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Mexico, officially known as the United Mexican States, is a federal republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico.

Modern Overview[]

Mexico is the true seat of power for the Sabbat. Here the sect holds almost absolute sovereignty. While the Camarilla holds some sway over the Yucatan Peninsula, the sect's influence is fading fast; only the Camarilla's vast wealth allows it any influence at all in Mexico.

But while the Sabbat holds near-total political dominance of the region, the Camarilla's use of money as a weapon has taken a powerful toll on Mexico. Before the Sabbat wrested complete control of the area, the American dollar and the Mexican peso were fairly well balanced in value. However, the Camarilla has worked diligently to ensure the decline of the peso's financial power. Over the years, the powerful seat of the Sabbat has been sucked nearly as dry as a vampire's victim. Rampant political corruption and electoral fraud only add to the malaise.

Recent Sabbat attempts to bring about a more concentrated source of power in the area have failed, despite the best plans the sect could design. NAFTA (North American Free Trade Agreement), the carefully proposed plan conceived by the U.S., Canada and Mexico, has so far proved ineffectual, despite the Lasombra's hopes.

The kine of Mexico are largely opposed to the NAFTA agreement, and a combination of kine corruption and Camarilla manipulation has undermined the planned fiscal resurgence of the Mexican peso. Despite the sheer numbers of Sabbat vampires in Mexico, the Camarilla has managed to keep the sect from expanding, at least on one front, while increasing its own wealth by taking advantage of the new NAFTA regulations.

Old Mexico Way: Historic Overview[]

Before the Darkness Came: A Pre-History of Mexico[]

"There was a time, long ago now, when the Land was sacred and untainted by Interlopers. That's what the folks down Mexico way call the Europeans, Interlopers. The People knew their gods and those very same deities answered their prayers happily. Humans were scarce enough that there was no need to keep them from growing too far or too fast, and culling the herd was a simple matter."[1] - Laughing-Manyskins

The Nuwisha trickster and storyteller Old Man Many Skins recounts the following in the Werewolf: The Wild West supplement, Tales from the Trails: Mexico:

"...Earth-Mother has her ways. She can defend herself to an extent, but she looks to her champions to do that, her guardians and defenders.

In time the humans began to settle in towns and in cities. They learned to cultivate their crops and farm the land, accept the blessings of Earth-Mother without abusing her in response. In thanks they built stone temples to the gods, giving them names that were not the same as the Changing Breeds used, but were meant for the same beings.

The servants of Earth-Mother looked on, and were pleased. ... Many took to working as the servants of these gods, answering the questions of the humans and reminding them of the proper path to follow, never truly revealing what they were. The humans accepted them, giving worship to their forms and offering sacrifices.

For a time these sacrifices were accepted as tribute, a replacement of sorts for the killings that once kept the humans from growing too vast in number. The people called themselves the Olmec, and they were encouraged to grow and to learn. They built many cities, the greatest of which was called Teotihuacan, "the City of the Gods.""[2]

Teotihuacan[]

"Teotihuacan grew mighty indeed. Over 125,000 people dwelt within the city, serving Earth-Mother in her many disguises. But the people soon changed, believing less in protecting the Land and more in serving themselves. They began taking too much from Earth-Mother, replacing little and growing fat as a tick on the neck of a deer. With so many of them to feed they began forcing their will on other tribes, expanding their influence over hundreds of miles and cutting away the trees in order to grow their food. Earth-Mother was not pleased, and told the Changing Breeds to speak with the humans, to warn them against their newly found ways.

The humans scoffed, ignoring their messengers from the gods and continuing in their folly. One of the greatest of the Mokolé, Queztalomic, Heart of the Sun, demanded that the humans surrender their leader for sacrifice. The ruler of the Olmec people, Malinche, a woman of great will and astonishing beauty, refused and sent her soldiers to destroy the messenger of the gods. Though the battle was fierce, they succeeded in killing the great Mokolé, offering him as the sacrifice instead of their queen.

When word of this deed passed among the Changing Breeds their rage was powerful. The Uktena, the Balam, the Mokolé and the Ananasi, the Corax, the Nuwisha and even the Camazotz all gathered together in a great moot and spoke of what to do. The decision was simple enough to make. They had failed in their duties and allowed the Olmec to grow too strong. the time had come to rectify their mistake and this they did with Earth-Mother's blessing.

Teotihuacan fell under the collective wrath of the Changing Breeds. Many of the humans fled, screaming into the distant jungles never to return. Many others died for their foolishness. Malinche, the dark queen of the Olmec, was killed and carefully buried in the traditional way, her body left at the ruins of the City of the Gods as a reminder that the messengers of the gods should never be disobeyed.

With the death of Malinche and Teotihuacan came the death of the Olmec Empire. The people learned their lesson well, and all was forgiven."[3]

An Empire of Many[]

"...The next time the humans gathered together in great numbers they called themselves the Zapotecs, and they too built great cities. While the tribe thrived before the fall of the Olmecs, they became far greater when their neighbors to the north were vanquished. Many of the Olmecs went to the Zapotecs and joined them. The Zapotecs leaned away from the ways of the Earth-Mother and they soon learned the error of their ways. Without the aid of the Changing Breeds they fought amongst themselves and squabbled a great deal.

