AFSNES II - Quintessence of Dust

Culture Name: E Mineteli (CZ1 – Marked on Map) – videonfan

Mythology:
The faith of the Mineteli vary between the various locations that they have conquered, but the central pantheon and motif is common throughout all lands. The Wekateli believe in two central figures, the God – Father , “Ekatos” ,and the God – Mother, “ Paneara “. They consider humans the descendants of spirits, the “Ekeljes”. Although there are varieties and cults, the most prominent of them all is the one combing elements of the Minetelian and the Wesyjiami religions, like the Gods Baal and Keth as children of the God Father and Mother, among many other things.

Because of their need to communicate with their primordial deities, a new societal class has emerged from the Minetelian society, and that is the “Ekatoptes”, translated as the Ekatos seekers. At first, they decided that those old and wise enough of both genders would take this new position within their society, for they knew the will of the God Parents. But as soon as the new generation was born, the first Ekatoptes started to convey their powers and knowledge to their adopted children, with a ritual that is known as “ Thelara”. Couples that were selected by the most influential Ekatoptes would have their children taken away in order for them to become the new generation of priests. As such, the Ekatoptes became a closed societal group, that not everyone could easily gain access to.

As with many other polytheistic religions, great importance is placed at omens. It is said that when a fallen star appears on the sky, a great leader is born and a previous one has died. When flocks of birds fly towards the direction of a city, a great disaster will come to the people inhabiting it and ,among many other things, weird or unexplainable dreams are a sign of favour and prophesy from Ekatos.

The rituals that take place in Minetelian temples are exotic in their own way, but quite simple. Because of the need to prophesize, and because of the fact that Ekatos knows everything, the Ekatoptes sleep most of the time in their temples in dimly lit rooms in order to experience vivid dreams. It is believed that through dreams Ekatos reveals all, although it is strictly forbidden for anyone else to prophesize without first telling about the prophesy to an Ekatopti, for it is believed that anyone who does not have the knowledge of the original Ekatoptes can not fully understand Ekatos Sacrifices of adult humans are strictly forbidden, but children and animals are often sacrificed to Ekatos or any other deity in order to win his / her favour and gain the benefits of it. Many Ekatoptes also practice ancestor – worshipping, a practice found commonly in the east. Instead of prophesising in the name of Ekatos, they claim to take the role of paralysed shamans and come in contact with the spirits of their ancestors during their sleep or even when awake.

It is not weird to find symbols of many varieties in the Minetelian religion, but to simply recognise one as an official symbol is absurd at best, considering the various religious habits each region creates. One has to know the history and the local deities to find out from where each symbol derives and what meaning it has to the religious elite of the Ekatoptes. Many prominent non – Wesyjiami local deities of various regions are “Garjiala”, Goddess of Earth, “Perijon”, God of Water and Rivers and of course, “Polinojyaki”, Goddess of Sailing and Trade

However, it is common belief throughout all Mineteli that the foreign Gods are either “Elantes”, spirits ,which tried to play jokes on Ekatos, that wish to confuse the people and drive them away from their roots with Ekatos in order to weaken them, or that they believe in Ekatos and Paneara but with other symbolism and religious practices.

Whoever does not fight those evil spirits and their servants during his lifetime in any way possible , either through violent means or not, he is doomed to face a life of torture and madness in the isolation of Wesentia, the Unknown Universe. Those who serve Ekaton and fight those spirits will enjoy the rest of their eternity and the great city of “Ekatopli”, the city of Ekatos, the one he build with Paneara to watch over the first humans. The dead were not buried, but like other eastern civilisations, they were burned. It was believed that they would not receive their eternal reward or punishment while their physical body still existed.


Society:
The formation of the political leadership lies on the army and the will of it’s various leaders, the “Wekatotes”. They would be the ones to choose the next Priest – King, the “Wekamineka” in their language, and the Ekatoptes would be the ones to legitimatise his reign with religious rites, whether they wished to do so or not. Great influence with the people was held by the “Menotes”, the people’s representatives to the King. But as influential they were, so dangerous their position was, for the army and the Priest King could easily change one Menota for another.
Despite his name and having both dynastical and religious prestige, the role of the Priest King was more of a warlord than a priest. For a society like the Minetelian one to survive, natural resources and wealth was needed. These could be achieved through two ways, either through raiding / conquering or trade.
The Mineteli are known throughout the lands of Era for their notorious raids. Usually before a raid was prepared the Priest – King would consult some of his warriors and the Wekatota of the time in order to make the necessary preparations. At the end of a raid,the loot was divided by the Priest – King equally to all his servants that heeded their call to arms. The great power the army came to wield would later on restrict the powers of the King with the institution of the “E Wolji Tote”, the Council of Soldiers, which was consisted by the Wekatota and the most valiant soldiers.
The international trade of the Minetelian society was exclusively under the authority of the Priest King and his servants. As money did not exist, trade was based exclusively on barter. As such, there was no need for a merchant class.
There were also many restrictions placed on women. Following Paneara’s example, women ought to have stayed in their houses, tending for their family and especially for their children. However, it was possible for a female child that was taken by the Ekatoptes to become a Priestess.

