"Owl-Man: A Historical Fiction Set in 16th Century Mesomamerica" is the start of a novel that aims to take both the reader and central character through a karmic process of rebirth as it would be viewed under the lens of Mesoamerican thought. Santiago is a Spaniard who, in 1502, has no home, is burdened by sin, and has given his life to a ship to the New World. Believing himself a monster who can only kill others through a cursed fate, he watches as everyone he comes to know dies again and again. Yet with these horrible situations he continues to live, for though he wishes he was never born, now that he was he cannot help but struggle to survive. This life of suffering is explored through the Mesomamerican cultures he encounters and, through these explorations, he is eventually reborn again after living as a metaphorical psychopomp—he who ferries the dead to their afterlives. In this thesis, the beginning of his journey is described. Along with it a series of poems called the Song of Eleuia are offered. These songs reflect Mesoamerican ideas by encoding meaning behind their symbols. Through their deciphering and the eventual discovery of Eleuia later in the novel, both the reader and Santiago will begin to understand a new mode of thought that gives joy and meaning to an otherwise horrific life.
