AN1: Just a short reminder to check out my pinterest profile, where I have created several pinboards for some chapters of this story, including this one. You will find some screenshots of "Black Flag" to help visualize the place we are going to visit in this chapter. I put the link into my profile description. Enjoy, and please check out the Author's Note at the end of the chapter for more background information regarding my thoughts on everything that is going on.

The end of a long search

Connor

It was the middle of the night when Connor climbed the stairs to the upper floor. He was tired and felt the strain of the last weeks in every fibre of his body. He just wanted to go to bed and rest. To recover so that he could spend more time with his family. But at first, he went to his daughter's room whose door was ajar as always. Connor peeked through the door but saw that Emily's bed was empty. Probably she had crawled under the blanket with her mother. He turned around and entered the bedroom where the moon illuminated Lillian's and Emily's silhouettes. The latter was cuddled up to her mother who had wrapped her arms around the little body beside her. A loving smile flitted across Connor's face and he hurried to get out of his clothes and wash off the dust of the streets before lying down with them. Carefully he moved closer to Lillian, whose back was turned to him and put an arm around her and with that, around Emily. His hand slid into the soft curls of his daughter and down to her back where he paused, as he felt a sticky wetness under his fingertips. Confused Connor raised his head from the pillow and glanced over Lillian's shoulder at Emily. That close, she was hardly visible in her mother's arms.

"Lillian?", he whispered. "Lillian, I think the little one…" He stopped because he had just wanted to brush back some strands of Lillian's hair, to touch her cheek and wake her gently. But he realized how cold she was.

"Lillian?" Connor's heartbeat quickened and a nightmarish sense of fear tightened his chest. He sat up and quickly reached for the lamp on his nightstand. He failed several times to light it but when he did, the scene in front of him let time stand still anyway. Lillian and Emily lay cuddled up to each other, their eyes closed as if they were peacefully asleep. But their nightgowns were drenched in blood. A wound on Emily's back and one on Lillian's belly. As if they had been killed with one strike or one bullet.

"No", Connor uttered and reached for Emily, only to feel that her skin was as cold as her mother's. Her cheek was free of any blood, but when Connor pulled his hand back, his fingertips were shining red. The blood, wherever it was coming from, ran down his hand, covering it as if he had been the one who had murdered them. "No!, No, no, no!" Connor startled back, staring at the bedsheet that was drenched in more and more blood. As if it was following him. Burning the terrible image of his dead wife and their dead daughter into his mind forever. Shaking his head, as if he could stop it, he leaped backwards off the bed, but couldn't turn his eyes away from Lillian and Emily.

It is a dream, he reminded himself. Just a dream. I need to wake up.

He closed his eyes and tried to cling to this thought. His heartbeat was in his ears. The unreal awareness that he was only dreaming and simply had to wake up was battling the too-real panic, that this could be reality. Connor pinched his lips and didn't feel that he was still shaking his head. Until he opened his eyes wide.

The air in the small tent was warm and stuffy when Connor woke up. He was breathing hard as if he had run for miles. Sweat ran down his forehead and covered his bare chest. Blinking he stared up to the thin tarp that let the dim morning twilight in, which made his surroundings just vaguely visible. When he turned his head to the side, he found the small silhouette of Emily next to him, whose deep, regular breathing told him that she was still asleep. She was alive. She was fine. But what about her mother? Lillian, who should have lain on Emily's other side, wasn't there. Slowly Connor sat up, ran his hands over his face and listened for the noises outside. But besides the rustling of the wind in the trees and muffled voices in the camp, he couldn't hear anything that would have told him if Lillian was nearby. Maybe she had gone outside to relieve herself or simply get some fresh air, but Connor was still worried since she hadn't felt well lately. Emily was in the middle of a phase of defiance, was constantly grumpy and hard to calm down. Lillian thought it was because of the high temperatures and that Emily simply wasn't well. But there was nothing more they could do but to give her chances to cool down and keep her away from the sun and hydrated, and especially for Lillian, it was exhausting to deal with Emily. The weather didn't make her feel any better and Connor knew too well that she had hardly slept recently. She had tossed and turned, had kicked away the sheets and pillows and had needed to roll away from him, to get some cool down because in his sleep, he had kept moving closer to her and he felt sorry for it. Connor was running out of ideas on how he could help her feel better. The only thing he came up with was the most obvious. To get rid of the Apple so that Lillian didn't need to worry about him anymore and they could return home. But this was the reason, they were here.

