Xibalba ("Stands So Far" Series)

Note: A lot of my information here comes from Wikipedia. I know, I know, but as Giles says, most of this comes from the account of the Hero Twins, of which I was finding a ton of summaries (such as this one: https://www.worldhistory.org/Xibalba/) and a lot less full texts with actual details. I did use a few other links: https://mythology.net/others/concepts/xibalba/ and https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/underworld, and some aspects of the ball game also came from Wikipedia, https://www.dkfindout.com/us/history/mayans/ball-game/, and https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/mball/hd_mball.htm. Feel free to share any resources you have; I’m planning on a remaster once I finish and would absolutely fix anything at that time. (I am aware that some of the most commonly listed Lords of the Underworld such as Pus Master aren’t present. This has to do with considering fights with them, and several had a little too much overlap with the fight against Tukákame or not having enough meat there to get much of a grasp on.)

As the saying goes, it never rains but it pours. We are informed this is particularly common in London, the former headquarters of the ISWC. Our records are soon to contain information on actual deities (not sure how that works) such as those contained below. Soon this will be, as some would say, ‘old hat’ but in the meantime it’s very exciting. The second-most expensive cake was also great, although the interns were bouncing off the walls. We’re fairly certain it was not a Stand effect this time, though have taken the step of adding extra padding in the meantime. There’s a lot more to research and learn, but there’s even more dangers, so please, take care. (Thus far, the tactics seem to be roughly equivalent: study the origin of an effect, determine strengths, weaknesses, and type of contact, and consult with this database to see if any previous encounters are known, though something of the actual strategy used after that point might differ considerably.) We are assured the following is, in fact, a deity, though in such a case it is probably more analogous to a location-bound Stands.

I am told I am writing to kindred spirits. In truth, my position has always been one more of observing, researching, and the like than actual field work, as the title Watcher might suggest. Nonetheless, it has been less than pleasant to be uninvolved this time, hearing of danger after danger occurring to my no-longer-so-young charges and being unable to do a thing about it. Worse still is the idea that I likely contributed to my own lack of involvement myself. The feeling is even worse knowing that the mastermind behind so much of this was a fellow Watcher—one that I’d known well, as a matter of fact. Sharing what little we know of Xibalba and its inhabitants is something to do, allowing me to feel useful and valued, at least.

Xibalba itself is alive, though not sentient. It takes the form desired by its inhabitants. It can, in some places, mimic sentience in order to give life to its tests. How it does this is not known for certain, but I can share one popular theory. The line of thought goes that the souls of those slain within the grounds (and also potentially those sacrificed to the Lords of Death) are trapped within, making it a truly haunted underworld, I suppose. The intelligence of these souls can be borrowed for tasks and then discarded, because it is mere mimicry without understanding.

The path, location, and exact details of the various tests involved can thus vary widely. One conquistador unfortunate enough to make his way within (and fortunate enough to return with his life, though perhaps not intact) stated that he believed that the differing accounts of the contents of Xibalba were a mere matter of bad record-keeping. This line of reasoning seems to be mainly founded on the idea that “primitives” could not possibly “keep their stories straight”, a woeful misunderstanding of oral tradition. Given that changeable location characteristics are common to several Hell Dimensions, it stands to reason that such could be true of an underworld as well. Several commonalities between the stories can also be found if one looks. The most detailed and thus ‘definitive’ version is the story about the Hero Twins as they descend into Xibalba to bring an ending to the unreasonable demands of the Lords of Death.

The path to Xibalba is roughly the same no matter the account. It differed in this case, I suspect, because the route in was not the “true” path to Xibalba. Fortunately, in most cases it would be extremely difficult to simply appear in Xibalba. One must purposefully travel there under the usual circumstances, although I suppose it is possible one could end up there if you were, say, fleeing the wrath of those you wish to conquer. This is even more of an accomplishment as the Lords of Death defeated by the Hero Twins, so you are extremely unlikely to encounter most of them if you do not enter the place. In fact, other than the Milky Way itself, there are only a few known locations, all of which involve caves or cenotes (hidden sinkholes). New entrances never can be made, although previously forgotten entrances can be discovered.

I would not be surprised if Wesley either crudely carved a cenote on the ground himself or had it done. Symbolically, this could serve as a ‘stand-in’, the first step in a ritual summoning of the path to Xibalba itself. If the conditions are met, if only symbolically, it appears that the path to Xibalba can, in fact, be summoned, responding to something that looks like the traditional requirements and, in fact, is nothing of the sort.

From there, there’s a river of scorpions, a river of blood, and a river of pus. While it seems Wesley was unable to import enough scorpions to accomplish this goal, he did have a river of blood from those he’d slain. However, continuing on this ‘stand-in’ theme, he had, presumably, blocks of stone carved, colored, and had the “rivers” installed along the path down in the pyramid, assuming he did not do so himself. (It seems unlikely, as he might end up trapped himself.)

Many who reach the so-called “court” believe they have passed all obstacles and are now in a position to bargain, but this is not in fact the case. This is yet another test—those wishing to speak to the Lords will be invited to sit next to extremely lifelike mannequins on burning hot benches in order to petition the court. If one manages to survive or avoid this danger while remaining polite, the Lords will become personally involved.

The exact Houses, order and number of said Houses, and occupants differ depending on account and may be chosen depending on what is believed will be the most effective against the outsider (or, in Mayan mythology, any who do not die violently), with Camazotz’s reign over the House of Bats being the notable exception. Even two instances of the House of Bats may not have the exact same layout or dangers. The ones encountered this time were the House of Night, House of Rattling, House of Jaguars, House of Razors, House of Bats, and the House of Heat. They may be known by different names.

Similarly, the ball game is known by different names, including ulama, pok-a-tok, and pok ta’ pok. Ritual sacrifice was involved, but scholars disagree as to when it happened. It is unlikely that winners or losers were beheaded at every game, but given the bloodthirsty nature of Mayan deities this probably only is true regarding the human versions. Not being able to use your hands or feet is common, although “allowed” body parts differed quite strongly. Most games lasted for quite a lot longer than was played, but even with the way Xibalba is allowed to manipulate where and how it relates to the flow of time outside its borders, there would not have been enough time to complete a full game. A modern version is still played today, and this time we can confirm there are no instances of human sacrifice. Some methods of scoring did not involve the stone rings, since not all ballcourts had one. The deities cheating was supposedly not an uncommon occurrence, although I am unaware of any stories where the court itself changed, perhaps indicating that even Xibalba considers the game too sacred to bend to the will of its masters in this regard.