Neztlalpan Confederation
The northern third of Kalmasa is governed by the Neztlalpan Confederation, separated from the Kalmasan Samraj by the Cochicoatepetlan Mountains. It was formed during the War of Brothers, the civil war that pitted Eastern Kalmasan kingdoms against Western Kalmasan kingdoms for dominance. The still free Calmaxtec kingdoms, hanging on in the northern highlands used the opportunity of the weakened Eshtem kingdoms to take back conquered lands to the south. The noble families of these disparate kingdoms struck an accord with the Xoxicohtli order, servants of the great Kalmasa spirit, Ehuatlaltipac, led by the powerful prophet, Itzcuauhtli 'Obsidian Eagle'.
The nobility agreed to abandon their ritual wars, human sacrifice and slavery and to allow commoners greater autonomy and rights in exchange for the support of the villages and towns and the powers of Xoxicohtli in defense of the new kingdom. Neztlalpan is ruled by a high king, the huetlatoani. The choosing of the huetlatoani is decided by merit amongst the tlatoani and has a tenure of ten years. Five tests are administered by the Xoxicohtli in Poetry, War, Astrology, Medicine and Husbandry.
The Xoxicohtli judge the winner of this competition and ordain him huetlatoani. Although this is carried out by the Xoxicohtli, politics are not ignored by the order, though political considerations do not dominate the merit system since the Xoxicohtli are politically powerful, with high respect of the peasants to whom they are healers of people and the land and militarily vital, using their powerful magic to help defend Neztlalpan from Eshtem invasion. The kingdoms of Neztlalpan have sovereignty over internal matters as long as they adhere to the laws of the Confederation, such as no slavery and the rights of the peasants to own their land and govern affairs in their own villages and towns.
The people of Neztlalpan are primarily of Apoxtec and Maxcaltec ethnicity. However they do have a significant populations of southern Calmaxtec, Eshtem and mixed race minority, mainly escaped slaves from the silver mines of the Neraj province, deserters and those escaping conscription by the Kalmasan Samraji military. These foreigners have tended to incorporate themselves into the society. The tlatoani of Neztlalpan are tolerant of the outsiders as long as they do not cause trouble. Traditional Calmaxtec dress and food are dominant, as are social morays, such as a greater tolerance for different beliefs than in the south, where more rigid Eshtem religion dominates.
Neztlalpan maintained an official neutrality during the War of Sovereignty, signing a mutual non-aggression treaty with the Samraj. Both parties have generally adhered to the treaty, but it was an open secret that Neztlalpan was trading heavily with Volenar and repairing their navy ships in out of the way private shipyards that the government cast a blind eye towards. Through this careful management, Neztlalpan grew richer while the Samraj grew poorer. Some of the Neztlalpan tlatoani are pushing for using the opportunity to take over more land to the south, using the cause of stopping the slavery of the northern provinces as a popular pretext, arguing that their Calmaxtec brothers and sisters should be released from serfdom and slavery. Their critics, mainly among the Xoxicohtli, suspect the nobles are more interested in expanding their land holdings and power.
Ancient Itzcuauhtli, still alive through the blessings of Ehuatlaltipac, argues for a moderate and peaceful solution by proposing that the confederation incentivize preferential relations with the northern provinces in exchange for their renunciation of slavery and at the same time threaten them with trade bans against the northern provinces on goods that are produced with slave labor.
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