremulously at the blanket.
    “Greetings of the afternoon, Ah Kuy, Honored Ancient One,” said Pasah Chan. “It is good to enjoy Father Sun’s warmth, is it not?”
    “K’in Ahau is good, he warms my old bones,” replied Ah Kuy in a high, reedy voice. “Greetings to you, Pasah Chan, High Priest. How passes your day?”
    “It is well, and I am happy to be with you again. May I join you?”
    Ah Kuy nodded and gestured to the bench beside him. Moving his clouded gaze to the view below he gave a gummy smile.
    “Such beauty does Hun Ahb K’u, the Infinite Creator of All give to this world. So shall I miss it when I traverse the sky in the Celestial Canoe.”
    “Let us hope that is yet far in the future.”
    “Ah, hah,” the old man chuckled. “Not so far, not so far.”
    Both men fell silent, each contemplating their destinies and life’s temporality.
    “There is a task you might yet do, something of great importance to our city’s future.” The High Priest spoke softly but with crisp enunciation. “It is something that means much to me. A personal favor.”
    Ah Kuy tilted his head back, looking upward into the young priest’s face.
    “What would you have me do?”
    “Search among ancient codices for a prophecy for Lakam Ha. A prophecy for these current times, about a great leader who is destined to bring Lakam Ha to its highest point. It is likely that the leader would also be the ruler, one yet to come, but soon.”
    “Why do you ask me? You are a codex expert yourself, you could do that search.” Ah Kuy shrugged and wagged his head. “Here am I, a very old man. My wits are not as sharp as yours. My eyes are failing me. My limbs are frail and weak.”
    “Your knowledge of codices far surpasses that of any priest, myself included,” Pasah Chan replied. “You say your wits are not so sharp, but your memory is boundless. It is such that should you command it, focus your mind, set your intention, that you can remember which among the thousands of codices speaks of this prophecy. I vaguely recall some prophecy concerning Lakam He's destiny, but would spend countless days in fruitless searching. You can summon it to mind, scanning your memory.”
    “Ah, perhaps that is so. Might not it take me countless days also? I have fewer days to count than you.” Enjoying his own humor, Ah Kuy chuckled.
    Pasah Chan smiled, giving the hand sign for losing a point.
    Time passed as the men sat in silence. The sun hovered at the mountain’s edge, sending golden beams across the plaza. Birds called in the forests, jostling for position among branches. Pasah Chan sighed, resigning himself to doing the search. It would take a long time, and Sak K’uk would keep pressing him to train Pakal. He had hoped to get the information quickly upon which to base his decision.
    “I will do it.” The old priest’s reedy treble startled Pasah Chan.
    “Something to amuse my old mind before I join the ancestors. Yes, I know where to begin. It is a good thing, High Priest, that you reminded me of my memory.” He coughed and chuckled simultaneously while the younger man bowed and smiled.
    A special chamber in the Temple of the High Priest was devoted to housing the codices. It was the uppermost chamber of the temple school, chosen to receive maximum light and air. The school was a two-tiered square building opening into a secluded courtyard. On the lower level were numerous classrooms; the upper held small chambers for meditation. The entire western-facing side of the upper level was a series of interconnected rooms with stone shelves lining the walls. These shelves held thousands of codices, the heritage of