Aztlan (pronounced / a zɪt lan /) was a Minor Dark God that ruled over a subcontinent of the world of Sierna, a region known to offworld explorers as the "Valley of Aztlan" or Taino Basin. He was defeated by a company of adventurers chartered by the Knights Mercantile, and he gave his life to save the Taino people from The Thing Beyond The Door.
Description[]
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Though likely born a human, Aztlan the god assumed many forms. He favored the shape of a tall, black-robed humanoid as well as a flock of black birds.
Age: Unknown (likely born at the twilight of the Mage Imperium)
Height: 6'0" (humanoid)
Other:
History[]
Birth[]
Aztlan was born into the priest caste of the City State of Xol. At the age of thirteen, he was selected to be the next avatar of the guardian spirits of the city, their living vessel and the holiest figure of the faith. Aztlan was groomed for this position, learning the rituals and teachings of the city's guardians, until his twenty-second year, when he was to ascend to this highest station in a ritual sacrifice of his forebear. However, the assassination of his predecessor threw the city of Xol into turmoil and left the young Aztlan hounded by a rival faction of the Xol priesthood.
Aztlan fled with a handful of supporters to the City of Aloc, a rival state to Xol. There, he lived in exile for several years, hiding away from assassins and delving into the black arts. His cause was fruitless, however, and he had many dedicated servants but no allies of any true power. It was not until Aloc received a new guest that Aztlan's fortune seemed to change: a man by the name of Siebern claimed to have come from another world, and he brought with him impossible artifacts and stunning gifts for the masters of Aloc. He took a particular interest in Aztlan, however, and taught him much about the art of magic.
Under Siebern's tutelage, Aztlan learned that there were far greater Eldritch powers in the universe than he had ever previously conceived, and he resolved to use their assistance to reclaim his promised station as the high priest of Xol.
Siebern and Aztlan then built a great portal along a major ley line of Sierna, with which they reached through the skeins of the aether to call upon a great and terrible eldritch being. This entity, whose only recorded title is the "Thing Beyond The Door," promised Aztlan power untold and, most importantly, the ability to reclaim the high priesthood of Xol.
Ascension[]
Aztlan agreed to the terms of the Thing Beyond The Door, and with Siebern's guidance he performed a ritual in the city of Aloc to draw eldritch power into himself. With this fragment of power, he and his followers assisted Siebern in defeating several other off-worlders who had come to Sierna to pursue him.
Aztlan then moved on Xol and claimed the high temple. There, he seized the spirit guardian and bound their essences to his soul. He was not their vessel but rather their enslaver. Aztlan exulted in his new power, little knowing that these binding rituals had made him the key for the Thing Behind the Door to step onto a new world.
Aloc, Xol and every other city of the Taino basin burned with the approach of the Thing Beyond The Door. The jungles of the basin were scorched, and all human civilization on Sierna was reduced to ashes, savagery, or decrepitude. Aztlan, enraged, soon turned on Siebern, who fled the city of Xol to the Difference Engine.
Aztlan surprised the Thing Beyond The Door, however, by sacrificing a considerable share of his own power and using the lessons Siebern had taught him to produce a binding ritual, which enabled him to drive pack and imprison the destroyer of the Taino Basin.
With this act of banishment, Aztlan also bound his memories to the portal through which he had cast the Thing Beyond The Door. He allowed himself to forget his own terrible part in the destruction of the basin cities, or at the very least to keep it well buried within his mind.
The City of Aloc, Aztlan's home in his adult life and his first place of study with Siebern, became "Tl'azt", "Shame of Aztlan". It is not known whether Aztlan himself renamed it, but he never attempted to change the name thereafter.
Death[]
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Millennia later, the Taino Basin.
Domain[]
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Powers[]
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Aztlan was known for his near omniscience within the Taino Basin, his sinister gaze or baleful arrival presaged by flocks of black birds.