Coyote is a name borne by four things that may or may not be one: a two-weapon warrior inclined to evil, the hollow being left after his mutilation, a corrupt frontier Ranger, and an animal.
The warrior
Coyote was “a great warrior who lived only once”, inclined to evil, from the forgotten realms of Thor: “a knight, a mix of pirate and dragon warrior”, riding a hippogriff and carrying a scepter that becomes a lance, linked to the Khan. He had eyes and wings.
The gift of Coyote is a mastery of fighting with two weapons that can decapitate a goddess. It is passed on to others.
Later forms
- The hollow man. After his mutilation he appears as a hundún, a “general of the void” who “began to take strange forms”. A fire-spitting demon that turns into a jackal is also reported.
- The Ranger. As Texas Ranger, a Coyote “overstepping his duties” uses two knives “as if they were extensions of his arms”. He is one of the corrupt, allied with the dragon; his crossings of the frontier are what corrupt him.
Relationships
- A companion narrating his own lineage calls Coyote his “true father”.
- Through adultery with the queen of Zaira (Zara or Sara) he fathered Minaya, an angel and planetar.
- A son of Coyote “seems to be dead”; his body is lost. He is not identified with Minaya.
- Coyote and Khalim escaped the infernal prison; a divine entity judged that Coyote has “more possibility of redemption” than Khalim.
- Horatiol still bears the mark of Coyote and Guajira.
- One account mentions “one and another creature known as Coyote, who guard us”.
The animal
Coyotes are numerous in the Mexican lands of Antiterra around the Paso del Norte prison, in the California desert where the sacred ritual is held, and in forests where people “have to fall back because of the coyotes”. They howl at night.
Conflicting accounts
On his fall:
- He was lost in the abyss.
- A three-headed, tentacled creature dragged him to the bottom of the lake.
- On the beach, before the ships, his eyes and wings were torn out and he sank, dying.
Open questions
- Whether the knight, the Ranger, the hundún and the jackal are one being.
- Where the scepter is; who holds the gift; whether the dead son is Minaya.
- What Horatiol’s mark is, who Guajira is, and whom the guardian Coyotes protect.
Gallery