Material Culture:
Women wore long skirts and short-sleeved tops. However, many Minetelian women did occasionally cover their breasts with a blouse. The men worn loin coverings, but more frequently they wore short-sleeved tunics. But the true costumes of the Minetelians were their armor. The Minetelians were warlike people. For battle Minetelian soldiers wore protective clothing that wrapped the body from neck to thigh in bronze plates and bronze leg guards.
While the Minetolian cities were fortified with wide, strong walls from cut stones, the true centre of Miletian culture are the palaces. The palaces were not only a place of residence for the King and his family, but they were also places of residence for many of his servants and acted as administrative centres of the Minelotian society. Minelotian palace sites were centered around the “ Gorha “, a reception area for the king. The gorha was a square hall, fronted by an open, columned porch. It contained a more or less central open hearth, which was vented though an oculus in the roof above it and surrounded by eight columns. The architectural plan of the Gorha was also shared for the Minelotian temples, although there was no open hearth.
Palaces were protected from invasion through natural and man-made fortification. In addition to thick walls, the sites were protected by controlled access. Entrance to the site was through one large gate, and the pathway into the main part of the palace was often controlled by more gates or narrow passageways guarded by numerous palace guards. Since palaces had to protect the area’s people in times of warfare, the sites were equipped for sieges. Water wells and open space for livestock allowed a palace to access basic needs while being protected during times of war.
A great indicator for the luxurious lifestyle of the Priest – King and his servants is the fact that the word “ Negelmon “, translated as “ without the essentials”, means danger in the Minetelian society. However, the essentials of the King and his family are different from that of the common peasantry. The imported products which were now indispensable for the economy of the Mineteli were mainly metals but the refined tastes of their leaders demanded the simultaneous import of valuable raw materials, such as gold, ivory and amber.
Abbreviated History:

At first there was nothingness, “Wakorjia” , the eternal scourge of existence. From her eternal depths the God – Father ascended, and his name was to be “Ekatos” from that point on, meaning the First and the Last. He fought with Wakorjia, and from her dead corpse the whole world, “Eara” spawned. She would later on become Ekatos’ wife and would assume the title of God – Mother, “Paneara”, the One to Bring Creation.

But for this couple of primordial deities, not all went well, for Ekatos did not fulfil Paneara’s wish for never-ending creation. And so he decided to venture forth to the Unknown Universe, the “ Wesentia”, to find Wakorjia’s corpse. When he arrived, he found out that the “E Elantes”, some among the spirits and secondary deities that had broken free from Wakorjia’s cold veil, had buried her body, and for him to dig her grave would be a sin.

And he had to fear for a good reason. The Forces of Fate, “ E Kelehili”, would leave no one unpunished for his sins, be he deity , spirit and later on human. So he came up with a plan. He gathered all the Elantes and bound them through his Godly power together. He cursed them to experience the full circle of “Talke”, life, and “Thekla”, or death. He brought them to Paneara and , instead of cursing them like her husband did, she decided to bless them with the miracle of reproduction. Some of the Elantes escaped, but only one of them managed to escape with the blessing of creation. She was a female one, and her name was “Era”, commonly known as Earth, and sometimes found as the Created One.The rest of the Elantes that escaped became dead celestial bodies, with no life upon them as a punishment for their escape.

The rest of the Elantes were forced to go into Paneara’s body in order for her to give birth to their mortal form and for them to be forever loyal to Ekatos and Paneara, their new primordial deities. From them, only two survived, the “Ekeljes” , the Ancestors of the Humans. Ekatos and Paneara created their own city up in the heavens,
and blessed the mortals, as a new form of life began to expand and exhaust Era. And that would be the punishment for Era’s escape.

