[Xibalba] Plot

...roughly translated as "place of fear", is the name of the underworld in Maya mythology, ruled by the Maya death gods and their helpers. In 16th-century Verapaz, the entrance to Xibalba was traditionally held to be a cave in the vicinity of Cobán, Guatemala. According to some of the K'iche' Maya presently living in the vicinity, the area is still associated with death. Cave systems in nearby Belize have also been referred to as the entrance to Xibalba. This myth gave its name to an odd phenomenon, mystical and magical even, that has been happening to several caves in the Yucatan Peninsula.

The Xibalban caves around the new city of El Dorado look like little more than holes in the ground, dropping thousands of feet into the earth. Explorers first repelled and parachuted into the dark depths to find normal scientific discoveries and nothing more. It wasn't until a suicide cult dove into the depths of the Northern Cavern. Their intent was to die, of course, but that was far from what happened. The twenty who were filmed diving into the depths climbed out two weeks later with fantastic tales of endless caverns containing ancient treasures.

Through experimentation, it was found that the caverns in the area had magic, that was all it could have been. When someone jumped into the darkness with no way to save themselves, they were safely transported into the cavern depths. The caves there were fantastic. They reflected places on the surface, rocks glowing to reflect times of day. Each cavern has a number of doors that lead to completely different places.

It isn't just the caves that are affected by magic, but the people who enter the Xibalba themselves. While regular and simple on the surface, once they enter the darkness they are transformed. Some say that it is their true power being released, others claim it is a gift given by gods of the ancient past. They are given one of three types of abilities: the ability to control an element, the ability to find treasures through instinct, or the ability to open doors in the Xibalba caverns.

Why would people want to jump into the caverns? For the treasure of course. The suicidal crazies were right, there are amazing treasures to find in the labyrinth of Xibalba. Xibalba is a collection of lost items. Everything (and everyone) that has been lost finds its way into Xibalba.

There are other things in the dark besides treasure. There are dangers, intelligent ones. There are living creatures of Xibalba. Tread lightly treasure seekers.