Meztec Empire

## Common Knowledge

The Meztec Empire was an ancient civilization based in central Orelisle, known for its ruthless conquests, brutal slave labor practices, and its total collapse and ruination. Many aspects of their barbaric culture can be found in the worship of Sol Invictus, an ancient sun god.

## Topography and Climate

The Meztec Empire had, at various times, conquered large swathes of land in central Orelisle. These lands include: western Apotheosis Desert; southwest K’vesten; the southern Aetorg Lands; the western, northern, and eastern fringes of the Binturian Forest; southeast Cotidia; most of Eriptor and Oscoria; and eastern Talios. The sheer scope of Meztec territory means that its topography and climate cannot be pinned to a single category.

The early Meztec Empire occupied the deserts of western Apotheosis, the swamps of the southern Aetorg Lands, and parts of the northern and eastern Binturian Forest, which varies annually from temperate to impossibly cold to impossibly hot.

## Population

At its peak, the Meztec Empire boasted a population of around 5,000,000. Of that number, only a meager 900,000 people were true Meztec Lizard-Folk, while the remaining 4,100,000 constituted various conquered and enslaved peoples. Most such people were Humans or Plains Elves, though there were outlying groups of Dwarves, Dark Elves, Frog-Folk, and even other Lizard-Folk at various times throughout its history.

## Exports and Trades

The economy of the Meztec Empire initially focused on the production of great craftworks, but was very quickly co-opted to serve as the military’s industrial backbone. Most Meztec were warriors in some manner, or worked professions that supported the Eternal War such as blacksmithing, alchemy, medicine, magic, hunting, or law enforcement. Much of the slave populace (uplifted or otherwise) was instead pressed into construction, agriculture, service, or lower-tier law enforcement.

Most documented trade between the Meztec and any other group consisted of gemstones, frescoes, and beautiful clay and glassworks. Such trades were, naturally, used as a front for conquest.

## Government

The Meztec Empire was ruled by an autocratic theocracy. The Solaris Judex, or just Judex, held absolute dominion over the Empire, acting as the military commander-in-chief, managing imperial finances, commissioning construction projects, and conducting ritual sacrifices in the capital city of Meztec. Many Judices (plural form of Judex) also personally led invasions and incursions, emboldening their troops by their presence and speech. Judices were selected by the priesthood of Sol Invictus, and ruled for 5 to 10 years or until they were killed in battle.

The Judex personally selected individuals to govern the various conquered provinces in his stead. These Solaris Jurators, or just Jurators, managed the lower levels of governing necessary to make society and governance possible, collected taxes, and heard requests from the Meztec citizens and even the occasional uplifted slave.

### Slavery

The Meztec Empire relied heavily upon slave labor and the structures therein. Slaves had only as many rights as their owners permitted, but most Judices declared that slave owners must provide at least the bare essentials to their slaves.

As a reward for noble service in combat, loyalty, or any other task they deemed fitting, a Meztec citizen could elevate one of their own slaves to become an uplifted slave. uplifted slaves were effectively second-class citizens, but were afforded many of the luxuries enjoyed by true Meztec Lizard-Folk.

### Military

The military dominated the Meztec government, culture, religion, and production cycle. The Empire was built upon and fueled by war, as decreed by Sol Invictus. The Meztec army had about 1.5 million people serving it at its peak, though true Meztecs did not compose that figure’s majority. Much of the Meztec military was conscripted slaves and uplifted slaves, though many of them genuinely believed in the Meztec cause. Warriors in the military were typically expected to serve for at least 15 to 20 years, but many served until they either aged beyond the point of usefulness or until they were killed in battle.

At the word of Sol Invictus, the Meztec military followed the doctrine called the Leges Victorum, the Laws of Conquest, to assure themselves victory.

