Tecuhtli
The tecuhtli are an intelligent, once great excultid people whose remnants dwell in the depths of the deep forests and swamps of Kalmasa and Kemesh, as well as parts of southern Barendar. They are old enemies of the Calmaxtec and varhani who were both enslaved by the tecuhtli empires of the distant past as well enemies of the dhun, who were in part the creations of the tecuhtli. The countryside of Kalmasa, eastern Kemesh and southern Barendar are dotted with the ruins of their great cities.
Most tecuhtli now are little more than barbarians who raid remote villages and unlucky travelers. The varhani name them Srritikri, the accursed. They have scaleless, featherless skin of olive green or brown with black stripes. Their dorsal keratoplexes sprout a second pair of fully functional arms. They are excellent climbers. They have wide mouths filled with serrated teeth, clawed hands and feet and large, black pupiless eyes.
However, due to their civilization’s experimentation in the biomantic arts over long centuries, their appearance is highly variable. Even the barbaric groups maintain through their shamanistic traditions, a degraded knowledge of the magic of manipulating life that built their empires.
Most live in nomadic groups, hunting, foraging and raiding when opportunity presents itself. Unlike the nagathi, the tecuhtli are more strategic in warfare and employ organized small group tactics, including ambush. They have no peaceful contact with other peoples and fight among their various tribes as much as with outsiders. Tecuhtli wear hides in the colder northern forests, but just belts and harnesses in the southern latitudes. Some tecuhtli are able to control natural forces, and have other, darker powers. They are known to keep large terrosks as guard and war animals.
There are rumors, believed to have originated among the Xoxicohtli, that not all the remaining tecuhtli are mindless barbarian remnants and that there are dangerous pockets of civilization hidden that may some day rear their heads.
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