Telcezalco XXVIII

Telcezalco XXVII, The Blood River, was the last king of the Inantzicatl, the serpent folk on Ix. His search for immortality led him to slaughter the sacred Tetzahuitl, the terror lizards, and bring down the wrath of their god, the titan Goxomoc. Although he achieved immortality, his and his people's destruction led him to lead on the Court of Decay in the Abyssal Waste.

History

Rule

Telcezalco XXVIII ruled over the inantzicatl who were devoted to their king. His people lived in the jungles of the island of Ix among the tetzahuitl, the terror lizards their society viewed as sacred. The serpent folk offered lavish sacrifices of jewels, food, and other precious goods for good fortune. Their people would offer these sacrifices before important events like hatchings of their offspring, long journeys, or large battles. They never harmed the lizards, afraid to risk angering their gods. Telcezalco led his people to glory, waging wars on nearby islands, earning the worship of his people who came to view him as a god. His mortality and fragility led him to seek power over life and death. He suspected that the blood of the terror lizards contained such power.

Slaughter of the Tetzahuitl

In his quest for immortality, he lead his people in committing the ultimate taboo - slaughtering thousands of the tetzahuitl. He and his people bathed in the river of blood, and his ideas proved correct. They emerged from the slaughter with the gift of immortality. Their victory was short-lived - their slaughter awoke Goxomoc, the titan of Ix. They had betrayed their sacred pact with the terror lizards, and Goxomoc punished them with the decimation of their empire and the island. The titan wrought a terrible destruction across the land, reducing the empire to rubble and destroying all that they had built. Their society and culture were completely destroyed - they lost the secrets of smelting and writing. The few survivors who escaped the titan's retribution fled Ix in search of more habitable lands to reestablish their lives.

Telcezalco XXVIII had gained immortality but was banished to the Abyssal Waste, where he served on the Court of Decay.