#### Tactics

Meztec culture relied primarily on horde tactics to secure victory, with much of their early advancements reflecting this. Every Meztec warrior was equipped with: two spears of iron, steel, or obsidian; a rounded carapace dome shield about 3 to 4 feet wide, possibly made from the shell of some now-extinct turtle species; a short-ranged melee weapon, often maces made from bone or serrated iron shortswords; medium- to heavy-grade armor, often made from steel or iron-reinforced bone; and a small instrument made from clay or animal skins in the likeness of a humanoid or Lizard-Folk skull. These instruments, known as “dawncallers”, produce a noise uncannily similar to screams and wails of agony. [aztec death whistles] Some dawncallers utilized long-since faded magic to enhance their volume and intensity, and possibly even to instill magically-induced fear.

The Leges Victorum would drastically change their methods of war, introducing formal military structure, the use of magic for crowd control, and unique improvements to their equipment, among other things. These new developments transformed the Meztec from a wild band of marauders into one of the most powerful militaries in Orelisle almost overnight.

## Social Hierarchy and Culture

Beneath the Judex and their Jurators, the Meztec Empire was organized into two loose cultural castes and three strict legal classes.

### Cultural Castes

Meztec warriors were afforded the highest respect among the populace, often receiving gifts from Jurators or even the Judex as a reward for their service. Warriors were typically expected to serve for at least 15 to 20 years, but many served until they either aged beyond the point of usefulness or until they were killed in battle. Jurators would also often afford warriors special privileges, such as impunity from certain laws at their request. It was very common for warriors to abuse such privileges. Though many warriors often were proficient in magic, there was no difference in respect between warriors of spear and warriors of spell.

Those who were not warriors were always in dedication to the state. Artists crafted mighty sculptures, painted mosaics, and wrote songs depicting Meztec legends, Judices, and heroes returning triumphant from war. Craftspeople, from smithies to mages to alchemists, worked around the clock to produce armor, equipment, and siege weapons to further the Eternal War’s progress. Some records suggest that early advances in artificing were made during the Meztec’s years of decline, but Meztec-crafted magic items have been discovered.

### Legal Classes

Legally, the Meztec Empire was divided into three classes: Meztec, uplifted slave, and slave. Meztecs were, naturally, Lizard-Folk who had either been born into the Meztec Empire or had emigrated from elsewhere to join it. Meztec enjoyed everything that the Empire had to offer. Meztecs could seek counsel with government officials and Jurators, participate in religious ceremonies, celebrations, and rituals, own property, travel freely, and serve the military. Most Meztec owned at least one or two slaves, though many who owned farms or who mass-produced equipment would own between 10 and 50 slaves.

Uplifted slaves were former slaves whose owners had deemed loyal enough and beneficial enough to allow more freedom than the other slaves. Uplifted slaves were still owned by their masters/mistresses/veneracies (venerace, here, is a gender-neutral term for master/mistress), and were not fully “free”. They could not travel outside of where their owner lived without first acquiring their written permission, submitting that to the official directly above them, and waiting for it to be processed before actually travelling to their destination. They could also not own property, including slaves. They did share every other right that their owners held. Their owners could, however, reduce them to being a slave again. Uplifted slaves were most commonly used as slave masters/slave mistresses/slave veneracies, to organize and discipline the rest of their owners’ slaves. Though many slaves were uplifted in recognition of military service, they were still treated as second-class citizens as they had been slaves at some point, either through birth or conquest.

Any group who was conquered by the Meztec Empire was made a slave, unless they were also Meztec or Lizard-Folk. The slave population of the Meztec Empire consisted of humans, plains elves, dark elves, wood elves, cat-folk, frog-folk, and even a tiny smattering of lesser ifrits. Slaves only had as many rights as their owners afforded them, which was usually almost none.

### Religion

The Meztec Empire is organized around the Cult of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun. Sol Invictus demanded, among other things, blood sacrifices, war against the world, and strict adherence to his Leges Victorum. The Leges Victorum is a holy doctrine written by Sol Invictus himself, so that the Meztec would know how to conduct war on his behalf and how to worship him to his preference.

