Starting from the long Western coast, moving inland two to three hundred miles, passing through the jungle of the Lowland Maya, one arrives at a stretch of populous farms and villages. At the center of numerous Mayan villages, between Uxmal and Mayapan, lies the capital city of the Xiu Family, Mani City.
Golden sunlight descends from the sky, illuminating this ancient religious center. The pyramid temples of the Heavenly Serpent Divine and the Feathered Serpent Divine, situated right at the center, radiate a dazzling golden light. Below the thirty-meter-high pyramid is a broad market plaza. To the east of this bustling plaza are the temples of other divinities. On the open southern side of the plaza sits a semi-open ball court for human sacrifice, although it's not yet time for festive games. On the solemn western side of the plaza stands a two-tiered, square palace, the Xi Wu Maid Palace, the city-state's most important site.
