Army Fluff Tlaxtzoatl, The Floating Temple of Tzunki

[Vengefulnoob]

The personal fluff for my own small Temple of the First and the denizens thereof. I tried to make a temple that fulfils my own love for all things aquatic, as well as providing a unified location for my collected armies to thrive, interact, fight and indeed, survive, whilst the Lizardmen study them. Essentially, a reverse Jurassic Park.

Tlaxtzoatl ("Water-Foundation Temple")

Along the mighty Amaxon, deep in the piranha swamps, where the delta closes slightly to a near-bottleneck, a large island lies, Tlaxtzoatl. Once the site of a smaller Kahoun, now ruined, some time after the Great Catastrophe, the Slann of Tlaxtlan decided to build a new Kahoun there.

Tlaxtzoatl may be a small Temple, but it is one with an enormous population relative to it's size. The entire Temple and it's environs float on a series of artificial islands that intersect the direct centre of the main island, with access achievable only through a central canal which is often blocked by thick mangrove trees at the behest of the ruling Slann. Around the city, Skinks and Saurus teem, and offer their blessings to Tzunki, the Old One of waters. Amongst waterfalls, deep azure pools, raging torrents and soft flowing rivers, the First here spend their time ruminating on the nature of water. Being so surrounded by water, the Lizardmen spawned here are preternaturally good swimmers, even without the blessing of Tzunki. Indeed, most of the patrols around the island are conducted not by terradons or outriders, but hosts of skinks and aquatic saurus.

There is one additional way onto the island, used only in the rarest of circumstances, whereby others of the First who arrive at the Stone Guardian commune with the temple. Once the Temple confirms their intentions, hexagonal stones rise from the Amaxon's depths, forming a causeway leading to the island. This path is usually only used by visiting Slann or militant hosts, and often causes the whole isle to be shrouded in mist so as to allow the identity and method of crossing to be kept secret.



Around the island, small settlements have been built by younger races. Tlaxtzoatl's place in the centre of the Piranha Swamp once resulted in a strategic clash for the West of the Island during the War of the Beard, during which time, the Asur of Caledor built the Watcher of the Stars, and the Dawi built Kraka Dradin.

Men too, claimed parts of the island, with Tileans claiming the region of the island known as Graffia not long after Marco Colombo returned with his tales of riches, and Araby sending an expedition which was marooned to the South, founding the small burgeoning settlement of Chamik.

These four settlements have struggled to carve a place for themselves against the thick jungles of the Island, but have not been able to advance much further than the shore, instead electing to build on the water where possible. The inability of the younger races to advance further into the dense jungles is entirely by the design of the first. Tlaxtzoatl is a minorly important nexus in the Geomantic web, connecting Spektazuma and Tlaxtlan.

Tlaxtzoatl's Slann Mage Priest, Zoekk, is a 4th generation Slann, and has been largely content to allow the warmbloods to settle the coasts of the island, but has been subtly imbuing the surrounding jungle with great vigour, which causes them to form a nearly impenetrable wall of buttress roots and thick branches. Adding to this is the swampy nature of the ground further in the island, with dense mangrove swamps teeming with giant crocodiles, piranhas and turtles which preclude further investigation.

That Zoekk is quite so happy to allow this teeming combination of races on Lustrian soil is no accident. Each settlement is built on ground specifically cleared long ago, along geomantic ley-lines, for these settlements. By fortune and misfortune, the warmbloods have all been lured to this particular island, and have felt no inclination to return. This serves Zoekk's purposes well, for he seeks to study the warmbloods closely, to foster their civilisations, and to see that they fulfil their role in the Great Plan. Should all else fail, these settlements shall serve as a seed-bank of civilizations, allowing the propagation of cultures in the future.

Tlaxtzoatl serves not only as a temple to Tzunki, but as an observatory of the warmbloods, established so long ago that no senior Slann care to remove its' denizens, useful as they are with providing insight. And so, Zoekk continues his vigil, prays to Tzunki, and watches.


Tlaxtzoatl Kahoun
Founded some time after the Great Catastrophe, Tlaxtzoatl was, for a time, merely a place of pilgrimage along the routes to Tlaxtlan, Spektazuma or Tlanxla, but saw rapid construction during the Age of Strife, as Men began their first forays into Lustria. Now a growing Kahoun, Tlaxtzoatl serves as a guardian to the innermost reaches of the Amaxon, preventing raiding parties from sailing with abandon towards Itza. Tlaxtzoatl falls under the protection of Tlaxtlan, though it maintains a sizeable force of it's own and some considerable autonomy due to its' special status as a religious site. Unlike other Kahouns, Tlaxtzoatl is almost entirely dedicated to the worship of Tzunki, though it maintains smaller temples dedicated to Sotek and the other primary Old One deities.