### Strength Worship

Meztec citizens valued strength and valor above all else, and believed one could attain respect only through raw power. This idealization of power took many forms, ranging in intensity from mild political influence to literal brute strength. The more power a Meztec wielded, the more respect they demanded from others, and that naturally made warriors the most venerated members of Meztec society. Conquering the Meztec’s enemies and spreading the power of Sol Invictus created a powerful draw for those who sought more respect, as soldiers protecting the home fronts were known to hunt dragons for sport and glory.

## Cities, Towns, and Villages

### Meztec

The ancient capital city of the Meztec Empire, located in central western Apotheosis Desert. The shining beacon of what the Meztec could accomplish, its enchanted walls were adorned with vibrant mosaics recounting the Empire’s state-approved history, the might of Sol Invictus, their victories, and their eventual conquest of Temporis itself.  From what reliable sources exist about Meztec, they had various divine, magical, and nonmagical ways to replicate sunlight itself, for ritual purposes, lighting, energy, and even simple comfort.

At the heart of Meztec, a massive, steep step pyramid called the Zenith Temple stood. The Zenith temple was the center of religious activity in Meztec, and could be seen not only from anywhere within the city itself, but also from anywhere within five miles of the city. At the top of the Zenith Temple, the Judex themself offered sacrifice upon the altar of Sol Invictus, and the victim’s blood would flow down the pyramid on all sides so that all would see the glory of the sun and its chosen warriors.

Meztec was utterly annihilated during its decline, and its precise location has been lost to time and the sands of the Apotheosis for generations.

### Myrdirit

A dwarven city-state hewn into the sides of an underground crevasse. Once conquered, Myrdirit acted as one of the largest sources of military supplies for the Eternal War.

## Alliances

Being a state founded for war, the Meztec Empire had no formal or informal allies. The closest they had to an “ally” would be Galkador, as both the Meztec and the Galkadorians had an unspoken understanding that a war against each other would destroy them both.

## Enemy Countries

The Meztec Empire considered all nations their enemy, any who opposed their conquest was their enemy, and any who might someday oppose their conquest was their enemy. Given their abundant use of conquered people as slaves, it might even be said that the Meztec Empire was its own enemy.

## Founding and History

### Early Tribal History

The Meztec Empire began as a handful of warring tribes of Lizard-Folk in the western Apotheosis Desert, dating back to as early as 439 AB. Occasional conflicts between groups cropped up, but usually nothing too major compared to what would come later. At this time, the Proto-Meztec worshipped a sun god named Sol in two aspects. “Sol Dans”, the giving sun, represented the life-giving aspects of the sun, and its capacity to bring the cold-blooded Lizard-Folk comfort. “Sol Mortem”, then, represented the sun’s brutal heat and the death it brings in the desert.

Certain myths recount an event that likely took place in this time, albeit with far less grandeur. Ancient Meztec texts speak of a pitched battle between the first Meztecs and an invading force worshipping a storm goddess called Birugali. In this story, the invaders called upon Birugali to blot out the sun with a storm, weakening the powers of the Meztec and their priests of Sol. A Meztec woman stepped forth, and gave a rousing speech proclaiming that their sun is eternal, and can be halted by neither mortals nor gods. To punctuate her point, Sol dispelled the storm clouds overhead but allowed the rain to persist, as a show of how far above Birugali Sol was. This supposedly marks the beginning of the worship of Sol Invictus, the Unconquered Sun.

This story has unique parallels to similar myths held by Lesser Ifrits, Plains Elves, and Cat-Folk groups in the Apotheosis desert, which describe a war between two factions of druids, one for the sun and the other for the storm, where the sun druids came out on top in a nearly identical manner. As a result, many scholars believe that the events described by the story did indeed take place, but were altered over time by the Meztec for propaganda purposes.

### Beginning of the Eternal War

By the early to mid-1300s AB, the disorganized groups of Lizard-Folk had united under the banner of a city in the Apotheosis Desert, called Meztec. Meztec’s influence now encompassed most of the western Apotheosis, securing their position as a power in the wake of the fall of the Old Kingdom. Though Sol was still worshipped in the Dans and Mortem aspects, the cult of Sol Invictus was by far the largest of the three.

