Three market vendors at Matanal, the market in the central precinct of Lakamte', a fictional Petén Maya city (present day northern Guatemala.) They're standing in front of a thatch-shaded walkway with a painted bench, that runs along most of the market's boundary. Despite their relatively young age and humble origins, these three characters are in a relatively good position, due to a shortage of labor caused by a recent epidemic in the city, as well as a sympathetic market administrator (the cougar character Ch'um Nich.)

Sak Ich'aak ("White Jaguar Paw", left) is a jaguar paper-seller. Born into a poor family that harvested bark-paper for the elites of a satellite village, she was selected in early adolescence to help sell the paper in Matanal market. As a young outsider, her status in the market was on unsteady footing; it's sadly possible that she was also a sex worker to make ends meet. However, in 749 CE, the epidemic struck the city, with many of the market's vendors, porters, guards, and other workers dying as a result. As one of the few survivors, Sak Ich'aak was able to leverage more with the survivors of the family that once controlled her, and also came to vend paper from other sellers. She even recently learned to read and write, trained by the markets' scribes. Despite her skills and intelligence, she can be finnicky and nervous.

Kob Ek' ("Gray Star", center) is a spectral bat weaver. She is a newcomer to the city, having arrived alone from a small village, shortly after the pandemic. (Kob Ek' asserts that she is the only survivor in her family, but some of those around her believe she simply ran away to the city.) Believing Kob Ek' to be talented but vulnerable, Ch'um Nich, the ascendant civilian administrator of the market, took Kob Ek' under her wing. She runs a small and only modestly successful stall, as she is prone to drifting between unfinished projects, and often has few wares available.

Tza' Ch'aaj ("(It is) Sweet, (it is) Incense", right) is a coati cornbread seller. She is also from a village outside Lakamte'; when the epidemic struck, it killed nearly her entire family, including her then-husband. She came to the city with the other survivor, her elder brother Tzih Yutal, and immediately set to finding work– ultimately, she started a stall selling cornbread dishes. For her stern work ethic and discerning, careful nature, Tza' Ch'aaj also gained the favor of Ch'um Nich.

Formerly helmed by a largely old, elite staff, the population shortages brought on by the epidemic have resulted in an unusual influx of younger, often provincial vendors and staffers at the market. This illustration takes place in 750 or 751 CE, by which time the three have become good friends amidst the rapidly-changing workforce at the market.

Art notes: Unfortunately, when sketching out this piece, I wasn't anticipating how all the colors and patterns would clash, and how that would affect the visibility of the characters (especially Kob Ek'). Perhaps it dents this illustration visually, but I did learn a lot from it.

Linguistic/historical notes: the title means "(at the) edge of Matanal". The characters' face paint and clothing are based on murals from the Chiik Nahb complex at Calakmul; the painted bench is based on a real bench also found at Chiik Nahb. Unfortunately, these sources are isolated, poorly-published, and lacking much context. Note that the culture, economy, and social organization of the Classic Maya remain obscure, and this is intended as a work of historical fiction, not a ruling on how Classic Maya markets would have looked.