Lord Kisin ("Stands So Far" Series)

Sources: wikipedia, britannica, https://www.cancunadventure.net/blog/xibalba/, https://ancientmayalife.blogspot.com/2012/10/kisin-god-a.html, https://www.worldhistory.org/article/415/the-mayan-pantheon-the-many-gods-of-the-maya/, https://www.learnreligions.com/ah-puch-ah-puch-god-of-death-250381
 

I’m told there’s an inspection of the library soon. I’m not sure who would even be doing that, given that pretty much all of the important Agents and associates are in the field dealing with the entire situation going on, but we’ll do our best to tidy up these records in the meantime.
 

Of the Mayan deities, particularly those associated with Xibalba, Lord Kisin is the most important, and he has names and titles to match. Variations used most commonly include Cizin, Ah Puch, Xibalba, Hunhau, Tzontemoc, Yum Cimil, God A, Stinking One, Lord of Death, One Ruler, To Melt (or, rather, one who causes such).

He is most well-known for alternating between burning and freezing any souls unwise enough to be caught in his domain, continuing the alternating torture until the soul disintegrates. Torture is...a well-known pastime, in the domain named after himself. It’s actually possible that these different names (and more besides) were names by which he disguised himself. It’s not especially common for Mayan deities to opt for the subtle route. Traps and tricks are one thing, but most of them aren’t able to contain their bloodlust long enough for more complicated plans. I had been skeptical myself, but given that the reports include the spying of his skeleton dogs, perhaps I had been hasty in that judgment. It’s even more impressive given that he regularly wears bells and manages to sneak around despite the handicap.

Buluc Chabtan is rather close to him, since they often cooperate to accept human sacrifices during war. Despite the propensity for disguise, spying, and subterfuge, this probably means one other thing: Lord Kisin is most likely the most dangerous of the Lords of Death, or Ajawab. He is probably one of the most capable at direct violence, and has a temper to match like many of the Lords of Death, but is also capable of patience and long-term plotting. The Lord of War generally only respects the ability to inflict pain and death, and as he’s one of the best, it’s only logical to conclude that he would only offer his services to one whose capability was even greater than his own.

Interestingly, many, such as the judges and sheriffs, as well as his wife, the goddess Ixtab, were absent. I can think of two different possibilities: One, the Hero Twins more than decimated the ranks of the Lords of Death. Two, unlike many of those still trapped in Xibalba, they were able to leave. It’s entirely possible that Lord Kisin was aware of something else happening and as honest as his desire to see them suffer, he had more than one plan, indeed, more than one problem he was attempting to solve.

He does sometimes appear as a dancing skeleton with a cigarette and a death collar, which includes the eyes of his victims, (called ‘death eyes’) and other times as a bloated figure, on occasion with an owl’s head.

More than just Xibalba, he is known to be associated with earthquakes, putrefaction, flatulence, the owl, death, darkness, disease, disaster, regeneration, childbirth, and beginnings. The Mayans believed that he was scared of loud noises and so often incorporated that into their ceremonies for death—if this is the case, he is very good at hiding this reaction, since he didn’t appear any differently during the ball game. It would explain how well-trained his dogs were, though—if they’re not likely to bark except on command, he’s able to brace himself.