Here's my interpretation of some Aztec mythology. I've placed these powers differently from the way they're presented in earlier TSR materials out of conviction and a desire to harmonise better with the rest of PS. The Aztec culture seems savage to many planewalkers, but compared to the fiendish way of life it's nothing, and the Gauls in the Hinterlands often swing around in favour of wild brutality.

AoC: Life, wind

Al: LG

WAL: Any good

Symbol: Morning or evening star, feathered snake biting its own tail.

Home P/L/R: Mt. Celestia/Lunia/Wanders

Known Proxies: Many coatls and a solar who takes the form of a great winged serpent.

One of the few kind and gentle Aztec gods, Quetzalcoatl is also rather ugly. Straying from the habits of the other members of his pantheon, the only sacrifices in Quetzalcoatl's name are those of fruit and flowers. Quetzalcoatl is one of the Four Tezcatlipocas (see Tezcatlipoca) and is the de facto pantheon leader of the Aztec religion.

As Quetzalcoatl (which means 'precious twin' as well as 'feathered serpent') he is the god of life and life-giving who restored his people after their destruction in a cataclysm. His twin brother Xolotl seems to have gone to the bad, at least according to the insane ultroloth Malazar the Descrator (see the 'Non Compos Mentis' page on the Mimir). Also, Quetzalcoatl is the wind-god Ehecatl, whose breath moves the celestial bodies. For this reason he is a popular patron with seafarers and spacefarers. Quetzalcoatl is on good terms with most other good pantheon leaders, and especially with Jazirian of the coatl.

AoC: Earth, Fertility

Al: N

WAL: Any

Home: Unknown

Known Proxies: None

Coatlicue, mother to many of the Aztec Gods, always appears as a truly monstrous creature. A human-like shape is distorted by two giant snake heads where a normal face would be, a necklace of skulls and human hands, and is dressed in only a skirt woven from living snakes. Little is known of her beyond this, but her terrifying aspect and powerful portent see to it that her reputation precedes her.

AoC: War

Al: LE

WAL: Any

Symbol: The sun

Home: Acheron/Avalas/The Jungle Cube

Known Proxies: Tepeyteotl (human male/fighter 20/LE)

Huge sacrifices, gigantic battles, blood dripping from everything - that about sums up Huitzilpochtli's mindset. Ruler of the Eagle and Jaguar Knights, he encourages capturing the enemy instead of killing them on the battlefield, but only so that they can be sacrificed (willingly!) at one of Huitzilopochtli's temple-ziggurats. Huitzilopochtli is another of the Four Tezcatlipocas. Justly feared and respected, he is also the ruler of the Fifth Sun, which represents the current age of the world. He killed his half-sister Coyolxauhqui as soon as he had been born, the legend says, and has been mighty in battle ever since. He is a patron of fallen warriors, and guards their spirits viciously.

His realm, based at Coatepec or Serpent Hill, dominates all of an Avalan cube. The petitioners there take the forms of hummingbirds, a creature associated by the Aztecs with the dead of war. Huitzilopochtli is on good terms with Lei Kung, but hates most other powers except his fellow Aztecs, with whom he has an on-off rivalry.

AoC: Death and the Dead

Al: NE

WAL: Any

Symbol: Unknown

Home P/L/R: Grey Waste/Oinos/Mictlan

Known Proxies: None

Mictlantehcuhtli and his wife guard over a realm composed completely of titan-sized bones. They're also overtly hostile towards anyone even touching any of the bones, since Quetzalcoatl stole a number of them aeons ago, and they're still sore about it. Oddly enough, they're not fond of undead - they appreciate them about as much as they do living folks (not much). The King and Queen of the Dead rule over a desolate and awful land through which all Aztec petitioners must pass (see 'Mictlan the planar pathway' below) unless they died a violent death.

The powers of Mictlan are cruel and stringent, ensuring that the trials of the petitioners are fitting to the life they led. The area surrounding the realm of Mictlan is characterised by its harsh and unforgiving landscape and the deep turbulent rivers and inlets that cross the land in many places, making the passage of the dead arduous and taxing. From here a one-way planar pathway sets out, wending across many planes.

AoC: Creation, duality

AL: LN?

WAL: Any

Symbol: Two of anything

Home P/L/R: Unknown. See below.

