Metztli
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Spanning generations, the history of Asulon and Aegis is cataloged in ancient tomes and holy texts throughout the lands, the knowledge tightly guarded by religious priesthoods and avid collectors alike. However, the tale of the Kharajyr is one not written in any ancient tome; It is a tale unknown to all, save for a few privileged scholars, denounced as madmen.
In the dark times, during the worlds infancy, when Aenguls and Daemons roamed freely; in a time of myth and legend; in a time that few believe ever existed, there was an old wives tale, told between the ancient settlements, of a particular Daemon – a Daemon with an affinity for stealing babies in the night, leaving no trace of its coming. The tale was widespread across the land in the wake of a wave of unexplained infant disappearances. There were those who debunked the rumor as fear mongering and heresy. What no one knew, however, was the truth. Under the cover of the stars, the Daemon Metztli would visit lonely farmsteads, driven by the scent of an infant’s blood, and in the depths of the night, steal the infants from the safety of their cribs. In the wake of several “accidents” surrounding the disappearances, it was said that Metztli’s form was so beautiful, that those adults who looked upon her form would be driven mad and tear their own eyes from their sockets. Through fear of the truth, the village elders would often attribute this phenomenon to the intense grief the parents’ experienced rather than anything otherworldly.
The truth behind the child disappearances does not end with Metztli however, and the aftermath of the abductions only becomes more chilling. The children were taken far away, to an undiscovered land in the mists of the oceans. This island was of untold beauty, giving life to many varieties of flora and fauna not yet discovered by the rest of the world. This paradise was of Metztli’s own creation, and all that was missing was her master race. The ocelots that called the island their home were taken by Metztli, and in a series of horrifying, magic infused experiments, their blood was combined with that of the infants. After generations of perfecting and tweaking and after hundreds of hideous failures were discarded into the ocean, Metztli at last created a single white humanoid ocelot. This was the first of the Kharajyr – of the purest descent. Instantly after beholding her new creation Metztli was filled with the love of a mother – she had at last succeeded in creating a race she deemed to be perfection. Desperately Metztli attempted to replicate her creation, but could never achieve the same level of beauty of her first creation. Nonetheless, she embraced her new creations, the Kharajyr race, with all the love a mother could muster. After nurturing her children to a state of maturity she decided, as any caring mother would, that her time had come to leave her creations to their own devices, to stop nurturing them and to depart the island paradise.
Metztli’s true intentions for the creation of the Kharajyr were never revealed. It has been speculated that she wished to recreate the form of a creature she once fell in love with, but who was stolen away from her. Others say that she wished to bestow the world with a race of sentient beings, created in her own image. Still others suggest that Metztli wished only to play God and nurture other living beings.
Generations passed and the Kharajyr thrived in their jungle paradise. Yet Metztli felt neglected by her children and wished for them to show their gratitude. Feeling pity towards them she gifted them signs, wishing to guide them in the knowledge of their own creation. These signs were unraveled and interpreted by the Kharajyr sages, and her people accepted her as their creator and divine ruler, constructing great Temples in her name and sparking the order of Priests and Priestesses, devoted to her worship.
Relatively recently, the last Emperor, Xerdun's father, deemed his dominance to be absolute and he refused to bow before any deity, believing himself greater even than a Daemon. His laziness and arrogance drove his Metz’al Natayshi, the only remaining Kharajyr sage, away from her own people and was ultimately to be the downfall of the Khalenwyr Empire. Despite the Emperor’s assassination by his son, Metztli chose to teach her creations a harsh lesson. Unbeknownst to the Kharajyr, the mountain around which their capital city had been constructed was a dormant volcano. In a torrent of fire and molten mud, the civilisation was all but buried and the Kharajyr desperately scrambled to their ships. Fleeing their homes with what little they could salvage the Kharajyr set sail West, to the land of Asulon, the knowledge of their Goddess firmly ingrained into their hearts once more. Under the new Emperor's leadership, so as to avoid similar disasters Metztli, religious sacrifice and ceremony is to become an integral part of society once again. The latest Emperor, Tla' Xerdun, views the volcano as a personal warning to him to not follow in his father's footsteps...
