Chapter I: | Early History |
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/I'm so used to being alive
/that I didn't even realize when I turned into a vulture.
/When I fly I'm not afraid;
/no one has been able to reach me.
/In the house of the hummingbird
/the last word hasn't been heard.
-Jorge Reyes, "A la izquierda del colibri"
The first of these Celestines is Quetzalcoatl (Feathered or Winged Serpent), who was worshipped by many Balam in the Mayan region under the name of Kukulkan. He moved his influence to the north, were he was embraced by the toltecs and had two temples in Teotihuacan (City of Gods), the one directly consecrated to him, and the one to his other name: Ehecatl, god of the Wind.
Now, the magi in Mexico were always associated with the gods, and were revered priests. The Tradition that served Quetzalcoatl in Teotihuacan was named the White Brotherhood. They were adept in the Spheres of Mind and Spirit; some replacing the last with Forces. They were mainly scholars and priests, with teaching as their main concern, as dictated by their lord Quetzalcoatl, who manifested in this Realm and possesed the body of one of his worshippers. By the name of Ce Acatl Topiltzin Quetzalcoatl (Our Lord 1-reed Feathered Serpent) he ruled the toltecs in the city of Tula, and soon gained the friendship of a pack of Wendigo Garou, who abandoned their tribe to become the first members of the Ehecatl Tribe.
In the legend of the Five Suns, it's stated that the first Sun was Tezcatlipoca (Smoking-Mirror), and, when he was brought down by his brother Quetzalcoatl, he unleashed his revenge in the form of thousands of jaguars, for this great cat is kin to him, and thus were born the Nahual, werejaguars whose allegiance is to the Smoking-Mirror. The Nahual, as their lord, were great sorcerers and thieves, and helped Tezcatlipoca overthrow Quetzalcoatl from his seat of power. To do so, Tezcatlipoca gave many mages the command of the Sphere of Entropy and Spirit, and so the Nightspawn Tradition was born.
When Topiltzin saw his kingdom fall into disgrace, he fled south to the Mayan regions, stopping at a small monastery, where he left several members of the White Brotherhood to keep half of his Sign, a powerful Talisman in the shape of a shell, taking the other half to the Guardian of the Mayan Traditions.
The toltec civilization dwindled and died, and the mexica tribe, later to be called Aztecs, arrived and took power, taking much of their mithology from toltecan stock, which also contained bits of the Mayan knowledge.
The Celestine Hutzilopochtli was a warrior, prone to frenzy, and the legends told that he expelled his sister, the Moon, Coyolxauhqui (Rattles-in-her-face), from the Great Temple. This simbolized that the Aztec shunned the Moon religion and embraced the Sun religion that Huitzilopochtli represented. This caused an estrangement with the Wyld Runners, who nevertheless had Kinfolk with the Aztec and remained in contact.
Oblivious to his brothers' squabbles was the Celestine Tlaloc, the god of Rain and Fertility, he had grown in power steadily albeit slowly. He had been one of the Suns in the legend, and, when brought down by Tezcatlipoca, had flooded the land. Now, he exists quietly, with a number of Jagglings and Gafflings called the tlaloque.
A pack of Uktena, while traveling south, encountered the tlaloque and, as they liked the land and found it rich in magic, abandoned their tribe in favor of the Rain god, and became the Tlaloque Tribe.
Tlaloc was served by his own Tradition of Magi, who took the name of Sorcerers of the Quiet Gladness, the surname of their god. These mages managed the Spheres of Life and Forces, and were healers and benefactors of their peoples.
The Mictlan was divided into several Calpullis, each of them consecrated to one of the gods and ruled by a Tlatoani. The Council of Tlatoanis is ruled by Mictlaxochitl, the oldest vampire in Mexico. Mictlaxochitl claims to be carnal daughter as well as Childe of Mictlacihuatl, who is now in the Mictlan besides her husband, their father. The most powerful Calpullis are Mictlantecuhtli and its ruler Mictlaxochitl; Huitzilopochtli and its namesake ruler; Tezcatlipoca and its ruler Ocelotl; Tlaloc and its ruler Chalchiutlicue; and Quetzalcoatl and its ruler Topiltzin. Lesser Calpullis include Tlazolteotl, Xolotl, Camaxtle, and Xipe Totec.
The Mictlan has its own Discipline, mandatory to all of its members; some of the Calpullis have developed their own Disciplines or mirror those of the European Kindred.
Less politically minded than their European counterparts, Mictlan vampires believed in cosmic balance, taking their role as predators of humanity with pride. A Mictlan vampire is proud of her nature, not prone to much angst like the Camarilla and able to ride the frenzy like one of the Sabbat. The Mictlan was more concerned in keeping the food supply as well as the worship to the gods they represented than in political influence and internal strife. That was soon to change.
He never completed his studies as a mage, as he was prompted to return to his land for the tecpanec, ruled by the cruel King Maxtla of Azcapotzalco, sought to punish the upstart aztec kingdom and succesfully murdered the aztec king.
Tlacaelel was offered the position of emperor, but he declined, naming his brother Izcoatl instead. Thanks to his time with the White Brotherhood, Tlacaelel knew that the aztecs were the only hope of a renaissance in mexican culture, so he began to shape the roots of an Empire.
Within the chantry of the White Brotherhood, Tlacaelel met Nezahualcoyotl, the young texcocan prince whose father was brutally murdered by Maxtla's predecessor, his kingdom stripped from him, the prince had vowed to reclaim his kingdom. The young men established a fast and lasting friendship, which would prove essential in the forging of the Aztec Empire. Unbeknownst to both of them, Nezahualcoyotl (Hungry Coyote) was a Galliard of the Ehecatl Garou, his First Change coming to him a little after parting from Tlacaelel and the White Brotherhood chantry. With the aid from his tribe and thanks to an alliance with the Aztec, Nezahualcoyotl reclaimed his kingdom at the same time both Texcoco and Tenochtitlan rid themselves of the tecpanec domination.