Known Proxies: All the Aztec gods

Ometeotl is in fact a duality: two gods in one being. In his male aspect, he is called Ometechtli. In her female aspect, she is called Omecihuatl. This couple gave birth to the Four Tezcatlipocas (q.v.) who now hold the reins of power, along with Tlaloc and Chalchiuhtlicue. Ometeotl's realm has never been reached, but is thought to be called Omeyocan, the Place of Duality, and may be in the depths of Mechanus. Ometeotl is credited with the remarkable stunt of having created himself. She is also thought to control the souls of the unborn.

AoC: Wild animals, change, magic

Al: CN

WAL: Any non-lawful

Symbol: Obsidian mirror, jaguar

Home P/R: Limbo/Realm of the Wilds. Also the Beastlands. (To name just a few. See below.)

Known Proxies: All the Aztec pantheon.

Tezcatlipoca is the supreme ruler of the Aztec pantheon. However, due to his chaotic nature, the reins of power are held by Quetzalcoatl, who is in fact an aspect of Tezcatlipoca. Tezcatlipoca's main aspects are called the Four Tezcatlipocas, of whom the normal Tezcatlipoca, called Tepeyollotli ("Heart of the Mountain") is one, and the other three are Quetzalcoatl, Huitzilopochtli and Xipe Totec. If his power were all combined in one power, he would be amongst the greatest in the planes. However, he realises that his many areas of control are better monitored by his fourfold nature. His chaotic nature means that he often fights against his own more lawful aspects, but to him there is no contradiction: he is a god, and he can manipulate his alter egos as he desires.

"The Realm of the Wilds", Tezcatlipoca's realm.

Though he's a chaotic and mercurial power, Tezcatlipoca has a strangely ordered realm. Many planars have ended up classifying it as part of the Beastlands, the Abyss, or Gehenna, depending on which area they saw first. The inner part of the Realm of the Wilds is just that: wild. Tropical rainforest, soaring mountains in the distance, and the occasional raging river make this are look just like part of the Beastlands, or even the Prime. Don't be fooled, though. Beyond the always-dim dusk sky, anyone looking closely can make out swirls of primal chaos-stuff behind the empty "sky". Jaguars and some of the rare Olmec were-jaguars inhabit this area of the realm, and any visitor will likely have the feeling of being watched constantly. Aside from the natural dangers, this area is relatively harmless in comparison to many other parts of the outer planes. Bordering the inner part are high, craggy mountains and volcanoes, with the occasional small city nestled safely away from the lava. The largest of these, Tula, was actually transported here from the Prime after Tezcatlipoca wrested it away from Quetzalcoatl. The inhabitants tend towards wild revels and partying, but they'll often engage in Xaositect-like behavior or go down to the jungle to hunt a jaguar or two. The last part of the Realm of the Wilds is the most incomprehensible of all. The outer area tends toward illusions, smoke and mirrors. Things are not always as they seem, where they seem to be, or anything else. A faint haze, like Sigil's infamous smog, clouds the area and the ground is slightly rough and rocky (although that changes at times, too). Illusion spells function 5 times as well here, and while wild magic works normally, there's never a chance of a wild surge unless the mage is hoping for one. But a warning for casual planewalkers first: gazing into a clear glass mirror can be deadly here for when anyone does, a doppleganger acting as if it was under the effects of a Chaos spell springs from the mirror. Stick with Tezcatlipoca's signature obsidian mirror if you need to view yourself here.

AoC: Rain, Sustenance, life

Al: CG

WAL: Any

Symbol: Ear of maize, thunderbolt

Home: Arborea/Ossa/Tlalocan and Nether/Land of Eternal Rain

Known Proxies: Demipowers known as the Tlaloques, who follow his orders and oversee the weather.

Tlaloc is the god who provides rain for the people, and who allows the grain, the precious maize, to grow. However, he is also occasionally violent, as demonstrated by his use of thunder. The people do not blame him for this, but accept his judgements gratefully. Tlaloc is also the guardian of Tlalocan, the land of the afterlife. Standing on the side of Mount Ossa and encompassing large amounts of both ocean and mountain, Tlalocan is the final resting place of those good Aztecs not bound for Quetzalcoatl's realm on Mt. Celestia. Speaking of which, Quetzalcoatl's portfolio of wind and Tlaloc's of rain make them equals and allies. Tlaloc is married to one of the Tlaloques, Chalchiuuhtlicue.

AoC: Spring, sacrifices, goldsmithing

AL: N

WAL: Any except NG

Symbol: Flayed human skin

Home Plane: Outlands/Wanders

Known Proxies: None

Xipe Totec is the fourth Tezcatlipoca, and one of the cruellest and most indifferent Aztec gods. He provides the renewal of spring, but demands human blood, hearts and skins for his trouble. It may be that this form of tribute is growing weaker, for Xipe Totec's power has waned lately. Others say that it's merely the ebb and flow of spiritual energies. Another theory states that he had to lessen his power due to the already large number of greater powers in the pantheon.

