Cuacuauhtin

The cuacuauhtin, or eagle warriors were an elite force of Aztec warriors numbering approximately a thousand strong.

Overview

The most skilled within the Aztec army, they received received great honors from Aztec society. The order maintained a friendly rivalry with the ocelomeh, with whom they shared this honor.

It was said that, out of a desire to retain their status, they and the ocelomeh turned the priesthood against the Uratha, who established a bounty for werewolf pelts.

Cuauhualtin

The cuauhualtin were a stratum even higher within this elite group. Provided a warrior proved his worth, he was inducted into the ranks of the eagle warriors' skinchangers, gaining the ability to take an eagle's form. This process involved prayers to Quetzalcoatl and ritually sharing blood with an eagle. Though renewing the ritual, done every 260 days, could be done with any eagle, most cuahualtin stuck with the same eagle until its death.

Fall

The cuacuauhtin were officially disbanded at the start of the reign of Motecuhzoma II, due to the emperor's apparent disdain for those of common birth, who made up a significant portion of the group. To avoid execution, their leaders went into hiding, be it by fleeing to other territories or going to ground within Tenochtitlan.

In spite of their official disbandment, a number of warriors in eagle form rose up to harry the Spaniards during the Night of Sorrows, a last gasp of resistance before the Spaniards' siege.