And all was going well with the new mortal society, for the Wekeljes had decided to intermarry and they ,with their by now corrupted spiritual powers, gave birth to many children. But as every generation of mortals lost it’s spiritual powers inherited by the Elantes, they lost their contact with the God Father and Mother.

That is when a respected Ekatoptis, Mikenos, also known as “The First Priest - King” prophesied about the coming of spirits from the west. As such, he convinced the ancient people to move east, to the lands that are now called Mikenea, the land of Mikenos. There his people settled, after driving out with the help of Ekatos himself the heretic residents of these lands, and began building a new society,the Minetelian one. Those who did not join them were forced to become subjects of the spirits roaming the western lands of Makenea, the Doomed Region.

Currently, the people of Mikenea are looking forward to settling once and for all in their land, and maybe even expanding to Larjika the fertile land to their east. But with migration waves that are already threatening their society,and with the ever growing power and influence of the Wesyjiami, it is only a matter of time before the Minetelian society gets shocked at it’s core. They must once again gather around a powerful Priest – King, in order for them to go and live the life Mikenos has promised them in the new land that they have settled.

Geographic Errata:
We live in the lands of Mikenea. To our west is our [perceived] old home now overrun by demons, Makeana. To our north extends the continent of Paneariana. To our east we have the lands of Larjika, where the Kaksites live.
To our south lie the people of Perijioneli and their masters, the Wesyjiami. The Wesyjiami live on the area of Elantia, which is part of the Wewakorijian continent. The sea which all of us have sailed so much is called Wewamediriana. To the far east lies the continent of Warea, the land where all the myths took place and where the direct descendants of the Wekeljes are believed to live.

Neighbour Influences:
The Wesyjiami have influenced greatly the religious lifestyle of many Minetelian cults. Many eastern Gods like Baal and Keth have been incorporated into the Minetelian pantheon, among many other Gods. However, that is not to say that the original pantheon has been completely wiped out from it’s characteristics or that they were incorporated without corruption. As such, the traditional suffixes of the Minetian language still apply to the Wesyjiamian Gods, so they are called “Baalas” and “Kethas” respectively.
Burial and religious customs have also been affected by the Wesyjiamian cult. There are many scripts written in their language that are stored in various palaces or libraries, and some nobles instead of being burned choose to be buried. But since the Miletians can not afford to sink ships for the dead, the nobles who choose this over traditional body burning are buried with their immediate family members and belongings in a tomb which later on is filled with rocks.

Culture Name: Chichec, Naxtec
Location: Southern Oaxaca Valley, OTL Mexico

Mythology: We are the Naxtec, and we are the greatest people in the world. We are the ones who grow the maize, and we are the ones who eat it. We are warriors, and we are the ones that shape the black stone. We are builders, and we raise a great mountain to honour the Zaque, who is the earthly avatar of Zaqal. Zaqal is the Jaguar, and he is Death, and we fear and hate him even as we serve him. We build a palace for the pleasure of the Chichema, who bears the spirit of Chichmal. She is the Mother, and she is Life, and we cherish and praise her even as we rue the brevity and cruelty of her gift.

There is a land in the east where the sun rises, and there men dance naked beneath the moon and cavort with the spirits of the stars. The stars bend men to their will, until they become selfish and base, and we cannot forgive this crime. There is a place in the west where the sun sets, and there a golden king sits upon a golden throne, and his people want for nothing, even as he drinks of their blood from a golden cup. For ten thousand years he has reigned by right of a poem's verse, and we cannot forgive this folly.

We are not these peoples. We are the Naxtec, and we are honourable and wise. The barbarians come upon us from the mountains and the forests and the hills. They look upon our valley, and they see its bounty, and they see the lights of our city, and they desire these things for themselves. But they are ignorant, and they know not our ways, and this stirs the animal rage within them. In the dark times they would hunt us, and steal from us, and carry off our women and our children in the night, and feast upon our flesh even as we cried out in agony. No more. We have become clever, quick and strong, and we have the sharpness of the black stone, and it is we who hunt them. Now they are weak, and we drag them screaming to our great city of Chichec Naxtecas. They plead for their lives in uncouth tongues, but we do not listen as we carry them up and up. We remember when it was we who begged, and we remember when it was we who suffered, and we do not listen. There upon our mountain we bleed them as our God looks on. This is our revenge. The slick blood runs past friends, lovers, and family soon to meet the knife, down and down the crimson steps. It pools upon the earth, and this pleases Zaqal, and unto us does he grant his blessing.