Tlacaelel was once bethroted to a beautiful Aztec woman named Citlalmina, but the promise of marriage was destroyed the moment Tlacaelel became the High Priest of Quetzalcoatl. Nonetheless, Citlalmina and Tlacaelel were as one being and, as he shaped the empire from the upper echelons, she helped shape it from the lower, becoming a heroine for the aztec populace.
The Aztecs knew of the other Celestines besides their own, and respected them enough to give them temples in their capital city. The Great Temple had two houses: one for Hutzilopochtli, their Totem, and one for Tlaloc, their benefactor. Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca had smaller temples besides the Great, and both mage Traditions' hatred for each other could be felt from afar. The Nahual and the Nightspawn though, were more politically natured, and managed for Tezcatlipoca to become patron of education, and also were part in the revival of the Order of the Jaguar Knights, a military order were Nahual lead batallions of Awakened warriors.
Tlacaelel had revived the Orders, conceding a little power to the followers of Tezcatlipoca. Those warriors from the Jaguar Knights whose spirituality was higher (and proven not to be Nahual) were admitted within the Eagle Knights, who ranked higher than the Jaguar, as they were consecrated to Huitzilopochtli, and they were Awakened too, as were the Archpriests, the Tradition that served Huitzilopochtli with the Spheres of Forces and Prime.
Little did they know that from the beginning of the civilization, a Vampire elder had gained control of the priesthood, and established human sacrifice to satisfy his needs.
From the ranks of the Mictlan rose a strong Kindred. This vampire had no name, but he named himself Huitzilopochtli, as he was very prone to frenzies too. All of his Childer believed him to be insane, and the quota of blood was high to calm the Sire. As many Archpriests were actually vampires of the Clan Hutzilopochtli, they resisted the rays of the Sun much better than any other Clan, as the Celestine Huitzilopochtli viewed his new servitors with a certain amount of amusement, and had granted them the gift of Solar Resistance.
The vampire Huitzilopochtli saw in Tlacaelel the perfect ghoul, and Dominated him to reinstall the human sacrifices in his honor. Tlacaelel truly believed that the sacrifices attained a sort of cosmic balance, and did everything within his power to enalt Huitzilopochtli in the eyes of the people, destroying even the records of conquered Azcapotzalco. His friend Nezahualcoyotl refused to surrender his own records and opposed Huitzilopochtli, as he was dedicated to Quetzalcoatl. The fact that Texcoco was an allied kingdom instead of a vassal, kept the Aztec armies off Nezahualcoyotl's land.
In his quest for knowledge, Tlacaelel traveled north, intent of finding and contacting the fabled Empire of Aztlan, cradle of the nahuatl people. Upon discovering the remains of the once great culture in the paintings of a cave, he realized that the human sacrifices were a mistake, but the aztec priesthood, now controled by vampires, oposed him and Tlacaelel was unable to stop the practice he had established.
Sometime later, Citlalmina died misteriously; they were both old now, but Tlacaelel was kept young by his Sire's blood. Tlacaelel felt Citlalmina's death, and was surprised that he hadn't died with her. The answer was in the foul blood coursing in his veins.
The Impergium was very loose here, and by the time the cities began their rise, it had already ended.
A very heavy blow fell on the Aztec establishment when the Spaniards brought with them hordes of Celestial Chorists, as well as the power of the Technocracy and the Inquisition.
Several mages had begun to flee the cities due to the omens presented to emperor Moctezuma before the Spaniards arrival: a comet, a bird with a mirror on it's head that gave the image of the fall of Tenochtitlan, the appearance of two-headed beings, and the echos of the wailing of the Llorona (the Wailer or Mourner) a Wraith that would haunt the streets of Mexico years ahead.
The white men resembled the bearded Quetzalcoatl when he had ruled, and they beared the Cross, one of his simbols, and many thought them to be Quetzalcoatl himself. Only the Archpriests and the Sorcerors of Quiet Gladness buyed the story, and they paid dearly for it. Only the White Brotherhood, alerted by Tlacaelel, and the Nightspawn, understood that the invasion was an implant on the decaying empire, and sought to preserve as much knowledge and lore as possible, for the benefit of the new Aztlan.
The Celestial Chorus banished all other forms of magick, and all Mages, Garou and Nahual fled to the wilderness, were they survived. The Kindred were not as fortunate, as the Inquisition actively hunted them down to the point of extinction. The elder Hutzilopochtli and many of his Clan went to their piramids for shelter, but many were brought down, churches being built over them.
The Mictlan, unprepared for the onslaught, was decimated; two Calpullis were destroyed before the rest could find shelter from the rampaging Inquisition, very few of them remained, which left them crippled and unable to resist the incoming of the European Kindred and later domination by the Camarilla. All members of the Mictlan went underground (literally) and hence asserted their domination as guerrilla tactics. The Council's first decision since the Conquest was for a blood hunt on Tlacaelel, as he had greeted the European vampires and become a member of the Ventrue. The Mictlan never knew of Tlacaelel's motivations, and soon the whole community of mexican supernaturals soght to bring the once Empire forger down.
Even the Eagle Knights suffered; as Emperor Cuauhtemoc ordered them to make the last stand on the suburb of Tlatelolco, he told them the truth about their god's vampiric nature. Those who did not die willingly in the last sacrificial battle hid in the mountains, preserving the sacred knowledge of their order but with their spirits broken.
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