The Venus Disc The magic of the ancient Maya comes to life in a modern world. Consider the consequences! Text: The ancestor spirits of the Maya underworld, Xibalba, crafted a golden disc to honor Venus, their goddess of death. As powerful as it is mysterious, the disc assures its lord's longevity: healing injuries and averting sickness and aging. Manipulating it triggers transference to Xibalba, and thus, a vanishing: invisibility in the earthly world. Needing a ruler for their Yucatan village of Witz Balam, the ancestors ...
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The Venus Disc The magic of the ancient Maya comes to life in a modern world. Consider the consequences! Text: The ancestor spirits of the Maya underworld, Xibalba, crafted a golden disc to honor Venus, their goddess of death. As powerful as it is mysterious, the disc assures its lord's longevity: healing injuries and averting sickness and aging. Manipulating it triggers transference to Xibalba, and thus, a vanishing: invisibility in the earthly world. Needing a ruler for their Yucatan village of Witz Balam, the ancestors attract a wanderer who is on a vision quest. They select him as first Lord of the Disc and name him King Smoke Jaguar. Virtually immortal, the king rules for centuries until disaster strikes, leaving him crushed, trapped, buried at the foot of the temple pyramid. After a millennium, Carter Boyle, a likable rogue of dubious values, uncovers the king--still living--in a subterranean passage. Seeing only gold, Boyle rips the disc and its chain from Smoke Jaguar's neck, then watches the now unprotected king disintegrate. The ancient artifact immediately senses and reinforces Boyle's corrupt moral code and enables him to become a silent, unseen killer. Eventually, Boyle faces off against protagonist Hector Perez, Smoke Jaguar's 24-times great grandson and now rightful owner of the disc. When Hector learns he is heir to an ancient throne, he fights to claim the disc and rebuild Witz Balam, which has since become the archeological dig of the century.
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