EXPLORE
`THE TWELVE REALMS'
The Twelve Realms is a historical reimagining that links kings and paupers, priests and soldiers, and shaman and witches in an epic adventure. Nabii is the key within a tapestry of intertwined people from Western Africa to the Far East and the British Isles who must join forces and find a weapon that will defeat the shadows prophesized to rise from the deep.
EXPLORE
`THE TWELVE REALMS'
The Twelve Realms is a historical reimagining that links kings and paupers, priests and soldiers, and shaman and witches in an epic adventure. Nabii is the key within a tapestry of intertwined people from Western Africa to the Far East and the British Isles who must join forces and find a weapon that will defeat the shadows prophesized to rise from the deep.
THE HISTORICAL - MESOAMERICA - THE MAYAN EMPIRE
The origins of the Maya civilization date back to approximately 2000 B.C., when the first major cities and ceremonial centers developed. Societies began to organize into complex city-states ruled by divine kings, supported by a class of priests, nobles, artisans, and farmers.
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The K’iche Clan, the fictional dynasty in the storyline, is based upon the empire’s height of power during the 5th century A.D. (400–500 A.D.). Dynastic consolidation marked this period, the expansion of city-states, and the development of an elite culture centered on kingship, religion, and military rivalry.
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Throughout this century, Maya cities functioned as independent city-states, often ruled by dynasties that claimed divine authority. These city-states formed complex alliances and engaged in frequent wars, not necessarily for territory, but to capture elite prisoners for ritual sacrifice and to demonstrate divine favor.
DYNASTIC FOUNDATION
The 5th century featured significant stone monuments inscribed with glyphs and dates celebrating the victories, births, accessions, and rituals of rulers. These inscriptions are invaluable to modern historians, revealing detailed chronologies and insights into royal ideology.
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This period also marked the beginning of royal genealogies and calendar inscriptions that allowed later rulers to trace their divine legitimacy back to earlier mythical or historical events. The Long Count calendar was in full use, anchoring the Maya in both cosmic and dynastic time.
THE DIVINE - UNIVERSAL GOD
The Maya of the 5th century held a deeply religious worldview that permeated every aspect of life. They believed in a cyclical universe governed by powerful gods associated with nature, time, and the underworld. Kings acted as divine intermediaries, performing bloodletting rituals and ceremonies to maintain cosmic balance.
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The Maya were astronomers. They tracked planetary movements, eclipses, and solstices with high precision.
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The Maya civilization was a network of independent but culturally unified city-states, whose golden age in the 5th century laid the groundwork for one of the most enduring civilizations in the ancient world.