Lord Zoekk: Slann Mage Priest of the 4th Spawning, Formerly of Itza, then Tlaxtlan. Zoekk has a reputation as a very calm Slann indeed, and is known for his tolerance, and even, some say, admiration, of the other Children of the Old Ones. Zoekk is also known for being a remarkably lively Slann, rarely if ever meditating, though he rarely seems to concern himself with the matters of state further afield in Lustria, instead investing himself in his studies of Warm-bloods.

He disagrees with Lord Mazdamundi's interpretation of the younger races' role in the Great Plan, and this has earned him some notable rivals in Tlaxtlan. Some skinks even quietly chirp that the reason their Lord was sent to Tlaxtzoatl was part mission, part exile. Zoekk has one notable rival above all others, however; Lord Chuqua-Xi of Tlaxtlan. Chuqua-Xi is best known for his creation of brain-slaves from stranded Warm-blood sailors along the coast, something that Zoekk has repeatedly described as abhorrent to the Old Ones, a blasphemy that equates Chuqua-Xi to one of the necromancers of Nehekara or Sylvannia. Being of the same spawning, Chuqua-Xi and Zoekk have long feuded over the matter, with most Slann content to allow the argument to rage unabated.

 

[Scalenex]

It is odd that there would be warmblood settlements so close to a Kahoun, but you created a plausible and compelling reason to justify it.

There is a lot of potential for interesting stories here. In addition to issues with the neighbors, Tlaxzoatl is relative exposed to seafaring enemies. The Kahoun could also make political enemies among other Slann who dislike Zoek's permissive attitude towards warmbloods.

I like the Tzunki angle. There is a lot you could work with there. The Lizardmen there could be seafarers on ships. Maybe it rains a lot. Maybe the city commands plesiosaur like creatures instead of or in addition to Stegadons.

I figure they would have a disproportionately high number of Terradons. As an island, flyers are more useful to the Skink patrols. Also real world ptetrodons were believed to subsist primarily on fish. They certainly would have no shortage of rich pickings for fishing.

Lots of options for stories indeed. Two scaly clawed thumbs up!

EDIT: More thoughts. Tlaxzoatl is very close to Tlaxtlan, the CIty of the Moon, so if they are politically connected to one of the Big Four, that would be them.

Besides Tlaxtlan, the nearest major landmark to your Kahoun is the Temple of Kara. If the Temple of Kara is still occupied, they would probably be an allied Kahoun. If the Temple of Kara is not important enough to sustain a full Kahoun, then Tlaxzoatl probably bears at least partial responsibility for defending the Temple of Kara, and if the Temple of Kara provides a useful resource, magical or otherwise, Tlaxzoatl probably benefits from it.

More on Terradons. The Piranha Swamps give way to a very big estuary. That might make your Kahoun sitting in the middle of literally the best fishing spot in Lustria. That would make Terradons happy. Also, you are relatively close to Tlanxla the City of the Sky. An important piligrimage site for Terradon and Ripperdactyl riders across Lustria. That would also make flyers a huge part of your army.

Your Kahoun is also relatively close to the Island of Sacrifices, a minor element of the Lustria map but it could have a huge impact on the locals.

There are two other nearby islands, Amazon Island and Xocibiki. I cannot imagine Amazon Island is the only place Amazons live but it could easily be the first place that Old World men discovered Amazons. In fact, the Amazons may have left getting tired of fending off horny invaders. Or you could just ignore it if you prefer not to deal with Amazons in your fluff.

Xocibiki doesn't translate into anything into Saurian that I am aware of, so you make it up. Maybe the island of Xocibiki marks a spot where a prominent Slann died. Or you could just rename the island "Tlaxzoatl" or "Zoek Island" if you wanted to.

 

[Vengefulnoob]

Thanks Scalenex! Glad that the explanation makes some sense, and I'm very keen to link into the local politics of the region, especially Tlaxtlan, and I did indeed pick the spot for it's abundance of locations of interest, including the Amazons. I do imagine that there is a large host of Terradon and Ripperdactyl riders, especially with the abundance of fish nearby, but I also imagine it serves mostly as a forward roost of sorts for riders from Tlaxtlan. The majority of Tlaxtzoatl's own influence is aquatic or naval based, with a number of Giant Crocodiles, Pliodons, and other marine monsters, serving as mounts akin to Stegadons and Carnosaurs along the river. There is a notable fleet that operates from Tlaxtzoatl too, with stone-boats of many varieties providing Lustria with a rudimentary navy. Supplies come from the abundant fishing, and a large reserve of local wildlife that exists within the denser rainforests for hunting. I always imagined that the Temple of Kara served as a part of the Amazon empire, and so represents a sort of no-man's land (pun unintended).