Before they finally fell to their own dark desires, the Maya people gathered and began to build still another camp for the humans. They were wiser, and they listened to the messengers of the gods and were rewarded with the aid of the shapechangers. They grew wise and learned well the lessons offered them, soon surpassing the knowledge of the teachers in many ways. Still, the best efforts of the Mayans could not stop their great numbers from harming the land. Simply by gathering in such large herds, the humans began to deplete their resources. They had to choose between claiming more of the land for their farms - or starvation. Some choice.

Several of the leaders felt differently about what had to happen, and wars came to the once-peaceful Mayan Empire. Chac, one of the greatest of the Mayan leaders and Kin to the Uktena, looked upon the damage they were causing Earth-Mother and fretted about what to do. The tribe fell upon itself in war, some using the combat as an excuse to seize the land of others, some simply trying to do what was best for everyone. Chac contemplated the dilemma and asked the guidance of the gods. Unlike so many, he then listened to that advice. He called upon the Changing Breeds for assistance, and some of them agreed that his thoughts were sound. The Wolves, the Jaguars and the Lizards all helped him in his efforts to stop the war. Though matters did not change easily, in the end Chac managed to convince the remaining leaders that abandoning the cities and finding a better way to live with Earth-Mother was more sensible. That the Uktena, Balam and Mokolé stood with him might have been a very strong deciding factor in getting everyone to agree. The cities were surrendered to the Land, save for a few places where the foolish refused to agree and continued on as best they could.

[T]he Nuwisha didn't get involved, nor did the Corax or Camazotz. The Camazotz had already lost many when they battled the Olmec, and the Corax and Nuwisha had better things to do, other places to go. Besides, speaking for the Coyotes, war is not our way. It's often wisest to let the humans tend to themselves.

With their government in ruin and their cities forgotten, many of the remaining Mayans collapsed into separate smaller tribes. Those who chose to ignore the dictates of Chac and the messengers of the gods moved to the South and met other cultures, changing along the way. In time, the migrating remaining Mayans built their nation strong again, but wiser and with better care."[4]

The Winds from the North[]

"[T]o the North grew another force. These fellas were far more warlike, ready to take what they needed by force. They called themselves the Toltecs. The Toltecs came in great numbers, killing many and forcing the rest into submission. This was not a quick and simple conflict, but took many years. They didn't so much conquer the tribes of the area as simply absorb them into their own growing culture. The Toltec adopted many of the Mayan ways and they too learned to live with Earth-Mother - in their own fashion. Being more aggressive than the Mayans, they spread out in far greater numbers and built outposts to protect them from other invading forces. Their power was so great that many of the lesser tribes paid them tribute and protection against being invaded and overwhelmed. In time they too began to look away from the simple bounties provided by Earth-Mother and began ignoring the wisdom of the Changing Breeds. They took much of the land for their farms, and they cult down great forests to make their cities. Foolishly, the Changing Breeds did not stop the trend before it was too late, and Earth-Mother took matters into her own hands, or perhaps she had help from the Wyrm. A drought came far to the north of Mexico, driving thousands of people south to avoid the ravages of starvation.

The Wendigo, best known for staying in the far Northern reaches, came down into the land of Mexico for the first time, and with them came many of their Kin. There was no great war between the brother tribes of the Garou, but there were battles aplenty between the humans on both fronts. A little at a time, the remaining Toltec people moved to the south. Over the course of a decade the Toltec Empire collapsed under its own weight, and for a time there were no more great civilizations, there were simply the tribes who wandered the land. Even that changed quickly, as the people once again began settling in the rich land and cultivating their crops. The Changing Breeds soon learned that they had waited too long; they could no longer control the growth of the cities completely. Still, the city-states that rose were not empires and the Land was not abused as it had been before."[5]

The Mexica Cometh[]

"[A]s time passed, the remaining seeds of the great Toltec Empire grew another force, a gathering of tribes who called themselves the Mexica. They followed their leaders until they reached a place where their seers said the gods wanted them to be. They followed the dreams of the seers, who told them that they should not rest until they saw an eagle kill a snake upon a cactus that grew from a rock. This single image had been given to the seers, and when they saw the image made reality, the Mexica people stopped and settled in a vast valley with several large lakes, the most important of which was Texcoco. For over a century the Mexica people lived in subservience to their neighbors, most especially the tribe called the Tepanec who dwelled in the city-state of Azcapotzalco. Though they lived well, they were considered inferior to their neighbors.

Despite their difficulties the Mexica set about creating their own empire and joined with several of their neighboring communities in a pact of war. From this union the Aztec Empire was born and, from the beginning, something was wrong with the empire. Something about it was darker than any of the previous gatherings [to which] the humans had ever been."

Prominent Cities[]

Gallery[]

References[]

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