Connor sighed and sank back again. His body had already recovered from the nightmare, but the images hadn't left his mind, yet. They hadn't for months. For years he had repeatedly dreamt of his mother's death and later of Lillian's as well, after Gardner had shot her on Unst. But since Connor had talked to the spirit through the Apple, these nightmares had kept haunting him. Over and over again, he had seen Emily and Lillian die. One time, just like tonight, he found them dead at home, another time it was the dream where they were trapped in the burning manor and fell victim to the flames. He was never able to help them. Either he was too late, or he was a helpless spectator. During the four months they had been separated, the nightmares had become worse. It had been torture to wake up and not at least find Lillian beside him, whose warmth and breathing always ensured him that he had been dreaming. He had spent nights awake, only to avoid these terrible images. Since the two of them joined him in the Caribbean, the dreams had become rare, but they were still there and by now, Connor was sure that they were a warning. A reminder of what he had been tasked to do.

As long as it isn't hidden, more people will try to possess it and many more will suffer from it. Even those you love.

The spirit's words and probably he should never forget what was at stake if he didn't do what she wanted. He didn't like it. He felt used and still, he believed that he had no other choice. That was why he had become even more stubborn in his search. He finally wanted to get done with it. He wanted to get rid of the Apple and the dreams but above all, he didn't want them to become reality. Maybe he would never be able to eradicate all the dangers for his family, but one was better than none.

Connor's arms sank back and he rolled onto his side to his daughter. She was lying on her stomach and had buried her doll underneath her. Only its head peeked from under Emily's chest and the woollen hair kept disappearing in Emily's mouth that was opening and closing as if she was speaking. Connor smirked and carefully brushed the doll's hair aside, before moving closer to Emily and kissing her forehead. Her closeness helped him forget the nightmare for now, but at the same time, he wondered where Lillian was. She should be back by now. It was too early for her to get up. He knew her habits and getting up early was not one of them.

He waited for a short while until he decided to look for her. Slowly he sat up and carefully crawled out of the tent, to not wake Emily. The air outside was more pleasant than inside the tent, but it was already noticeable that it was going to be another hot day. Everyone seemed to be still in their tents. Connor saw only a handful of men sitting between the trees, talking, smoking their pipes or sleeping. They were men of his own crew, but also crewmembers of the Guerrera de la Libertad, the ship that had brought them here. They were on Tulum, directly in the former village of the Assassins between collapsed straw huts, lookouts and bridges that were spread everywhere in the thicket. Entirely overgrown. Nature had reconquered the whole area. When he had been here last time, Connor had felt a certain sense of grief, although he had never known this place and the people that had lived here. But they had been Assassins and so he felt a connection to this place. Now that he returned here with the knowledge about his grandfather, he felt it more than ever before.

He knew that most of his companions didn't understand his eagerness to explore this place again. He hadn't told anyone about the ghost of his grandfather and was more than certain that he had seen him. Anyone but Lillian. They had talked about their fight only shortly. Both knew that they didn't share their opinion and that no one of them wanted to give up their own. Still, Lillian had given him this last chance.

"If you are so certain, go to Tulum", she had said. "But if you still don't find the temple, I'll be expecting a decision."

She hadn't needed to specify the kind of decision she was expecting and Connor didn't like that she was giving him an ultimatum at all. At the same time, he understood why she was doing it and it was only natural after she had made so vehemently clear that she wasn't approving his search any longer. Then she had demanded something else he didn't really approve of.

