Voxzaco

Voxzaco is a character in the Silverwing series. He is an elderly Vampyrum spectrum acting as a priest in service of Cama Zotz. Serving the king of the Vampyrum, Voxzaco reluctantly acts as the royal advisor to Goth after the death of the previous king, Goth's father.

Appearance
Voxzaco is a frail, elderly Vampyrum spectrum. His wings are mangled and his back is arched, making him an unsteady flier. His fur is graying and has a texture akin to straw. Most of it has fallen out with age, leaving mangy patches dappling his body. His eyes appear large in contrast to his gaunt, pinched face. His breath is pungently foul-smelling from the herbs and berries he eats for his priest duties.

Personality
Voxzaco is intelligent and devoted, albeit somewhat self-important. He has mutual disdain for Goth, who he perceives as being reckless and arrogant. He is dedicated to his status as a priest and is fiercely loyal to Cama Zotz, going so far as being willing to sacrifice his own colony to ensure Zotz's goals are fulfilled.

Sunwing
Voxzaco greets Goth when he returns to the Vampyrum temple, explaining that his arrival was foretold by the Stone. When Voxzaco sees Goth's explosive disc, he is surprised, and leads him into the royal chamber. After Goth's disc is removed by the carvers, Voxzaco shows him the Stone, explaining the intricate glyphs and their meanings. He tells Goth about the solar eclipse - about Cama Zotz and Nocturna's feud, the humans who once worshipped Zotz, and the followers of Zotz trapped in the Underworld.

Voxzaco grabs Goth's disc and places it in the middle of the stone. He beckons forth the guards holding the hostage northern bats, explaining that a sacrifice must be made to commune with Zotz and ask him how to destroy the sun. Before he can perform the sacrifice, Goth protests, believing he should be the one to do the ritual. Voxzaco, shocked, haughtily explains that only a priest can perform the sacrificial rites. Goth retorts that he has spoken personally with Zotz and thus is qualified to perform the sacrifice. Voxzaco indignantly reminds Goth that he is the high priest and has devoted his life to serving Zotz, believing there is no way Goth is closer to Zotz than he is. Before Voxzaco can argue more, Goth angrily declares that Zotz chose him as his servant, and rips out the prisoner's heart.

After the sacrifice, Voxzaco cowers under his wing in the sudden presence of Zotz. He composes himself and asks Zotz, speaking through Goth, what they must do to kill the sun. After Zotz's presence is gone, Goth asks Voxzaco how they must prepare for the solar eclipse. Voxzaco explains the eclipse will last no longer than seven minutes, and will occur in just three days. Goth orders the guards to gather as many sacrifices as possible in preparation for the ceremony.

Before the eclipse, Voxzaco joins Goth in circling above the pyramid. He informs Goth that the total eclipse will happen at the height of day, asking Goth to confirm they have gathered enough offerings.

When the solar eclipse comes, madness ensues as the prisoners escape and the temple is sieged by the rats and northern bats. Voxzaco continues to perform sacrifices in the midst of the chaos, killing several bats including Ishmael. While Shade's echo projection of Goth terrorizes the Vampyrum guards in the chamber, Voxzaco begins to worry, certain that they would be unable to complete the remaining sacrifices at the current pace. He is acutely aware of how much time they are losing and silently blames Goth for the ceremony's projected failure. Voxzaco decides he must take matters into his own hands to ensure the ceremony is seen through to the end.

Voxzaco grabs Goth's explosive disc from the center of the sacrificial Stone and flies it out of the chamber. He carries the disc high up into the air, planning to drop it on the stone pyramid, killing everyone inside in a last-minute mass-sacrifice. He drops the disc, but it is intercepted by Shade who manages to keep it suspended in the air for a period of time. Voxzaco tries to fight him off, diving and grabbing the chain in his claws, but is attacked by Chinook and forced to let go.

Eventually, Shade drops the disc and flees. Falling, the disc hits the Vampyrum temple and explodes in a plume of heat and sound. However, Voxzaco's plan came too late. By the time the bomb had hit, the solar eclipse had already ended, nullifying the sacrifices made and cementing the ceremony as a failure.

Firewing
Voxzaco does not make an appearance, but is mentioned by Cama Zotz, who scorns him for his failure to complete the ceremony during the eclipse and killing the other Vampyrum spectrum in the process. He says that Voxzaco will be condemned to eternal suffering in Zotz's stomach along with Goth and the other Vampyrum spectrum once the tunnel to the Upperworld is finished.