Chapter 3.15 The Duel, 392 CE.
Mayan children were trained since childhood to hunt snakes and other dangerous species with their bare hands, tradition considered that doing that from a young age improved their reflexes and depending on the species being hunted and the danger involved the younger generations were taught a valuable lesson about teamwork, Mayan nobility was no exception to this rule and since the dawn of their civilization they hunted deer, jaguars, even other men. Since the invasion of Ispania they changed their prey to wolves, Barbary lions amd other dangerous beasts (and humans), the Great Hunt organized by the High Priest was special because it was the first one were a Q'uk'umatz Ahau would participate and also because of the snake-horses Kin brought from Timbuktu were something all the nobles wanted to see, and if possible, ride.
K'awil was bored with the event, he felt that hunting with his subjects was way below his dignity and lineage, also, he felt that participating in a celebration for the return of the man he sent to the far side of the world to have more time to be with his wife was not correct but he could not refuse the invitation made by the High Priest to be with his lover. In the second day of the hunt he sucessfully saved his beloved K’aak’naáb from a hungry wolf that attacked her group and was celebrated as an hero for that... but killing a savage animal was no challenge for him, in fact he was there only he was trying to get close to his now pregnant lover, they were separated for almost a month since Kin returned from his voyage and he missed her so much...
He craved the affection of the wife of his host, that was the reason why he pretended to be injured by the beast so he could be with the women and later, in the middle of the night, he went to her tent...K’aak’naáb was pregnant at the time (he suspected the unborn child was his son) but that was not an obstacle for them...
The next morning he heard the noise made by a single horse when approaching, K'awil quickly dress up and got out of the tent of his lover just to be approached by Kin, who was furious.
-"I knew it!" Screamed Kin furiously pointing a finger to the face of the Ahau.
-"You knew what?", said K'awil while calmly closing the door of the tent and making as it nothing happened.
-"You have been sleeping with my wife all this time!, i tried to ignore the rumors but now...now im certain about that! -.... said Kin with a bitter tone of voice
-" Thats simply not true Kin, i wasnt sleeping with your wife" - said K'awil smiling malisciously and trying to walk past him, they were being sorrounded by more and more people attracted by the angry screams of Kin.
-"You liar!!! - screamed Kin furiously and trying to search for a weapon on his horse to attack the Ahau.
- Wait...you dare questioning my honor? Kin Kawilid, Ahau of Ispal, I challenge you to a duel to the death to decide who of us its speaking the truth! - K'awil made a gesture to one of his servants that was in the middle of the crowd, this was his chance to eliminate his rival and fulfill the promise he made to Kbaab to matry her-
...if you let me get my weapon we can settle this right here, right now...
Both men were facing each other and armed with their Jatz'ab (the Mayan name for the Macuahuitl) ready to start to fight when the High Priest appeared with his guards into the scene.
- Stop both of you - said the gigantic man with a firm but loud, authoritarian voice -
only i can arrange legal duels and we can end this nonsense tomorrow, you both must have a time to reflect before the declaration of the duel and the act itself... you both know our law!.
Both men agreed to what the High Priest said. They retreated to their tents to ponder about what happened earlier and what could be the outcome of their duel.
It looks like an easy victory for the Ahau
K'awil felt extremely confident about his victory against Kin because for much of his life he had been trained in the art of dueling by the Empire's most talented warriors, so he ordered his servants to cook for him the night before Mourning a pork seasoned with chili, pulque, accompanied by white corn bread stuffed with iberian cheese, he intended to
spend the night celebrating with his legitimate wife as if she were the love of his life, he planned to make K’aak’naáb his official wife after beating Kin in the duel the next day and he wanted to enjoy the last night with the old one.
Kin, meanwhile, was more of a politician than a warrior and therefore apparently had no chance of winning the duel ... however the High Priest had promised him revenge and had told him to make a generous sacrifice to Buluc Chabtan and that in his prayers he offered the soul of the Ahau and his victory to the God, such an act of piety would not go unnoticed by the Mayan God of war ... that would perhaps earn him divine blessing and increase his chances of success to win. He went to a local shrine and made what Kalan said with all his heart.