We are the Naxtec, and we are the greatest people in the world.

Society: To be a warrior is to embrace death, and to stand above the barbarian and the coward. Every Chichec is born with the blood of warriors in his veins, and when called by the Chichema and the Zaque he takes up the spear to serve in our Green Army. Our Blood Warriors lead the men upon the field, for they are noble born - the favoured sons of Chichec Naxtecas. They venerate Tlali for the gifts she has seen fit to give them. She is the companion of Zaqal, and the handmaiden of Death. It is her hand that drowns children in the river, that guides the spear thrust through the heart, that delivers the push that precedes the fall. It is she who ushers men into the depths of sacred Itzlan, who gives freely of her body as comfort to the dead, and who has a thousand stillborn children filled with sorrow and despair.

These men are courageous and brave in battle, throwing themselves at the foe relentlessly. Above all they seek to sow chaos among the barbarians and win glory for themselves and their city. Many bear tattoos honouring Tlali or boasting of their deeds in battle. They paint their faces red and black, and for luck wear strings of feathers in their hair. They wear tunics of stiffened cotton to provide protection against arrow and blade, and bear wooden shields wrapped in fine colours. They fight with the spear, with the javelin, and with the maqual, a wooden sword with edges of razored obsidian.

Our Smoke Warriors dedicate themselves to Balghuasc, who is the Toad God of the Forest. He is the trickster, the rainmaker, the farmer's friend, and the pipebearer of Chichmal. These warriors are not born, but made. The worthies of our Green Army are honoured by the Chichema and raised to bear her sign upon the field and in the hunt. Those who are chosen have proven themselves in battle, they are swift and deadly in ambuscade, they have the skill that they might choose to wound instead of kill, and they have captured barbarians and brought them back to Chichec Naxtecas as slave or sacrifice. In this way may common men earn status and respect in society, and many dream of becoming Smoke Warrior.

They garb themselves in the muted colours of the forest - and paint ash upon their faces - so that they might move without being seen. Some among them bear the stitched hides of snakes and lizards, or even that of the deadly river's dragon. They lay clever traps for our enemies, and fall upon them from the shadow and the mist. They are consummate scouts, and are fleet of foot and can run for many miles. Smoke Warriors flank the enemy and tease him slowly apart, the better to fall upon him and destroy him utterly. They fight with spears, with the bow and the sling, with the dagger and with the club.

The noble blood of our city is carried best in the veins of women, and as our men are warriors, our women are mothers. It is the duty of the woman to order her house, and it is the duty of our greatest women to order the house that is our city. Chichmal blesses our royal line, and its eldest daughter is named Chichema, and she nurtures and rules our people and our lands. Her noble ladies are mindful and choose only the finest warriors as husbands, so that they might bear strong children. In this way our city will forever be the greatest.

Material Culture: We build houses of stone, wood, and clay, and this is our mark upon the earth, and it shall not fade. The palaces of our great families sprawl low across our city, each bearing many rooms bedecked in precious stones and fine cloth. Our temples rise stack upon stack into the sky, that all might see our glory. The great mountain of Zaqal rises highest, and we paint it blue and black. We would be seen by lesser men, and so we garb ourselves in colours bright and fine, in blue and yellow and red and green. Copper, gold and jade are the finest forms the earth might take, and we craft brilliant rings and bracelets to bedeck our flesh, and handsome statues and carvings to bedeck our homes. We have many enemies, and they are all about us, and so we have built a wall to protect our city, that it might not be trod upon by unwelcome feet.

History and Geography: We have lived in the valley of Nictlan near as long as we remember, and know only that we were brought here in ancient days by the the grace of Chichmal. Our Chichema Coacuahali bound us to the purpose of Chichmal, and bade us raise a thriving place of life in her honour. But our Zaque Nixnetal would not have us forgot the spectre of death, and so he began the mountain, and spilled the blood of our people down its slopes each day. Coacuahali would not abide this wantonness, and as Chichmal has made a deal with her brother, so did the Chichema make a deal with the Zaque. For one half the year, she said, her warriors would serve him, and they would go out into the forests and the valleys and hunt men in the name of Zaqal, so that he might be appeased, and that the Chichec need not pay the toll in their own blood. The Zaque thought it wise to emulate the Gods, and so he assented, and this is the bargain that binds our city. For a hundred years and more our houses have stood united to this purpose, and so they shall stand so long as the bargain is honoured.

