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Flayed Lands

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The Flayed Lands is the name for the kingdom of the dead that held dominion over Central America, once part of the mighty Dark Kingdom of Obsidian. When conquerors from Europe came, they destroyed the Flayed Lands and massacred their inhabitants, allowing Stygia to claim the Flayed wraiths' territory. This catastrophic event in both the Skinlands and Shadowlands also led to the Third Great Maelstrom.

Geography[]

The wraiths of the Flayed Lands carved out a large domain for themselves in the Tempest, with many Byways linking it to the Shadowlands, and called it the Fifth Sun. It held beautiful gardens and pyramids forged from the Pathos of the sacrifices they received from the living, and giant temples in honor of their patron gods.

The Four Houses[]

The four Houses are the social groups of the Mesoamerican dead, each House taking in those who followed particular ways of life; two of the Houses, oddly, both take in wraiths who led opposed ways of life. An agreement among the Houses, each of which represents a distinct deity, is that all four will work towards the betterment of Mesoamerica.

The heads of each House form the Obsidian Council that makes the final decisions over the kingdom. New wraiths are judged and placed in one of the four Houses, where they are expected to follow that House leader's rule and decisions. The original council was killed in the destruction of the Fifth Sun, and the survivors have created a new council to replace it.

  • House of the Werejaguar - Ancient and powerful, the House of the Werejaguar was always the voice of unity on the Obsidian Council until Mixcoatl’s loss reduced them to listless Shadows of their former grandeur. This House took no more members after the collapse of the Olmecian Empire. Its members are rare, as most have passed on into the arms of Ometeotl. However, those that remain are extremely powerful and completely committed to Mixcoatl's vision of the unification of all people.
  • House of Ix Chel - Ix Chel is the heaven-god's consort, the old woman of floods and rainstorms. Those who led lives of either great success or great failure find themselves in her House. Many generals, kings, businessmen and idiots populate this House. The House of Ix Chel was the most in favor of resistance to the Heretics when they arrived, and when the Heretics did attack, Ix Chel's wraiths stood their ground and battled to the end, long after the other Houses had gone into hiding.
  • House of Xipe Totec - Xipe Totec is the House of the Flayed God, god of crops and war. Any who were either takers or givers of life join the House of Xipe Totec. It is mainly populated by warriors, nurses and farmers, as well as murderers and petty thieves. The House of Xipe Totec has the most potential for controlling the Council, but its members are so often at odds with one anotherthat the House is usually paralyzed from within.
  • House of Itzamna - Itzamna is the iguana that stretches across the sky and bites his own tail. He is the symbol for the entire universe, and any wraiths who fit into no other Houses are more than welcome here. Itzamna is by far the largest House, but its members are rarely spectacular or powerful; therefore, it rarely has much influence in the Council.

The End of the Fifth Sun[]

As the Mesoamerican tribes spread, the Flayed Lands grew with them. The houses, working in concert, helped the mortals build a complex and vital society. They named this new kingdom the Fifth Sun, in honor of the age in which the Flayed Lands were established. There, the four houses built up an enormous metropolis, with massive temples to their patron gods, elaborate palaces, and even sports stadiums. The Fifth Sun was prosperous. Their symbiotic relationship with the mortal priests provided a constant flow of Pathos, which they forged into one of the greatest empires of the dead the world has ever seen.

The Spaniards arrived in Mesoamerica, 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 Spaniards into war against the natives.

The Houses did not know what to make of these strange new visitors. Some wanted to follow Mixcoatl's vision and seek alliance with them; others wanted war against these troublemakers. In the Houses' prolonged argument over what to do, the Heretics saw their opportunity to attack, thus beginning a long bitter war. In the end, the Spaniards overwhelmed the Flayed wraiths' mortal kin, and the priests whose sacrifices gave the Flayed wraiths their power died without replacement; with their strength gone, the Flayed wraiths could not defend themselves in their final stand and were utterly destroyed by the Heretics, the massacre serving as the final trigger for the Third Great Maelstrom.

Those who managed to escape the massacre formed the New Sun, a kingdom which they managed to hide from the Heretics with what little power they had left to them. With the loss of their mortal priests, they have had to learn how to gather Pathos as Stygian wraiths do, taking it where once it was offered willingly. They quietly wait and learn from their enemies, hoping for a chance to destroy their conquerors once and for all.

Views[]

Giovanni[]

Members of House Ix Chel and House Xipe Totec speak of extensive dealings with a member of Clan Giovanni known as Pochtli. Pochtli, his brood and their ghoul servants (known as camozotzes) have better relations with the Restless of the Obsidian Kingdom than most other Giovanni have with the wraiths of their Underworld demesnes. This symbiosis exists as the local Giovanni family, the Pisanob, are the descendants of Aztec and Mayan priests, who practiced primitive Necromancy. They sometimes even help the New Sun defend itself from the depredations of the Stygian Heretics. However, the wraiths of the Flayed Lands are aware that the Pisabob are still Giovanni that will enslave wraiths. Thus, they lurk perilously close to Pisanob death-rites, hoping to siphon a bit of the power released there for themselves without revealing their presence to the Necromancers.

Another group of Obsidian Kingdom Giovanni are the Hidalgo, who live in Mexico. These Necromancers are base and vile in their rites; they often mutilate their mortal sacrifices because of an earnest belief that it aids their sorceries.

Gallery[]

References[]

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