The story most often commonly told about the Maya involves their spectacular collapse at the height of their civilization in the early ninth century CE. Crops died, disease and malnutrition spread, and scorched earth warfare became common. People lost faith in their governments and moved to the Caribbean coast, the mountains of Guatemala, or further afield. But there is another tale that is equally compelling. One hundred years earlier, a group of kings known as the Snakes created a League and were able to force, cajole, or convince their fellow rulers to work towards common causes. In so doing, they took the first small steps towards something that had never existed in the Maya area: an empire. Blood on the Wind narrates this dramatic episode during the Classic Maya period (250-850 CE). From present-day central Mexico across central America, the League attempted to subdue their enemies and transition to an imperial force. In the heart of the lowlands, they created soaring temples, lux