They had waited a week until one of the Assassins' ships had been available and shortly before their departure, Lillian had stood at the pier with a bag and the child and had demanded to come with them. She hadn't let herself be talked out of it and so Connor had agreed reluctantly. As long as she and Emily didn't come near the temple, they should be safe.

Like on his first stay on Tulum and the other islands, they had built a base camp with most of the crew, where they would start their explorations. In this case, between the collapsed huts close to the beach where the ship lay at anchor so that they could return on board anytime. Beyond the camp was the temple complex Connor had searched on his first stay. They were mostly ruins. Weathered white stones. Marked by time and covered in moss and twines. But contrary to the collapsed village, they were still radiating a sense of dignity and fascination. As if they wanted to withstand time and stand forever although their creators were long gone. This complex was his first destination but for now, he paid it no heed.

After Connor had left the tent, he looked around for Lillian and found her at a fire nearby. There she sat with Olivia and they seemed to be deep in conversation. The relationship between the two women had improved over the last couple of weeks. They would never become friends, since they were too different, but Lillian had put her distrust towards the younger woman aside since Olivia had revealed her true identity. To Connor, it made no difference. Olivia had already proven that she was regretting her mistakes of the past and wanted to make amends. That she had left the Assassins was no reason for him to treat her any differently than before. She had made her decision and although this decision had brought her to Raymond Jarvis first and far off the Assassins' path, her honest regret was reason enough for him, to give her a chance. She was still young and had been even younger when she had worked for Ray. Looking back at his youth, Connor couldn't say that he had always stayed on the right path and had never made wrong decisions.

When he approached the two women, Olivia was the first to notice him and an unreadable grin spread on her lips, while she was speaking to Lillian and making her aware of him. Lillian looked him over before shaking her head and replying something Connor could only hear when he came closer.

"Don't be ridiculous." She was visibly uncomfortable about whatever Olivia had said.

"What are you talking about?", Connor asked when he reached them and he noticed the warning look Lillian gave Olivia before answering with a shrug and nodding at the closeby temple complex.

"Olivia told me about the temples and the Maya and how the Assassins used to live here. It's very fascinating."

Connor nodded and looked at the impressive ruins that could make you believe you could travel back in time to see them in their full glory.

"I'm looking forward to seeing them up close when we go there."

Immediately his attention turned back to Lillian, whose dreamy eyes lay on the old buildings.

"What do you mean?", he asked frowning as she looked at him again. "I thought we agreed on you staying away from the temples. For your safety."

"We agreed on me staying away from the temple. We never talked about me exploring the ruins."

And still, this was the first time Connor heard about this wish. To him, it had been clear from the beginning that Lillian was going to stay away from the temple as far as possible and that she wouldn't leave the camp while he was gone. Where she would be safe.

"We are not here to admire the ruins", he said. "The temple could be here somewhere and the farther you stay away from it, the better."

A deep frown appeared between Lillian's brows and she pinched her lips. They stared into each other's eyes and it was obvious that this disagreement was far from over. Olivia had silently followed their exchange and sat up, pointing at the crewmembers of the Aquila who were starting another fire nearby.

"I…think they are preparing breakfast. I'll go and see if I can help", she said and left. It was fine with Connor. He had had this basic discussion often enough and this time would certainly not be the last. But he didn't need an audience.

"Lillian, I would feel more at ease if you stayed here", he simply declared his opinion.

"I know, but…" Lillian sighed and rose, probably so that she wouldn't have to look up at him. She staggered and Connor immediately stretched out an arm for her to keep her from falling. "It's fine, it's fine." Lillian raised her hand as he gave her a concerned look and smiled faintly. "What I wanted to say is: We are as good as in the middle of it anyway. If something happens, I can return here and I will. Even when you tell me to. I would go back, but please give me the chance to see the ruins. I have never seen something like this before."

