Coatmixtitlan the cloud city

High above the mountain ridges of Itza stands the fabled cloud city of Coatmixtitlan, the city of the snake clouds or to be more precise the matlapallicoatl or winged snakes, known to us as dragons. The city is located nowhere and everywhere as it floats through the skies of Itza. Once an important human city it was abandoned two suns ago by men and taken over by the matlapallicoatl a term used to refer to a group of winged snaked like creatures we in the west commonly refer to as dragons.

The matlapallicoatl worship the mixkoatl, a powerful group of gods from the northern skies. Among these their strongest deity is Tezcatlipoca, the god of the northern skies, of the night, of rulership, and divination. He is also referred to as the black tezcatlipoca to distinguish him from the white tezcatlipoca known as Quetzalcoatl. After the creation of the current sun, the gods instructed the white and black tezcatlipocas to bring order to the world of men. They brought fire and knowledge to men and all was well, for a while. Eventually though, men sought Quetzalcoatl more than Tezcatlipoca and Tezcatlipoca distanced himself from these new beings and returned to favor creatures of previous suns as well as the few men who still followed him. Among these creatures from other times were the matlapallicoatl, the winged snakes who survived the destruction of the last sun.

In the land of men Quetzalcoatl's favor among them would not last forever either. As men became more ambitious and war and discord began to plague the land it was Huitzilopochtli who became the most worshiped and revered god. Huitzilopochtli, the blue tezcatlipoca is also the god of the southern skies, the sun and war. As Huitzilopochtli's influence became stronger so did the discord between the matlapallicoatl and these new creatures called men. The former stood with the black tezcatlipoca and the northern skies and the later with the blue tezcatlipoca and the southern skies. To the matlapallicoatl and the few men who live with them in Coatmixtitlan the vast majority of humans are a plague that will bring nothing but suffering and destruction to the land. Coatmixtitlan is heaven, a center of great and ancient knowledge to be kept safe from the all grabbing hands of men.

The men of Coatmixtitlan are powerful priests and sorcerers, as well as erudite scholars and scribes. They are also great merchants and traders who will not hesitate to enslave the common man to work in their homes, cities and mines. These merchants have something revered and envied all throughout Itza, flying merchant caravans, and during times of war they rule the skies and hold unequal air superiority. Their scholarly ways does not bar them from being great soldiers on the ground and while not being the best foot soldiers they enjoy some of the support available, the fearsome K’i’ix Kaan. A race of blue flightless lizard men who excel in the art of war. These fearsome creatures stand between two and a half and three meters tall (7 to 10 feet), wear bone and stone armor on their upper torso and carry a powerful Macuahuitl as a sword. As if that was not enough their strong tail is usually equipped with spikes or a flail which they use to create a safe perimeter to their sides and back. Together with men the K'i'ix Kaan form a formidable army that defends the treasures and secrets of Coatmixtitlan.

The city is a focal point for all divination magic as well as magic related to time and change. As creatures from another time the matlapallicoatl also hold ancient magic and long forgotten knowledge. These are well kept secrets not easily shared with the common man. When they do share them it is at a very high cost. Other matlapallicoatl powers are said to come from Tezcatlipoca himself and provide power over the creation of life itself. It is said the matlapallicoatl have power over the creation of men and all that lives under the sun. That they can easily control the magic of shapeshifting and have unprecedented control over wayobs(the animal spirits within men). These powerful dragon sorcerers are said to be able to control the animal that accompanies a man through life. Thus, they are sought after for their knowledge and power by human shamans and wizards wishing to reap the most of their internal animal spirit. They can provide great power to a shaman who wants to come in full contact with his or her inner animal spirit while not letting the animal turn the shaman into a nahual or lycantrope being who succumbs to the primitive animal nature of the spirit.  The matlapallicoatl can also enter a man's dreams, thought by many to be a path to divination and the future. In dreams and heal or cause great harm, even posses a human being.

The two most sought after wayob powers are those of the jaguar and the turkey. The jaguar aspect of Tezcatlipoca is identified as Tepeyollotl "The heart of the mountain". Tepeyollotl is the Jaguar of Night, lord of the animals, darkened caves, echoes and earthquakes. Sorcerers following this path gain great control over all animals of the land, stealth and secrecy, spying skills and unprecedented power over the element of earth.

As the jewelled fowl Tezcatlipoca takes the name Chalchihuihtotolin. In such a shape Tezcatlipoca is a powerful sorcerer who can control human minds, set them on a path of self destruction or as easily absolve them of guilt and cleanse their spirit. Shamans who follow this path gain powers of mind control, insight, dream control and nightmares, illusion and even greater powers of divination. Their power power can be so great they can even help men overcome their fate. This is the most sought after power by the shamans followers of Chalchihuihtotolin. The power to rewrite the very fabric of life in Itza, destiny and fate.





Image sources http://sholarijames.com/Du/Newsweave934661-09.html
http://indiron.deviantart.com/art/Aztec-Dragon-The-Dreamer-337816791
http://www.designzzz.com/15-spectacular-mythological-beasts-illustrations/
http://emonteon.deviantart.com/art/Tepeyollotl-71111473

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