Physical Description: Balam is short at 5 ft. 5 in. and is strong with working muscle packed onto his frame. Raised amongst shaman his body has been marked with sacred writing, and symbols. These symbols are on his arms and back, with two special glyphs one around each eye.
Personality: Balam is a good natured individual, but tends to be terse when in a group. He prefers to listen to what others have to say, and keeps his opinion to himself unless asked directly. He tends to be blunt with others in day to day affairs, never obfuscating his meaning or intentions. Being one of the village's younger shaman he is deferential to the older and wiser members of his order, but is kind but firm when dealing with local disputes.
History:
Balam is from a remote island in the shattered islands. In ancient times 'gods' ruled over his ancestors with absolute authority. These gods controlled all aspects of life and demanded terrible things from their followers. Then inexplicably they vanished. Balam's ancestors were distraught and performed the rituals and sacrifices to regain the favor of the gods. But the gods never returned. The people wrote down the teachings of their gods, and carved pictures on their temples. In time it was prophesied that when the people had redeemed them selves the gods would return. These gods were men with the heads of jaguars, and their graven images are a reminder to all of the people of the failures of the past.
In time a priesthood stepped forward and said they could communicate with the gods, and could provide direction to the people so the gods would return sooner. These Shaman said that they were called by the gods, and proved with their ability to turn into jaguars, creatures sacred to the gods.
Balam was found at a young age, to have an affinity with the great cats that roamed the jungle outside his city. One of them had chosen to be Balam’s spirit guide. The city was a shell of its former greatness but there was a group of devoted men and women that kept the temples in good repair and performed all the religious rituals. Balam and Jyx his spirit guide were taken in by this group and given guidance on how to use and harness these gifts given to him by the gods.
When Balam was working in the temple a complete eclipse revealed a text and a map unreadable at any other time. It mentioned golden books that contained the secrets of the gods. And talks about a time when the city wasn’t on an island at all. The shamans decided to send Balam in search of this book to expedite the return of the gods.
So Balam and his nahual Jyx sail in the direction of the lost city, or at least as close as that direction can be decerned with the information available. When he arrives in the city it is only to discover his gods inhabiting the city. Multitudes of them. So a lone in a city full of the gods Balam and Jyx begin their search for the truth.