With her words, a gleam had appeared in her eyes that he recognized from the night before he had left for the Caribbean. When she had asked him about this foreign place and had reminded him of a curious child who wanted to learn more about this world. Back then he had told himself that he wanted to help her if he could. And now? He realized that it wasn't stubbornness that made her insist on coming with him but that exploring the ruins would mean a lot to her. The begging look she gave him was proof enough. Connor tensely pinched his lips and looked at the impressive scene beyond the camp. He didn't know exactly what he was so worried about imagining Lillian being close to the temple he was looking for. The ruins themselves didn't concern him. He had been here before and the whole complex was relatively safe. As long as you kept your eyes open, you should be safe. Could he bring himself to take her with him and trust her word that she would leave whenever he considered it necessary?

"What about Emily?", he asked and looked at her again. One last try to convince her to stay. He couldn't imagine that she wanted to take Emily with them on this hike. She didn't.

"I spoke to Caleb. He will take her to the beach and look after her."

Of course. Lillian wouldn't be Lillian if she hadn't made a plan already. Connor pinched his lips again. Damn it, he didn't like it but there was no sensible reason why Lillian shouldn't come with them.

"Fine", he murmured and Lillian beamed instantly which he tried to ease with a calming gesture. "But you will return here, if necessary. Especially when we find the temple."

"I promise." Lillian smirked and stepped closer to wrap her arms around him. A cheeky sparkle appeared in her grey eyes as she looked up at him. "Sometimes it seems like you're my father."

Connor cocked his head in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the way you talk to me whenever we speak about something like this. As if I was a child."

"That is not my intention." Connor frowned. Was he really speaking to her like that? Like he wanted to infantilize her?

"It's fine. I don't hold it against you. At least…not always." Lillian smirked and raised a hand to run it through Connor's loose hair. "I know that you are worried about my wellbeing and I appreciate it."

Well, he was glad that she did. He didn't want to infantilize and limit her but he didn't always think about it when he was concerned for her safety. To him, there was no compromise when it came to it. He didn't want his nightmares to become reality. He didn't want to lose her, too. Not again. But speaking of concerns…

"Did you feel dizzy just now?"

Lillian's fingertips, which had combed through his hair, paused and her eyes flitted to his. Her lips parted as if she was looking for an answer and he was sure it was supposed to be a lie. But then Lillian sighed and lowered her hand, as well as her eyes.

"A little. I don't feel well, that's why I sat here. The air in the tent was too stuffy."

Connor frowned. "Then you should stay."

"Certainly not." Lillian shook her head vigorously. "It's getting better. I need to eat and drink. It will be fine."

He wasn't sure if he wanted to share this optimism but before he could say anything, Lillian's attention turned to a spot behind him and she seemed to be relieved about it.

"Well, look at that. Another sleepy bear is trotting out of our tent." Lillian pulled away from him and when she took a step past him, he turned around and saw Emily approaching them from their tent. Her hair was a mess, her eyes small and she ran one hand over her face while the other held her doll tight. She looked like she was still half asleep.

"Oh, little angel." Lillian chuckled as their daughter reached them and she picked her up, where Emily buried her face in the crook of Lillian's neck. "Did you and your father fall out of bed?"

"Why me?"

Lillian chuckled again about Connor's confused question and demonstratively ran her eyes over his appearance. "Your hair looked like a bird was nesting in it and you wasted no thought on putting on a shirt or at least shoes."

Connor looked down at himself and couldn't deny that she was right. But nobody in this camp would mind. Furthermore, he had wanted to see Lillian. When he said that, a soft smile appeared on Lillian's lips which she had lowered on Emily's black locks before and stepped closer again to breathe a fleeting kiss onto his lips. "I am fine. Really."

After a - for Connor's taste - far too long breakfast, he left the camp with Olivia, Lillian and three men of his crew. The crewmembers were supposed to have a look at the scattered ruins, some of them even in the middle of the camp, while Connor and the two women went to the main temple. Connor had inculcated everyone with looking for every tiny detail that could lead to the temple. He knew that it was here in Tulum. He felt it, no matter how strange it seemed to others.

