Flayed Lands

The Flayed Lands, also known as the Fifth Sun, is the name of a set of kingdoms that was once the mighty Dark Kingdom of Obsidian. With the coming of conquerers from Europe, the kingdoms fell and officially became a part of Stygia. This catastrophic event in both the Skinlands and Shadowlands also lead to the Third Great Maelstrom.

Geography
The Dark Kingdom of Obsidian covered all of the Americas. The Lands of Flint was the official name of the parts of the kingdom covering North America, the Flayed Lands for the parts covering Central America, and the Lands of Gold for the parts in South America.

The Four Houses
An agreement among the four houses, each of whom represents a distinct diety, is that all four will work towards the betterment of Mesoamerica. The heads of each house formed a council that made the final decisions over the kingdom. New wraiths were judged and placed in one of the four houses, where they would be expected to follow that leader's rule and decisions. Oddly, those who were opposites would be taken in. Although the system was not without its detracters and flaws, it proved surprisingly resiliant until the end of the kingdom.

House of the Werejaguar
In the beginning, there was Mixcoatl, a king in life who became the most powerful of Mesoamerican wraiths. He organized the other wraiths, refined his Arcanoi, learned to harness the energy of sacrifices, and came to rule over the Olmecian Empire. Mixcoatl recoginized the diety called the Werejaguar over all other gods and declared himself the Werejaguar incarnate; his followers became known as the House of the Werejaguar.

Mixcoatl's followers became lazy under his rule, and were therefore no match for a tribe from the north, who easily conquered the Werejaguar. Some escaped, but the Olmecian Empire was finished.

House of Ix Chel
Following the goddess of floods and rainstorms, the House of Ix Chel holds both those who succeeded beyond their wildest dreams and those who failed miserably in life. Ix Chel did most of the fighting against the Heretics when they arrived.

House of Xipe Totec
Crops and war were this diety's focus, and so those who took away or gave life were assigned to this house. In no other house were the differences within the opposite system so pronounced and opposed; Xipe Totec found itself stalled as members found themselves frequently at odds.

House of Itzam Na
Itzam Na is the name for an immortal iguana who stretches through the sky and bites his own tail, symbolizing the infinite nature of the universe. Wraiths who belonged to not other houses were placed here, making this house the largest of the four.

The End of Obsidian
The Spainards arrived in Mesoamerican, unknowingly bringing along Heretics who had fled from the Hierarchy in Stygia. Frightened by this new world, the Heretics decided to make this land their own by leading the living Spainards into war against the natives.

The Houses did not know what to make of these strange new visitors. Some wanted to flee to another place in the Tempest; others wanted war against these troublemakers. In taking so long in deciding what to do with them, the Heretics managed to slip into and overwhelm the native populations. They slaughtered the priests whose sacrifices gave the Flayed wraiths their power; with so much gone, the Flayed wraiths could not defend themselves in their final stand and were utterly destroyed by the Heretics.

Those who managed to escape formed the New Sun, a kingdom which they managed to hide from the Heretics with what little power they had left to them. They quietly wait and learn from their enemies, hoping for a chance to destroy their conquorers once and for all.


 * WTO: Wraith Players Guide, p. 94-98