In the lead-up to the release of The Lord of the Underworld, the second book in my fantasy-adventure series The Jade Necklace, I thought it would be fun to run a short series on this blog highlighting some of the characters introduced in the first book.
Itzel
The Heart of the Story
And who better to begin with than the protagonist herself? Little Itzel, who has been with me since the very earliest sketches of the story. Her name came later, but from the start I knew I wanted to write about a Maya girl travelling through the Underworld in search of her grandmother.
From the beginning, my goal with Itzel was to create a protagonist who was simply nice and likeable—something I felt was missing in many modern stories, where young heroes are often curt, angsty, or rebellious just for the sake of being edgy. Itzel does push back against authority when she feels she must, but only when her moral compass points her that way. Her defiance isn’t a pretence; it comes from a deep conviction in what she believes is right.
Itzel wielding the magical snake-stick.
In many ways, I think of her as the control, borrowing the term from science experiments—she is the “normal” one, the measure against which the other eccentric and outlandish characters of Xibalba can be compared. Writing her reactions to the bizarre and often absurd denizens of the Underworld was a constant joy—she takes it in stride, but never loses sight of her quest.
Although I never anchor the story to a precise year, I always imagined Itzel as a child on the cusp of the millennium. The internet was around, but only in its early days, and had not yet seeped into everyday life in much of the world—and certainly not in her little corner of Central America. I pictured her as having the kind of childhood I idealise: always outdoors, curious, immersed in the natural world. That sense of wonder and innocence is something she carries with her into Xibalba. Surrounded by talking animals, she listens attentively to each one she meets, eager to hear their story—at least as much as her limited time there allows.
But a little girl can only get so far in a place like the Underworld—she also had to grow. One of the moments that defines her, in my mind, comes in the second book: she’s sprinting along the massive buttress root of the Mother Tree, hissing for her snake-stick as it flies into her hand. In that instant, I realised she had fully stepped into her own. She may not be as grand and bombastic as the gods, nor as quirky and sharp-witted as a certain coati, but she had found her place. She belonged in this strange world she had stumbled into by chance—and she was, without question, one of the most enjoyable characters I’ve ever written.
Itzel’s original design, from 2014.
Of course, being a “goody-two-shoes” doesn’t make her perfect—nor should it. She has deep wells of patience, but she can lose it from time to time. She makes mistakes, gets emotional, even gives up and breaks down in tears. She knows her own vulnerability, and she isn’t too proud to seek help when she needs it—a trait I’ve noticed is surprisingly rare among heroes in today’s stories.
As for her design, Itzel has changed very little since my first drawing of her back in 2014. The square patterns in her hair have always been there, and though the trim of her dress and accessories shifted from red to blue, she remains very much the same girl I sketched a decade ago.
Itzel will always hold a special place in my heart. The Jade Necklace is, at its core, her story. The saga of the gods is really just a backdrop—a tale that began before her and will continue after her. Writing her journey often felt paternal in a way, though I’m not a parent myself. I put her through plenty, but I always felt a rush of relief when she overcame each trial. In some small way, she gave me a glimpse of what it might feel like to raise a child, and for that, I’ll always be deeply grateful to her.
That’s all for Itzel—for now. Next week, this series will continue with another character spotlight. And if you’d like to join Itzel on her adventure through Xibalba, you can find the first book, The Land of the Night Sun, at Cubola’s bookstore here.