"It's hard to believe that this was built by men", Lillian said, full of wonder, as they walked straight towards the impressive main part of the complex. Behind a square, built of irregular stone plates with the Assassins' symbol carved in its centre, were partly collapsed staircases leading alongside the high wall of the building. Two small artificial waterfalls poured down from it into a pool. Between them was a strange creature staring down at them. Watching.

"Is that an idol?" Lillian asked Olivia as they stopped in front of the stone colossus. The blonde woman nodded.

"I don't know the god, though. I still know too little of the Mayan culture. But you can break it down to some gods. It's accompanied by a jaguar, see?"

Lillian and Connor followed Olivia's hint with their eyes and the Mohawk noticed the stone head of an animal beside the hardly visible body of the god.

"In Mayan faith, there are some gods who can turn into jaguars or are simply depicted as such. They even called them Jaguar Gods. For example Kinich Ahau, the sun god or his counterpart, his wife Ix Chel, the moon goddess."

She turned her eyes away from the idol and pointed at the two buildings to its left and right side. "Those are entrances to the complex itself. Did you have a look at them, the last time you were here?", she asked and looked at Connor, who nodded grimly.

"It was the first thing I did and very thoroughly. The right entrance is entirely blocked by debris, the left leads to an old temple, but there was nothing. We should look around on the upper floor. If we do not find anything, we can still come back and look here."

"Upper floor?" Lillian tilted her head back to sceptically look up the wall. "Is there more?"

Silently Connor pointed at the broad stone staircase to their left, leading past some rocks to the next floor of the complex. Lillian uttered an embarrassed laugh and shrugged, cocking her head. "Well, this is a former Assassins' base. It wouldn't have surprised me if they had gone without any staircases and would have climbed everything and everywhere."

"Oh, Assassins are lazy, too." Olivia grinned and the laughter of both women made Connor huff indignantly, but also amused, before he turned to the staircase and went ahead. It seemed to lead away from the temples and straight to a plant-covered path that led into the jungle and to more Mayan buildings. Connor would have a look around there, too, he told the women, but for now, they would concentrate on this temple, as long as they got there. They had almost reached the landing, as Connor noticed the wide gap between the last step and the secure ground. The landing was gone. It had collapsed. Big, white stone rocks lay deep down between fern and high grass, but Connor didn't find the gap too wide to jump over it.

"We need to jump. Be careful", Connor warned the two women and already stepped back, to take a wide step towards the edge and jump. He landed safely on the other side, as well as Olivia shortly after. Only Lillian stayed behind, chewing on her lip and looking back and forth between the gap and the other side. What had been no difficulty to Connor and Olivia, posed a serious obstacle to her.

"Do you want to go back?"

Lillian raised her head after Connor's question and at the next moment, he could see this determined, grim sparkle in her eyes which she always bore whenever she had set her mind on something. She shook her head.

"No way. I want to see the rest of the complex. I'll do it." Lillian climbed one stair down. Then another. Then one more before taking a visible breath and gathering her skirt in her hand.

"Jump off as strongly as you can", Connor advised her and stepped closer to the edge. "I will catch you."

Maybe he should stop her from daring the jump and risking hurting herself. But it didn't need to be a wide jump and he was sure, Lillian could do it. It was only her insecurity that could stop her and he didn't plan on encouraging it when there was no reason for her to be insecure. Her eyes gave it away for a moment before this stubborn determination returned and Lillian ran back up the stairs. With a frown, her lips pinched and when she jumped, she had so much momentum that she would have tripped forward if Connor hadn't stood there to wrap his arms around her waist and catch her.

"Nice jump", he said and a light smile curled his lips as he saw the relieved beam, spreading over Lillian's face while she looked back to the gap she had just crossed. An accomplishment that was nothing to someone like Connor or Olivia, made her feel proud of herself. And he was so much prouder.

