The Teōtl
Other pantheons question the “savage” methods of the Teōtl. The Teōtl question their dedication. Blood is the elixir that feeds the Gods, and the Gods preserve the universe. Who are outsiders to question their methods when they stand between humanity and eternal darkness? To comprehend the Teōtl, one must understand the nature of sacrifice. Sacrifice unto them, and they will sacrifice unto you. Are you strong enough? Are you brave enough? Are you prepared to pay the price?
Born of the Primordials Tonacacihuatl and Tonacatecuhtli, the four sons of heaven, the “Tezcatlipocas,” begot many other Gods and were tasked with populating the universe. Taking up their task with vigor, the Tezcatlipocas’ attempts were thwarted when the fearsome crocodilian monster Cipactli consumed all they wrought. The Black Tezcatlipoca plunged his foot into the void to distract Cipactli, who quickly devoured it, only to be set upon by the other Tezcatlipocas in all their fury. The brothers tore Cipactli asunder to create the universe. Cipactli’s head became the heavens, its tail the Underworld, and its body the World.
With Cipactli vanquished, five worlds were created — and then destroyed, along with all their peoples. Each had a sun whose light was extinguished. First it was Tezcatlipoca, the Jaguar Sun, who took up the responsibility of lighting the World by jumping into the sacrificial fire, but his dark nature or Cipactli’s wounds weakened him, and he burned but dimly. Quetzalcoatl knocked him from the sky and took his place. Furious, Tezcatlipoca had his jaguars consume the race of giants that peopled the World.
During Quetzalcoatl’s reign, the reign of the Wind Sun, the new people became lax and descended into decadence. Tezcatlipoca changed the worst of them into monkeys, and Quetzalcoatl swept humanity from the land in a fearsome hurricane. Defeated, he vacated his place as sun and abandoned the few surviving monkeys to eternal darkness.
Tlaloc, the Rain Sun, was next to take up the burden. He shone brightly over a loving humanity until Tezcatlipoca stole his beloved wife Xochiquetzal. In his grief, Tlaloc failed to send rain, plunging the World into drought. Humanity begged him for succor, but their pleas exceeded his mercy, and Tlaloc sent a fiery rain to burn them to ash. From the ashes, the World was rebuilt, and Tlaloc was quickly replaced by his wife Chalchihuitlicue, the Water Sun. Jealous of her kind treatment of humanity and the veneration she received, Tezcatlipoca called Chalchihuitlicue’s sincerity into question, forcing her to cry so vigorously, she drowned the World in a flood of tears.
Quetzalcoatl then descended to Mictlan to retrieve humanity’s bones from prior ages. He sprinkled them with his blood, creating the humans of today. The humblest of the Gods, Nanahuatzin, sacrificed himself to become the Fifth Sun, but required the hearts blood of all the Teōtl to set him into motion. As the Teōtl’s blood burned and steamed skyward, the Earthquake sun was born. This is the final sun, for there will not be a sixth. Should the Teōtl fail, earthquakes will rend the world as celestial horrors consume humanity, but the Gods know their duty. There is nothing they won’t sacrifice for humanity, and they expect nothing less in return.
Principal Members:
The Teōtl are a fearsome pantheon that maintains a great sense of duty and sacrifice. They are passionate, yet sober, inclined toward fatalism while knowing they can change their destiny. They hold a ridged hierarchy with clear demarcations between the powers of one God ans another, but encourage innovation among their Scions. While ultimately dedicated to maintaining the Fifth Sun and reclaiming their civilization, they are more than capable of destructive infighting. The Teōtl are a study in contrasts, but all are united behind the ideal of shared sacrifice.Chalchihuitlicue
Chantico
Chicomecoatl and Centeotl
Huehuecoyotl
Ītzpāpālōtl
Mictecacihuatl
Quetzalcoatl
Tezcatlipoca
Tlaloc
Xīpe Totēc
Xochipilli
Xochiquetzal
Xolotl
Signature Purview: @Teo
Virtues: Hunger and Sacrifice The path of the Teōtl is a precarious balance between hunger and sacrifice. During the two centuries of Mēxihcah dominion in Tenochtitlan, they consumed massive quantities of flesh, blood, and tribute. Wherever the tlatoani’s gaze fell, there was war, and that war consumed the resources of their fallen foes and supplied sacrificial victims to satiate the Teōtl’s ravenous hunger. But when one eats, another is eaten; for one to take, another must give. To accept a sacrifice is to demand obedience, resources, and even human life. These things grant a Scion great power, but at what price? To sacrifice others is necessary, but can ultimate hunger give way ultimate sacrifice?
The Teōtl hunger. A hero does not sit idly by and await victory’s invitation; he seeks it out like a starving jaguar. Teōtl heroes are never idle, constantly seeking more, whatever more may be. They are often raw, kinetic, and savage in aspect, barely containing their lust to take one more hill, plant one more banner, or capture one more sacrifice. This hunger makes Teōtl hero’s implacable foes and feared opponents, but it must be carefully restrained lest it consume them utterly.
The Teōtl sacrifice. A hero cannot simply dress someone up as a Teōtl and sacrifice them in their stead, a Teōtl’s sacrifice must always be his own. While always hungry, Teōtl heroes have an immense sense of duty to their chosen cause, the Teōtl, and their friends and allies. They will be the first to help a friend, volunteer for rear-guard actions, or participate in suicide missions. They will offer their very heart’s blood to save the one they love or defeat a chosen foe.
Teōtl Scions must balance their lust for conquest against the greater good because the greatest victory often requires the greatest sacrifice. It is the Teōtl themselves who best embody this balance. Tezcatlipoca sacrificed his foot to distract Cipactli, who in turn had to die to create the World. Huitzilopochtli led the Mēxihcah away from Aztlan in his hunger to found Tenochtitlan, but had to sacrifice his nephew Copil to achieve his dream. When Tēucciztēcatl’s hunger failed and he retreated from the sacrificial flame necessary to create the current Sun, it was venerable Nanāhuātzin who selflessly took his place. Only then, did Tēucciztēcatl feel the weight of his shame and hurl himself onto the pyre.
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