Quetzalcoatl: The Magnificent Form of Light in the Aztecverse
Before the mirrors were polished, and before the nine levels of Mictlán were carved from the body of Cipactli, there was the Light.
In the Aztecverse—the transmedia mythology created by Cesar Torres—Quetzalcoatl is not merely a figure of the past. He is the "Breath of Life," the "Morning Star," and the primary catalyst for the radiant descent. While his brother Tezcatlipoca represents the "Smoking Mirror" of discord and shadow, Quetzalcoatl is the architect of synthesis and illumination.
The Ancient Roots: The Legends of the Feathered Serpent
Before he became the radiant architect of the Aztecverse, Quetzalcoatl was revered across Mesoamerica as a god of wind, wisdom, and craft. To understand his role in The Coil, one must look back at the original stories that defined his divinity.
The Theft of the Bones: The Creation of Man
In the most famous Mexica creation myth, the world was empty of people. Quetzalcoatl descended into Mictlān (the underworld) to retrieve the bones of previous generations. He faced the Lord of the Dead, Mictlāntēcutli, who set impossible traps to stop him. After a harrowing escape, Quetzalcoatl brought the bones to the goddess Cihuacōātl, who ground them into a fine meal. By shedding his own blood onto this powder, Quetzalcoatl gave life to the first humans—an act of profound sacrifice that established him as the eternal protector of humanity.
The Exile and the Promise of Return
The most enduring mystery of Quetzalcoatl is his departure from the city of Tollan. Tricked by his brother Tezcatlipoca (the "Smoking Mirror"), Quetzalcoatl was forced into exile. He traveled to the coast of the divine sea, where he either transformed into the Morning Star (Venus) or sailed away on a raft of serpents. He promised to return one day to reclaim his throne—a prophecy that has echoed through centuries and now serves as the haunting backdrop for the shifting timelines of the Aztecverse.
The Radiant Descent: Quetzalcoatl in The Coil
A pivotal moment in the metaphysics of the Aztecverse occurs deep within the Coil—the name that Cesar Torres has given to Mictlán in the series of books that comprise the Aztecverse. In scenes from 13 Secret Cities were Cesar describes Mictlán before time began, Quetzalcoatl enters the underworld in a magnificent form full of light.
This is more than myth; it is the original blueprint for humanity. In Mesoamerican tradition, Quetzalcoatl descended into Mictlán to retrieve the bones of the ancestors to create the first humans. In the world of The Coil, this radiant form is a force of pure, unmediated power that establishes the very "hidden architectures of consciousness" that our modern protagonists must navigate.
Our Lord of the Flowers: A Whisper in Tenochtitlan
Quetzalcoatl’s presence looms large in the novel Our Lord of the Flowers. Portions of the novel are set against the backdrop of Tenochtitlan in the early 1500s, where the deity is mentioned often by characters who find themselves on the precipice of colonization. To those facing the arrival of the Spanish, Quetzalcoatl is a symbol of both hope and upheaval—a reminder that when a world ends, the soul remains a "hoarded house" that must be cleaned and transformed.
In the contemporary timeline of Our Lord of the Flowers, Sir Vitrum’s journey to clear his father’s hoarded labyrinth mirrors Quetzalcoatl’s ancient retrieval of bones. It is an act of "queer cunning," a ritualized descent to find the authentic self beneath the trash and trauma of history.
How to Kill a Superhero (Gold): A Powerful Sister
In the fourth and final volume of How to Kill a Superhero, Cesar Torres re-tells the origin myth of the universe as was told by the Aztecs. In the original tale, Tezcatlipoca and Quetzalcoatl team up to fight the gragantuan reptile monster Cipactli. In the iconoclastic book series, Roland, who symbolizes the Black Tezcatlipoca, is joined in his quest by Delfina, a powerful trans woman and mystic, who channels the power of light in her magic. The story of the two brothers fighting Cipactli and eventually creating the sky is now constellated as a new story in which Roland's chosen family member Delfina embodies the qualities of Quetzalcoatl.
The Future of The Coil: Volumes 4 through 9
While the first volumes of The Coil—13 Secret Cities, 9 Lords of Night, and Hall of Mirrors—explore the descent and the shadow, the later volumes of the series will see the full manifestation of the Feathered Serpent.
As the series expands toward its eventual nine-volume arc, Quetzalcoatl emerges as the patron of the 21st-century survivor. In a world of techno-spiritual collapse and "biotech nightmares," his light becomes one of the maps that can lead to the 13 secret cities. Readers of Hall of Mirrors (The Coil, Volume 3) will find that the clarity of the third volume leads directly into the "pressure" of Volume 4, where the god of the wind determines who will fly and who will be crushed by the colliding mountains of Mictlán.
The Brother of the Mirror: Quetzalcoatl vs. Tezcatlipoca
The relationship between Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca is the engine that drives the Aztecverse. They are the "antithesis and complementarity" of creation.
- Tezcatlipoca: The catalyst for conflict, desire, and the hidden self.
- Quetzalcoatl: The catalyst for transformation, memory, and the revealed self.
In the How to Kill a Superhero saga, we saw the terrifying price of becoming a god under the shadow of the Smoking Mirror. Now, through The Coil and Our Lord of the Flowers, the Aztecverse invites you to experience the radiant imperative of the Feathered Serpent.
Experience the Aztecverse
Cesar Torres constructs living digital and analog ecosystems where myth is a living infrastructure. To enter this world is to step through a portal—whether through the speculative fiction of the novels, the allegories contained in HTKS, sensory experience of the Our Lord of the Flowers visuals and novel.
The Coil is turning. The light has entered Mictlán.