They walked on and followed the path leading into a gentle bend towards the complex that consisted of several single small buildings. They looked like huts. Without windows, only archways on each of their four walls. At first glance, their purpose wasn't clear. They were empty, apart from the thick lichen covering the stones. Even the buildings on upper platforms that had small forecourts and steles were otherwise simple and seemingly meaningless.

"Maybe they are too ruined to make out details", Olivia guessed as they walked through one building after another and looked in every corner. They regarded the floors, each single stone plate, steles, and even ran their hands along the walls to find hidden mechanisms, but nothing.

Even though Connor kept repeating the riddle, that had burnt itself into his brain by now, they didn't find anything. Olivia's objection was hardly comforting. Eventually, there was only one building, on the front end on the upper level, left. A few single steps, surrounded by collapsed steles, flanked the path and made it look more sublime than the rest. The fact that it wasn't empty was also a difference to the others. Connor remembered it. At his first visit, he had believed he had found the temple when he had seen this building. But after exploring it, it had proven to be just as useless as all the others. Inside was only another stone idol of some god. Only a grotesque face with an open mouth, broad lips and round sticking-out ears.

"Creepy", Lillian murmured as they stopped in front of the idol and looked at it. "Can you tell us something about it?"

Olivia, who this question had been directed to, cocked her head and pinched her eyes as if she could see more like that.

"I'm not sure. It could be another Jaguar God. The heads over there are obvious." She pointed at the two stone predator-heads on each side of the god, their muzzles wide open. "Looking at this complex, I think it might be Kinich Ahau, the sun god, himself. He's often equated with Izamna, the supreme god of the Mayan people. Unfortunately, I cannot read these inscriptions."

Connor also looked at the two stone blocks beside each jaguar. In contrast to the rest of the stone, there was something engraved in them, but time had nagged at it. They weren't readable.

"But if this is the idol of a god, we could be at the right place, don't you think?" Lillian gave Connor a questioning look and he saw the excited spark in her eyes. "You will find the maze's gate in the god's hand, right?"

Connor nodded. "But I do not see anything that could resemble a hand."

"Well, maybe not in human form." Olivia smirked. "Don't you remember what I told you about the Jaguar Gods? Especially Kinich Ahau was known as being one because he turned into a jaguar at night. They have no hands, but..." She pointed at the two jaguar heads. "...they have muzzles."

Connor leaned his head to the side and took a step closer to the stone idol, to have a closer look at the jaguars. Could it be so obviously...unobvious? Was there a keyhole or something else, he hadn't seen at his first time here? It seemed ridiculous and at the same time, he wondered if it wasn't more ridiculous to take a cryptic riddle literally, that had been given to him by two blue stones, spoken by his wife and her brother. He was here, because a spirit, that had led him onto his path as an Assassin before, had told him to. Should he not have stopped believing in such digressiveness long ago?

Connor carefully placed his foot onto a ledge, pulled himself up by a stone ear and reached out a hand to feel inside the jaguar's muzzle to his right. He squinched up his face as his fingers ran through some slimy moss but he paused when he felt a hole. It wasn't coming from the stone itself. It was no crack or something like that. It felt too even. Too...designed.

"I think this could be something", Connor said over his shoulder and slid the leather bands over his head, that were carrying the keys. He looked at them shortly before he plucked up his courage and put two halves beside each other into the muzzle. They didn't fit into the hole, as expected.

"So?" Lillian's excited voice sounded behind him, but he could only disappoint her by shaking his head and climbing down, to turn around to them, both halves in his hand.

"Either this is the wrong place, or we are missing something." Connor looked at the blue stones on his palm, just like the two women who had stepped closer. The stones were the keys, there was no doubt and if they had interpreted the riddle correctly and were at the right place, there had to be a keyhole inside the jaguars' heads. But what kind of lock was opened by a broken key?

"Maybe it isn't broken", Olivia said slowly, after Connor uttered this question.

