The Ehecatl'tec, or "Savage People"

OVERVIEW:

The Ehecatl'tecs, or "savages," as they are known to most of Bereich's inhabitants, are the indigenous peoples of the continent of Welteneue. Most laymen tend to assume that they exist as a theocratic empire, with the brutal shaman-priests at the top of the social ladder. In reality, the Ehecatl'tecs are ruled by a monarchy that is not so dissimilar from the one found in Luthe.

The Ehecatl'tecs worship the Coatl, a group of serpentine gods, each with his or her own specific purpose. Almost none of these purposes are positive, with most being related to vengeance, hate, lust, or greed. High priests regularly sacrifice dissidents and foreigners on the steps of the great Ehecatl'tec pyramids, in order to appease their bloodthirsty deities. The ritual related to the sacrifice is often gory and terrifying to any who are witnessing it for the first time. Low-born men and women are expected to regularly attend such ceremonies, as the Coatl may decide to grant any one of them mercy and good fortune for the flesh payment.

Their economy is based off barter between two mercantile classes. The jungle that composes the majority of their land is poor for farming; thus, most rural civilians survive by means of a hunter-gatherer lifestyle. Any surplus that these nomads happen to produce eventually makes its way into the urban economy, which is dominated by craftsmen. In return for the food, the city-dwelling people make sure that their products (which include bows, obsidian clubs, cloths, poisons, and jewelry) are distributed amongst their country-dwelling counterparts.

Despite the fact it outwardly appears to hold enormous power, the Ehecatl'tec country is slowly beginning to crumble. Disease has swept through the jungles that the Ehecatl'tecs call home, decimating their people and leaving entire cities in shambles. The Rivaran colonists have an undeniable foothold on the western half of the continent. Every day, the tenacious settlers push further into the rain-forest, meeting Ehecatl'tec wood and obsidian with steel and black powder. In addition, raiders from both Miloa and Carg have regularly begun to ransack their settlements far and wide, raiding them both for exotic women and gold.

Anti-government strife has taken root in the commoners, due to the military's failure to protect them from the ever-growing threats of hostile foreigners. Soon, the Ehecatl'tec state may find itself splintered into dozens of warring factions. Whether or not the Ehecatl'tec will survive into the distant future is anyone's guess. Only time will tell.