In approximately 1361 AB, an aggressive sect of Sol Invictus’s cult secured enough political and social power to begin what they called “Ira Solae,” the Eternal War. This would be the ultimate demonstration to the Meztec, their enemies, and the entire world of the power of Sol Invictus. The Meztec began conquering the surrounding tribes in the Apotheosis, mostly Plains Elves and other Beast-Folk, and using their new prisoners as slaves for construction, manufacturing new equipment, and as living shields on the battlefield.

By 1516, the Meztec Empire’s territory covered the entire western Apotheosis, stretching from the northern boundary of the desert to the mountains of northern Ark, while its conquests had begun to snake their way along the northeastern border of Binturia to reach into K’Vesten and the Aetorg Lands. This also includes the conquest of the dwarven Myrdirit, which was taken after a twenty-year long siege. By this time, most of the worship of Sol Dans and Sol Mortem had been either suppressed or eliminated in favor of Sol Invictus.

### Galkadorian War, First Avatar of Sol Invictus, Leges Victorum

In 1559, the Meztec Empire attempted to invade Galkador from the northeast. This horribly backfired on them, as Galkador vastly outclassed the Meztecs, both in terms of military scale and magical prowess. Eager to acquire new territories, Queen Alina of Galkador pressed the advantage after chasing the Meztec out of her country and began to invade the Meztec Empire itself. This culminated in the Battle of Bone Peak in the Apotheosis Desert

The Meztec armies, running out of food, hope, and troops, had holed up in an ancient keep at the top of a steep mountain known as Bone Peak. Galkadorian troops had almost fully surrounded the mountain, and were moments away from beginning the climb to end the battle. Once the entrenched army was dispatched, they could sweep through Meztec territory before they had a chance to mobilize their northern armies, ensuring a Galkadorian victory.

As a last resort, the Meztec Lizard-Folk slaughtered all of their slaves and retainers, killing close to 1,000 people, as a final sacrifice to Sol Invictus. With this final offering, Sol Invictus would grant them either victory or a glorious death, they believed. The Meztec steeled themselves, and exited the keep to meet their foes in battle. As soon as they collided, the Meztec and Galkadorians began to whittle away at each other’s numbers. It soon became clear, however, that the Meztec would be slowly, brutally overpowered.

As the sun shaman who conducted the sacrifice was about to be struck down, a blinding flash of heat and light engulfed the entire mountain. When sight returned to the combatants, the killing blow reserved for the shaman had been blocked by an enormous, muscled figure made of pure light. He bore no weapons, nor armor, but possessed an otherworldly aura. The Meztec suddenly became bolstered in strength, spirit, and intellect. Many Lizard-Folk who had been slain returned to life. With a thundering battle cry, the glowing Avatar of Sol Invictus led the Meztec to victory at the Battle of Bone Peak, before disappearing in a flash of light.

After the disappearance of Sol Invictus’s Avatar from the battlefield, the triumphant Meztec could not make sense of their victory, nor the appearance of the glowing figure who aided them. A survey of the battlefield revealed two new features of the landscape which had not been there before. The first was a long treatise written in Meztec had been scorched into the side of Bone Peak. This text, later dubbed “Leges Victorum,” the Laws of Conquest, seems to have been written by Sol Invictus himself, outlining how the Meztec must conduct their conquests to ensure that they, and by extension Sol Invictus, remain undefeated, as well as his preferred methods of worship.

The second was a massive line scorched into the earth dividing Meztec territory from Galkadorian territory. At various intervals across its length, text reads “Cross Not, Lest the Unconquered Sun Strike thee Down.” in the common text on the Galkadorian side, and “Patience, this is not for You Yet.” in Meztec on the Meztec side. The Leges Victorum was immediately made part of the Meztec military, religion, and government, and the Meztec never again crossed into Galkadorian territory.

