K'ayyum

K'ayyum is one of the two secondary antagonists (alongside Bar Abba) of Chris Heimerdinger's 2005 novel ''Kingdoms and Conquerors. ''He is the chief of the Lacandon village and the father of tritagonist Tz'ikin.

Past
Through dialogue, it is revealed that K'ayyum visited the city of Tikal when Lamanai was a boy. K'ayyum held a meeting with Lamanai's father Jaguar-Paw and discussed the matter of Fireborn's attempts to take over the land. Having been blackmailed by Fireborn, K'ayyum tells Jaguar-Paw that Fireborn allowed his armies to go south to their homeland, and no longer intended to wage war against the people of the Waterlillies. K'ayyum, fearing for the lives of his wives and children, had not believed that his lie would hurt Jaguar-Paw. He was proven wrong when Fireborn and his Lightning Warriors invaded Tikal and murdered Jaguar-Paw.

Sometime after, K'ayyum and his wife came into contact with Fireborn again. K'ayyum's wife was killed by Fireborn's soldiers, and K'ayyum was burned with fire and had his toes cut off. Years later, he sent his daughter Tz'ikin to murder Fireborn as a means of revenge.

Kingdoms and Conquerors
K'ayyum is introduced when the entourage consisting of Lamanai, Tz'ikin, Apollus, Meagan Sorenson, Ryan Champion, Moroni, Gilgal, and Jacobah stops in Lacandon on their expedition to Cumorah. K'ayyum welcomes Tz'ikin home, and Tz'ikin shares the news that she failed to kill Fireborn. K'ayyum notices that Moroni and Gilgal are accompanying Tz'ikin and expresses his displeasure. Tz'ikin insists that without their help, she wouldn't be alive, to which K'ayyum says that that may have been better.

However, when Tz'ikin reveals Lamanai's identity, K'ayyum is shocked. Lamanai tells K'ayyum that Fireborn's armies are on the move, and that they will come to Lacandon very soon. Looking closer at K'ayyum's face, Lamanai realizes that he was a man his father knew before he died. K'ayyum decides to invite Tz'ikin and her companions to lunch inside his house.

While everyone is gathering, K'ayyum holds a secret meeting with Lamanai and conspires with him. K'ayyum informs Lamanai that the Lacandon people are preparing for a gladiator event with the Chamulans, and that he is looking for a champion to enter into it. Lamanai decides to betray his companions and allow K'ayyum to enter them in the gladiatorial match. The two of them inject the tomatoes being served with a drug that will sedate anyone who eats the tomatoes.

At the lunch event, K'ayyum asks Apollus, Ryan, and Meagan of their origins, as he has heard the rumors that they are Mayan gods. Apollus denies this, saying that he and his companions are normal humans, and any power they have comes from God and Jesus Christ. K'ayyum misinterprets this and believes that they truly do get their powers from gods. He goes on to explain the details of the upcoming gladiatorial battle: the Lacandons and the Chamulans will both pit a skilled and experienced warrior in a battle to the death in an arena in the mountains of Desolation. The winner's tribal chief will choose thirty of the enemy tribe's warriors to be blood sacrificed. K'ayyum asks Apollus if he'd be willing to participate in such a fight, to which he declines.

K'ayyum turns to Lamanai and asks for his input. Lamanai is hesitant about participating, and he expresses his distrust for the Lacandon people. He grills K'ayyum about his past meeting with his father, suspecting him of treason. K'ayyum admits that Fireborn blackmailed him into lying to Jaguar-Paw, much to Lamanai's anger.

Right at this time, the drugs contained in the tomatoes kick in. Ryan, Meagan, and Apollus are all forced into sedation and collected by the Lacandon people. Apollus and Meagan are bound and taken to Desolation, while Ryan and Jacobah are sentenced to death in the village's snake pit.

When Ryan's drug wears off, K'ayyum mocks him and says that his supposed abilities given to him from God are the subject of lies. He also reveals that Lamanai gave him permission to kill Ryan and Jacobah. Ryan screams in anger at Lamanai, though Lamanai is not present for the execution. K'ayyum and his men throw Ryan and Jacobah into the snake pit and pronounce the both of them dead. Unbeknownst to K'ayyum, Ryan and Jacobah survive their fall and find a tunnel out of the snake pit. They are reunited with Tz'ikin, Moroni, and Gilgal afterwards.