The next morning both men were facing each other half naked and adorned with arrangements made with colorful bird feathers, the priests made them choose between 12 different Jazt'ab especially concecrated to the gods, K'awil took the heavier one because according to his technique and preference he wanted to defeat his rival with a single blow, in the past he had decapitated a horse of a Germanic raider using a weapon like that. Kin on the other hand picked a more balanced one, ideal for an inexperienced duelist.
An illustration of a Macuahuitl lost to a fire on a museom in Spain in the XIX century.
The weapons for the duel would be the traditional Jazt'ab but made from iberian iron instead of wood as was the norm from millenia, like serrated maces that could cut through the flesh, an ideal weapon for a duel to the death. The weapon had evolved since the Mayans arrived on Europe, some of them retained the characteristics of the ones from the Mayab, others looked like two handed swords..
After the High Priest finished a small ceremony to concecrate the duel and validate the duel as a legal act of justice to solve a dispute approved by the gods -after all the legal power was exercised by the priests inside their religious jurisdictions- both men started to attack each other.
The more experianced K'awil parried with ease all the blows that his frenetical rival throwed at him, he was like a cat playing with his prey, his strategy was let the poor man tire himself out so he could finish him with only one perfect and messy blow, a good way to demonstate his superiority and to silence the entire Empire if possible..he planned to take his throne after this easy victory and begin to rule as his ancestors did before him, he needed a show of strenght to start this new stage of his life.
But something was wrong, very wrong...he began to feel dizzy and started to move erratically on the field, Kin still was trying to hit him without success, suddenly the face of K'awil turned pink and he dropped his weapon...he could barely breathe and fell to his knees to the horror of everyone watching the duel... then Kin finished him with a clean blow.
According to the game, he killed himself, xd.
The High Priest looked at Kin surprised and with genuine horror, he didnt expected this outcome even if was that he desired, still, even if he suspected the current wife of the Ahau as the true murderer...the death of the Ahau by the hands of Izamal of House Oncan could start a civil war between the houses and the Throne...the worst outcome possible on times like this...on the other hand...blaming a minor noble could defuse the entire situation and bring stability to the Empire.
- " Are you serious Kin!!??, you know that poisoning the other party of a consecrated duel is considered an act of treachery to the Gods themselves and its an action pubished by execution!?"- Kalan acted as if he was outraged and surprised, the idea behind this was that everyone would think that Kin was the one who had murdered the Ahau even if the poor man presented evidence of having spent the whole previous day praying at the nearby Shrine of Buluc Chabtan.-
"Guards!!, seize this traitor and throw him in the dungeon, where he belongs, tomorrow he will be prosecuted for his crime against the Empire!"
-
Wai...wait! i never poisoned the Ahau, even if he deserved it!!! - shouted a confused Kin, who until that second still thought that the High Priest was his greatest ally.
The duel was declared void and Kin screamed on his way to the dungeons that he had done nothing wrong, that somebody else had murdered the Ahau...but nobody would believe him because all the other nobles and the priests knew about the affair that K'awil had with the wife of the poor man and believed that the ambitious noble had all the reasons to commit the murder.
Hours later, Kin was suspisciously "found dead" on his cell and the High Priest issued a proclamation about the death of the Ahau:
"To all the Great Noble Houses of the Mayan Empire:
Our beloved Ahau K'awil Q'uk'umatz was murdered by the treacherous Kin Kawilid while they were hunting together, the traitor killed himself in prison and with no legal heir...all his lands would be taken over by the Priesthood and his name will be forever damned by the Gods, i will continue to lead the Council of Regency and in a time of great need we need all the houses together until the one years old son of our murdered Ahau comes of age we will continue the work of the Sacred Bloodline of Q'uk'umatz.
ALL HAIL THE MAYAN EMPIRE"
The council of Regency would continue to rule over the Mayans for the next decades...