### Massive Expansion, Stalemate with Jericho

After the implementation of the Leges Victorum, the Meztec Empire began to expand at speeds none had dreamed possible. Using the blessing of Sol Invictus and various magical rituals, the Meztec devised a way to traverse and settle the Binturian Forest in any season. Since any attempt to clear the Binturian Forest away for lumber ended in either failure or disaster, much of their territory within the Forest consisted of underground megacities and stone temples, allowing ample space for the forest to shift.

Despite this success, Jericho was able to hold Meztec at a costly stalemate for its entire lifespan. For every advantage gained and every inch taken, Jericho’s forces would rebuff and reclaim what had been lost each time.

By 1671, this new advantage had allowed the Meztec to fully conquer the Aetorg Lands, parts of southern K’Vesten, Oscoria, Eriptor, large swaths of underground territory, and even a few towns in the Underdark. During some of these conquests, Sol Invictus would manifest an Avatar on the battlefield, usually in the same form as he took at the Battle of Bone Peak, leading the Meztec to an easy victory with his appearance.

### Battle of Pasticcio, Sol Invictus fights Lolth

Brief as it was, one of the last engagements of the Meztec Incursion into the Underdark occurred at the town of Pasticcio in 1877. During the battle, the priestesses of the town called upon Lolth to protect them. Lolth answered their call, and attempted to wipe out the invading army but was blocked by Sol Invictus. For days on end, one would attempt to out-maneuver the other, and each time they would be blocked or otherwise circumvented.

When it became clear that direct intervention would be necessary, both Sol Invictus and Lolth took to the battlefield themselves. Both sides stopped their fighting altogether as they watched their patron deities trade blows, devise strategies and counterstrategies in seconds, and proclaim the superiority of their truth and might. Both the Dark Elves and the Lizard-Folk have hundreds of myths regarding this battle, to the point that discerning their veracity or order is nearly impossible.

For example, the Meztec had a war song called “Hollow Matron, Bastard Sons”, supposedly having been written during this battle by Sol Invictus. As its story goes, Sol Invictus drove Lolth into a frenzy by declaring her the matron of a spineless people, that her people made a spineless goddess, that her words ring empty as her heart for her children, and that she can only truly attain greatness by submitting to his rule or dying at his hand. During her subsequent onslaught, Sol Invictus exaggerated her assaults’ impact upon him while leading a charge against the stunned, rallying, and imperceptive Dark Elves on the other side of the battlefield, wiping out their army and forcing a retreat. This song would be adapted and used many times later in Meztec campaigns both in the Underdark and elsewhere.

The Dark Elves, on the other hand, celebrate a poem known as “The Coward’s Cry”, also hailing from this battle. In it, Lolth wipes out half of the Meztec immediately, and forces Sol Invictus to negotiate for the lives of his remaining troops. During these negotiations, Lolth traps him in her power, and begins to splinter Sol Invictus’s bones inside his body until it’s pulverized and he has no strength left. “The Coward’s Cry” is supposedly the written account of his pleas for mercy.

While it cannot be determined exactly what transpired during the Battle of Pasticcio, evidence from both ancient Underdark histories and fragmentary Meztec passages conflict as to who the winner truly was. It is known, however, that the Meztec retreated out of the Underdark in 2000 to preserve their holdings on the surface.

### Talian War, Slave Revolts, Decline

The war in the underground had been costly, and many Meztec Lizard-Folk were struck down as they retreated. This drastically reduced the number of people capable of fighting, as well as the number of people who truly and deeply worshipped Sol Invictus. Judex Oso Le La needed a victory to rally the Meztec morale, as the Eternal War was beginning to slow down. Any slower, and eventually the generations of violence would catch up to the Empire, either through a military coup or a revolution. Facing pressure from the clergy of Sol Invictus, as well as the general populace, Oso Le La began directing the Meztec towards the conquest of the Lumberel clan in 2010 AB.

The Lumberel, for their part, had grown somewhat complacent since their victory over the Reclilt Clan in 1744. Their flank with the Binturian Forest was unprotected, and the Meztec used this to their advantage. Though early attacks proved fruitful, the Lumberel eventually brought their full might to bear and quickly proved to be a substantial match for the weakened Meztec. Where once before Sol Invictus would rally his chosen army against their enemies, the Meztec morale plummeted even further as the war stagnated into another stalemate.