Xipe Totec has no realm and no allies. His power manifests as a roving patch of the Outlands where flowers spring up wherever blood is spilled. He also favours goldsmiths, probably due to sympathetic magic between the yellow colour of flayed skin and the colour of gold.

AoC: Fire, space-time, opposites

Al: N

WAL: Any

Symbol: Pine tree, pepper

Home P/L/R: Outlands/Hinterlands/Hueiuhcalli

Known Proxies: None

Xiuhtecuhtli is the oldest Aztec god, and amongst the most ancient in the Multiverse. In common with a number of ancient gods, he has in his portfolio abstract concepts of space, as well as an elemental aspect. He also represents the sun and the hearth, two vital sources of fire. He defends the people in the times between the centuries (actually 52 years each) when the gods can bob humanity and go back on their deals. He appears as an old man carrying a lighted brazier on his head.

"Hueuihcalli", the Old Home of Fire.

Xiuhtecuhtli's realm is far out into the Hinterlands, near as anyone can figure. As all the Aztec gods share aspects of one another, Xihtecuhtli's relations include the god of crossroads and Huehueteotl, another older fire god. Strangely enough, Xiuh also has many ties to the high-up of the Aztec pantheon, Ometeotl. Arriving in his realm for the first time, a visitor will find himself on a neatly paved road in the middle of a hot jungle. In fact, almost all of this god's realm is steamy jungle, inhabited by creatures of fire, and roads that lead nearly anywhere in the multiverse but mostly to the elemental plane of Fire. Xiuhtecuhtli is completely unnaproachable; a body's often sighted a huge ziggurat behind the trees, but they always get given the runaround, encountering more roads, or simply seeing the ziggurat vanish behind the tall trees. He has very few petitioners, and no proxies that anyone knows of.

PLANAR PATHWAY: Mictlan

While the Styx connects the lower planes and Oceanus connects the chaotic planes, Mictlan is a path between the lawful planes, making a few other stops along the way. Starting in Mictlan (the Aztec realm of the dead, not the pathway) in the Gray Waste, the path continues straight to Baator, followed by Acheron. After stopping briefly in Huitzilopochtli's realm on Avalas, the path travels for miles and miles through Ocanthus, probably the worst part of the entire journey. After this, the path jumps straight to Xiuhtecuhtli's realm in the Outlands. Mechanus, Arcadia, and Ehecatl's realm on Mt. Celestia come next, then straight on to Arborea and lastly, Tezcatlipoca's place in Limbo. In fact, most of Mictlan is a literal pathway, made out of bricks or cobbles, the whole bit. Plus, once you've endured the trials at the beginning of the path, the further part is quite hospitable. The occasional petitioner at a ziggurat along the road offers travellers food and drink, mostly corn tortillas and chocolatl.

You see, the oddest thing about this path is that no matter where you get on, whether it's at Arborea or Mechanus, you start out in the Gray Waste after only a couple minutes' walking, flying, etc. There's no turning back: this path is one-way, berk. It's great for getting from the Gray Waste straight to Baator, but if you want to travel from Tlaloc's Palace in Arborea to Mount Celestia, you have to go from Arborea to the Gray Waste, to Baator . . . to Arcadia, to Mount Celestia. That's too long a trek for most. You see, the Aztec Pantheon's big on trials of spirit and body, believeing that this way assures that all supplicants are worthy of making their way to the proper plane. Even all petitioners of the Aztec pantheon have to travel this way; the only exception is Tezcatlipoca's petitioners. The humanoid ones he whisks away at the end of Ocanthus, and the non-human go straight there. In fact, the first time that anyone steps onto Mictlan (and is of chaotic alignment) there is a 5% chance that they end up in Tezcatlipoca's realm instead of the Gray Waste.

There are easily 40-some gods (some day I'll attempt an official count) so obviously I'm not going to write up all of them. If you'd like descriptions of a couple more, I'd be happy to send them off, though; Aztec mythology is a hobby of mine. :)

Also, the Aztec calendar rotated through "bundles" of 52 years each - one dedicated to Tezcatlipoca, one to Quetzalcoatl, one to Tezcatlipoca.. ad infinitum. Just as a side bit of trivia, it's currently the reign of Tezcatlipoca, and Quetzalcoatl comes back into power in the year 2031.

© Skypti 1997