To our east are the Capalenqe, who we have driven from our lands. In the dark times they would hunt us, and they would kill us. Still they try, and still they sneak into our valleys, and they steal from us, and they murder our people when they can. But we are strong, and we drive them off, and we raid deep into their forest homes, and we bring them back to Chichec Naxtecas. Only their children do we keep as slaves. The rest we bleed upon our mountain in the name of Zaqal. The Capalenqe are like to wild animals, and they know little of what it means to be men. They build no cities, and they live in squalor in the forest, and they must always move, lest they eat all there is to be eaten. They fight as savages, and they do not have the sharpness of the black stone. There is no order to them, and they are small and weak. But they are many, so we must be careful. The beast of the forest may be ignorant, but he has sharp claws.

To our north are the Txachal. They might not be barbarians, but they are cowards, and they look upon us with envy. They have seen Chichec Naxtecas, and they would live as we do. They build a place in imitation of our great city, and they name it Txachala. They have seen the sharpness of the black stone, and they find what they can of it for themselves. Their craft is less than ours, but their spears still kill; a lesson learned too late by the most foolish warriors of our city. We fight the Txachal in the hills, and in the forests, and in the valleys, and we honour their battle dead as we do our own, with garlands of sweet flowers. Those we have taken we bring back to Chichec Naxtecas. They have tasted civilization, and so we make them slaves. The strongest of their warriors we bleed upon our mountain, and this pleases Zaqal, for he desires that the strong serve him in his palace in Itzlan.

Errata: The valley is Nictlan, the highland to the north of Txachala is Cuat, the mountains all about Nictlan are the Naxepan, the mountains and lesser valleys to the west of Nictlan are known as Mahctlan. The sea to the south is the Pipoctli, and the sea to the north is known as the Teoatl. The plains and forests to the east and northeast of the Naxepan are know as the Huahuatl.

Glossary:
Balghuasc: The Toad God of the Forest. The pipebearer of Chichmal and companion of Pipoctli. The trickster, the rainmaker, and the farmer's friend.
Blood Warriors: Soldiers and servants of Tlali. The noble-born men of the city.
Capalenqe: Semi-nomadic hunter-gatherers occupying the plains and forests of Huahuatl to the east of Nictlan.
Chichec: An agricultural society inhabiting the valleys of Nictlan. Monument builders. Power is centred in the urban ruling class.
Chicec Naxtecas: The city of the Naxtec branch of the Chichec.
Chichema: The earthly embodiment of Chichmal, and the heriditary queen of Chichec Naxtecas.
Chichmal: Life, the Mother, primary goddess of the Chichec pantheon. Twin sister of Zaqal.
Cuat: The highlands to the north of Nictlan.
Green Army: A conscripted army called up in times of war by Chichec Naxtecas.
Huahuatl: The plains and forests stretching to the east of Nictlan. Home of the Capalenqe.
Itzlan: The afterlife, the underworld. The domain of Zaqal.
Mahctlan: The mountains and lesser valleys to the west of Nictlan.
Naxepan: The mountains encircling the valleys of Nictlan.
Nictlan: A series of fertile valleys encircled by the Naxepan. Home of the Chichec. Possessing significant deposits of obsidian.
Pipoctli: The great sea to the south. The God of Storms, son of Chichmal and Zaqal.
Smoke Warriors: Soldiers and servants of Balghuasc. Selected from the finest warriors of the Green Army.
Teoat: The great sea to the northeast. The primary deity of the Teotec pantheon, respected by the Chichec, but not worshiped.
Teotec: The civilized inhabitants of the coastal plain at the edge of the Huahuatl. An agricultural society possessing its own city. Traders and fishers.
Teotecas: The city of the Teotec.
Tlali: The blood goddess. Made by Zaqal from bloodied earth to serve as his consort. The handmaiden of death, the lady of battle, the guide of Itzlan. As sacrifice, she demands only flowers.
Txachala: The city of the Txachal branch of the Chichec. Ruled by solely by a Chichema, as their priesthood of Zaqal is weak and subservient.
Zaqal: Death, the jaguar, primary god of the Chichec pantheon. Twin brother of Chichmal.
Zaque: The earthly embodiment of Zaqal, the king of Chichec Naxtecas. On the death of the Zaque, the search for his new avatar begins. A boy born shortly thereafter shall fulfill the signs.