As a means to use more troops, Oso Le La conscripted hundreds of thousands of slaves from across the Empire, placing them immediately into military service. By 2039, slaves outnumbered the Meztecs on the battlefields of the Lumberel nearly seven-to-one. Due to the sudden vacuum of workers, the slaves that remained within Meztec territory were driven even harder, and expected to pick up the slack left behind by the millions who were conscripted. This was enough to finally break the metaphorical camel’s back.

Shortly after Myrdirit declared its independence in 2038, plains elf Taui Fa’ata’oto began the first organized slave revolt in millennia. Many Meztec were slaughtered on their own property, and their freed slaves either departed for parts unknown or joined her cause. In its early days, of course, the Fa’ata’oto rebellion only numbered a couple hundred, operating in splintered cells throughout Meztec land. Many would hide in the Binturian Forest, far from the protections of the Meztec’s magic.

By 2048, the burden of the war had softened somewhat by the attacks on the Lumberel’s west by the newly-formed nation of Aiur. Though the Meztec still held the line, the Fa’ata’oto rebellion began to take strong tolls on the production and supply lines of the Meztec. In 2054, when the Meztec were forced to finally retreat by the resurgent Lumberel, now united as the kingdom of Talios, they returned to a country devastated by five years of in-fighting, revolution, and civil war.

### Exile and Destruction

With the Meztec finally on the decline, nearly every group who had faced the Meztec independently agreed that it was time to end their menace once and for all. Judex Oso Le La now faced an impossible war against nearly every enemy the Meztec had battled until then: the Fa’ata’oto Rebellion led by Taui Fa’ata’oto herself; the emboldened Talios, led by their Iron Emperor Talion; the mages of K’Vesten, and their foul and unknowable magic; the uncannily patient Jericho, finally primed to wipe them out; and the denizens of the underground and Underdark, eager to obliterate those who would dare impede upon them and their gods.

The Meztec were slowly pushed further and further into their territory, making a final stand at the capital city Meztec in 2065. Through a ritual using the combined intellect of K’Vesten and Jericho, the united emotions and magic of their enemies destroyed the walls surrounding Meztec, leading to the destruction of Meztec and the deaths of half a million Lizard-Folk. Judex Oso Le La and her closest allies managed to escape, however, quickly regrouping in the Aetorg Swamp. Though the Talians, Jericho, and undergrounders deemed this a sufficient victory, the inner circle of the Fa’ata’oto Rebellion and K’Vesten wanted to ensure the Meztec could never rise again.

So it was that in 2068, after a long and grueling campaign, Taui Fa’ata’oto met Judex Oso Le La in battle in the marshes of the Aetorg Lands. A storm had begun, obscuring the midday sky, both sides fought valiantly: the dream of eternal conquest gasping its last, desperately clawing for victory; and the dream of freedom, the unified cries of millennia of rage pushing the knife deeper into their oppressors’ hearts. As a last resort, Oso Le La sacrificed all but her strongest warriors to Sol Invictus, in hopes that His Avatar would once again deliver them to success. As she gave a rousing speech, she punctuated his point by parting the clouds with elemental magic, as her distant ancestors once had to prove theirs.

Though the clouds parted and the rain continued, no sunlight shone through. So it was that the last of the Meztec, the final line protecting a legacy of millions and two thousand years of history, was struck down by their oppressed under the gaze of a solar eclipse.

The remaining Lizard-Folk scattered from the battlefield. In the years that followed, many would attempt to revive the Meztec Empire, producing the short-lived Second and Third Meztec Empires in 2219 and 2582 respectively. In both cases, very little beyond the Aetorg Lands swamps were conquered, and both times the resurging Empires were crushed beneath the heel of K’vesten’s armies.

Many Lizard-Folk still inhabit the Aetorg Lands, but scant few still follow the practices of the Meztec Empire, and fewer still offer any reverence to Sol Invictus, the war god who abandoned His people.