[Cheezeninja]

The threat to our north had abated, our Devil lord of ice driving the enemy back unto their castles, but Amimitl was not satisfied, greater and greater were his demands for purebloods, and one by one all the devil lords were called forth. When I first started to feel unease was when Bifrons was called forth, Bifrons whose powers of the mind equal mine, Bifrons who was then included on our council while I was not. It was shortly after this that Itzli, Priest king and second only to Amimitl fell victim to the great wasting and died.... while Amimitl remained untouched. Then our scientists reached a new plataeu of knowledge and we began to call forth the mightiest devils of flame and fury, the Arch Devils of the abyss. And our Sun Priests (for now we had several, but still was Amimitl above them) began calling forth devils to serve them. Soon we had driven the lizards back to the northernmost corners of their lands, and our forces were battering at the gates of Mulhorand and the City of Shadows, ready to slay their weak lizard god and end this curse upon our people. And still did our Lord and God rant and rave in his private chambers, though sometimes he would converse lucidly with the slave girls we would send him, before suddenly changing into a giant jaguar and rending their flesh. Before long all the high priests save Amimitl were no longer on the council, it having devloped into something of a triumverate between Amimitl, Bifrons, and Magoth, the wisest of the Arch Devils, whose powers of mind surpassed even Bifrons and my own.

Still did I hold the course, for Amimitl said he had uncovered knowledge of a great ritual of Nature that would bless and heal our whole people, even restoring our lord to his former might. And so, while our armies ground the nation of Lizards into dust, slaughtering their god while he was holed up in his fortress and ending the great curse, though not removing its afflictions, we did conserve and save our nature gems, while Amimitl did forge items that would give him power enough to cast this great spell. And the day came when we had the necessary gems and we did wait for an auspicious time to cast the ritual, and Amimitl did gather all the gem-power unto himself and begin the crafting of the spell. And just when it seemed it would be cast and we would have our lord back among us, the ritual dissolved into chaos and Amimitl was bLasted backwards, his task unaccomplished. It seems (had I not witnessed his failure with mine own eyes, I would believe not a word from Amimitls mouth) a great nature mage or god in a faraway land, one mightier even than Amimitl, and one who sought harmony with Gaia instead of her power bent to our will, had cast the mighty ritual at the same time as Amimitl, and with far more potency. Our dream of a healthy people and god was to remain unfulfilled, and I will admit to no small amount of personal bittereness at this, for the great wasting had robbed me of my right arm, and left me blighted and weak. Twice more have we tried and failed to bestow the gift of health upon our people, once with Amimitl trying again to overpower the spell, and once with Magoth using great numbers of astral gems to try to unweave the casting already in place, both times with no success.

And eventually our armies erased all traces of the lizards from the world, though we could not erase their handiwork, our strongholds sprouted over our conquered lands, and our temples became plentiful. Vast numbers of purebloods flowed into our hands, and from our hands to gibbet, altar, and block, Calling upon pacts made with like minded Circle Masters and Conjurors in the south a great number of Skull Mentors were created to help with our research, magical constructs made from the skulls of dead and gone sages, that whisper their knowledge to those patient enough to listen. And new plataeus of knowledge were reached, contact and an uneasy truce were made with giants to the far north, and the first of the Mighty Heliophagus joined our council of Evils. For a brief moment false hope did enter my heart when Quetzalcoatl the Legendary Feathered Serpent returned to our people as he had promised, for as powerful as Amimitl had become, and as much influence as the lower planes now had in the running of our empire, none could deny the legendary founder of our people his place on the council. Ahh but Amimitl is cunning, cunning and without scruple. Citing the desperate need our people had for nature gems with which to cast our great healing miracle, he sent Quetzalcoatl to the farthest corners of our realm, searching for sites of magic power.

Which brings us close to present day affairs in Lurien, seat of power for the people of Mictlan, First step upon the Divine footpath of our Lord Tzeentch, the changer of ways, the smoking mirror, who our people believe has retreated to his heavanly abode until he is needed again, sometime in the future. Amimitl still heads the council, though what holds the infernal have upon his soul I could not say. With him sit Bifrons, Magoth, and Gorilon, necromantic master of the Heliophagus, though Mastema, the highest master of Blood magics in our realm and another Heliophagus, sometimes sits for him. Scattered around our realm should they be needed are the various Arch Devils, with their hordes of fiends and devils, though Baab sits on an icy throne in the far north of our realm, practically the law unto himself in his provinces. Amaimon; Heliophagus and wielder of the flaming whip sits in Lurien as protector and champion, girded head to toe in magical regalia, and our researchers are getting ever closer to attaining final knowledge over Blood and sacrifice. The knowledge to contact Demon Lords… With our God still unable to wield his mighty will for us, and his Prophet and Champion Amimitl caring for nothing but power…. I fear for us all.


Tlaloc-
High Priest and First Astrologer.