"But these are fractures. They fit perfectly into each other", Lillian replied and stopped twisting her braid between her fingers for a moment. She looked at Olivia, who only shrugged her shoulders as if this objection was irrelevant.

"I think it doesn't have to mean anything. Two jaguars, two keyholes, two keys." She looked at Connor who had only partly listened to their conversation. "Why don't you try it?"

Why not? He had nothing to lose. Connor nodded slowly and climbed the idol again, this time in a way that he could reach both heads. After short consideration, he put the left and the right part of the key into the respective muzzles.

"They fit", Connor told the two women and felt a wave of excitement. Was that it? Had they found the entrance to the temple?

A loud cracking sounded, making the stone under Connor's feet and hands shake. He jumped off the idol immediately and they all took a step back to watch in awe, how the jaguars' muzzles closed. Then there was a loud scraping of stone against stone. So loud, it echoed off the walls of the small building and made them step away even more. It almost sounded like the whole construction was collapsing. But that was not what was happening.

The floor beneath their feet began to shake, just like the idol, which was slowly sinking into the ground. Into an opening that hadn't been there before. As if it was pulled down by some powerful ropes, it disappeared into the ground and left a hole, leading into complete darkness.

"Holy Father", Lillian whispered after the loud noises and the shaking had stopped.

"He has nothing with this", Olivia replied dryly and the young woman stepped to the hole in the ground with no hesitation. "I think there is…" She winced and leapt back, as another loud cracking sounded somewhere deep beneath their feet.

"Some light just went on! Out of nowhere!", she cried out and now Connor stepped beside her, to glance down. There was a staircase leading into a darkness, that deep down was interrupted by a strange, blue light.

"Do you think, this is it?", Lillian asked hesitantly and Connor nodded. There was no doubt. They had found it. They had found the temple.

AN2: For everyone interested, I wanted to break down the information I have gathered for this and the upcoming chapter. Planning this plot took me months and I spent just as much time researching about Mayan gods, to align them with my story. I'm not an expert and this topic is so complex that I want to point out, that there can be mistakes in my research and I took some liberties to make my own interpretations to bring everything together.

So let's start with the god whose temple complex we are visiting in this chapter: Kinich Ahau.

Olivia already gave us the most important information about him, but I still want to repeat them. He is the sun god and is sometimes equalized with one of their supreme gods Itzamná. He's the most important sky-deity and was worshipped until the Christianization. He represents the path of the sun over the sky and turns into a jaguar at night, which makes him one of the Jaguar Gods. Jaguars were considered highly spiritual animals and were worshipped as such.

Ix Chel belongs to the Jaguar Gods as well. She is the wife of Kinich Ahau and a moon goddess. Furthermore, she was a fertility goddess, goddess of the earth, protector of the waters, the rainbow, and pregnant women and was worshipped as the inventor of the art of weaving.

Now you could ask: Why did I choose them for my research? Before I explain it, I want to say again: I took liberties in making my interpretations to connect the in-game temple with my story and its background. What I am going to explain as facts, are only my thoughts and ideas.

Those of you who know Black Flag will probably remember that inside the temple complex in/on Tulum is a Sage-Temple that was explored by Kidd and Edward. Sages are reincarnations of Juno's husband Aita, who she wants to bring back to life, just like herself. The whole lore around it is quite complex and is found in many snippets of information you can find while playing AC 3 - Syndicate. I won't dive into it because otherwise, we'll still be sitting here in years. Let's continue with the facts I came up with and we can keep it short:

It's possible to make a connection between Juno and her Roman namesake, who was the goddess of birth, marriage and care. A more or less parallel I drew to Ix Chel. In my story, the whole temple complex is dedicated to her husband Kinich Ahau. Just like the Sage-Temple, or shall we say: Aita's temple? Juno's husband…I hope you got the point.

Well, let's find out why Connor was supposed to find this other, hidden temple when Aita's temple was already found by Edward.