Jaguar Rising — David L. Smith

K'akich Balam, “Fire-Eyes Jaguar,” is caught in a tug-of-war. Raised the son of a long distance merchant who is away from home for long periods, he expects to follow the path of his uncles in the building arts. On the doorstep to manhood, K'akich Balam discovers that he has inherited royal blood. And the prophecy given at his birth requires him to prepare for a life of privilege -- possibly to rule. Although they are at odds with one another, his overbearing father, Thunder-Flute Rabbit, and his spiritual teacher, White Grandfather, guide him toward the throne. They say a man cannot resist what is in his blood; neither can he refuse to walk the path the ancestors laid out for him. Encounters with men and women at every level of society combine with altered-state experiences, initiation rites, battles, shamanic rituals and painting commissions to carry K'akich to the inevitable like a canoe on a fast-moving stream.

Does he have a choice? Must he choose the path of his blood or can he follow his heart? Can he choose both? Can he choose at all?

The story is set in jungles of Belize and Guatemala around 35 B.C.