Transcribed by: CutthroatZoo
Imagine you were walking through the forest on the Yucatan Peninsula when you come across a small Stone statue. Curious you pick it up only to immediately get a bad feeling. You need to find a Maya Shaman my friend because you have just been cursed by Aluxe.
The Aluxe are a type of Sprite or Spirit to the Maya people of the Yucatan Peninsula and Guatemala. Weighing in at 22 pounds or 10 kilograms and only being 2.3 feet tall or 0.7 meters. These knee-high creatures appear as miniature traditionally dressed Maya people. Most Aluxe are believed to come into existence by a farmer wanting to protect their land. They will get a highly detailed clay figure from a shaman who has cast ritual spells to bring the figure to life. The farmer will then take the clay figure to the oldest tree on their land, or put it near a house specially built for the Aluxe known as a Kata Aluxe. The farmer then takes food and drink to the clay figure as offerings until the figure disappears. Once the farmer cannot find the Statue they know the Aluxe has come to life and will now protect the farmer and their land for seven years.
The Aluxe will help the corn grow some in rain and patrol the fields at night whistling to scare off predators or crop thieves. At the end of the seven years, the farmer must close the windows and doors of the little house, sealing the Aluxe inside. If this is not done the Aluxe will run wild and start playing tricks on people. Some stories say an Aluxe will sometimes stop and ask farmers or Travelers for an offering, if they are refused the Aluxe will wreak havoc and spread illness. If their conditions are met though, the Aluxe will protect the person from thieves or even bring them good luck.
If they are treated with the respect they can be very helpful. A good example can be found in Cancun. Construction began at a bridge right at the entrance of Cancun in the early 90s, only for the bridge to be destroyed with no explanation multiple times. Locals told the construction crew that they had angered the Aluxe. So on the recommendation of the locals, they called a Maya priest. The priest carried out the ritual to contact the creatures with the goal of creating a pack to allow the bridge to be completed. A small pyramid and house were built as an offering to the Aluxe, and from that point forward there were no more problems with building the bridge.
More recently the president of Mexico claimed an Aluxe was spotted by an engineer working on a rail project, but most believe it was an older photo he was referencing. Some scholars claimed the Aluxe belief started with the interactions between the Maya and the Spanish explorers in the 16th century. Mayans claimed that the Aluxe were the spirits of their ancestors or even of the land itself. Preceding contact with Western Civilization.
Advice to you my fellow casters is to proceed with caution when tracking in Aluxe. Although they can be a very powerful allies, you don’t want to be on the wrong side of these small creatures. They can wreak havoc on people they deem to be disrespectful to them, and we are not entirely sure how powerful they’ve become since the veil was shattered.