Xoxicohtli
The Calmaxtec have a shamanistic tradition that stretches back millennia, far before the Eshtem arrived on their shores, even before the teteotin of the Calmaxtec were worshipped. The Xoxicohtli, the Green Path, are the retainers of this ancient tradition and servants of Ehuatlaltipac, the spirit of Kalmasa. They are a society with a proud history and are closely tied to the native people of Kalmasa, especially the peasant classes of the northern Kalmasan provinces, who still go to them with their needs as opposed to the divine servants of the Eshtem or the teteotin. They are also the spiritual leaders of the peasant classes in the Neztlalpan Confederation. They are led by the eldest of their order, the prophet Itzcuauhtli, who long ago prophesied the coming of the Eshtem and urged the disparate Calmaxtec kingdoms of Kalmasa to unite against the threat twenty years before their arrival.
The first duty of the Xoxicohtli is to Ehuatlaltipac. They are in communion with the great spirit and can feel when the ecosystems that make up Ehuatlaltipac's being are in homeostasis and when they are under undue stress. If the stress is severe, they will take action to remove its source. In doing so, they seek to be as subtle and gentle as possible, although sometimes, especially when dealing with people, this is not possible.
Members of Xoxicohtli wander the land, ranging throughout the uncivilized lands of Kalmasa. They intervene to heal and protect in the instance of unnatural threats and outside aggression to the living. They heal and bless the fields and animals of the Calmaxtec villagers and heal the disease and injury brought through war or famine. It is because of this that they are so highly regarded by common Calmaxtecs.
The Xoxicohtli will kill no living thing for food. They sleep in the open with no shelter and subsist on carrion, fruits, nuts, and green herbs. They normally go without any clothing, but will construct a loin cloth and cloak of woven grasses when entering civilization. Their training allows them to subsist on very little and resist the dangers of exposure.
This training is a form of esoteric magic that allows them to gain increasing control over their own physiology. An inductee is not a full member of the order until they pass an ordeal where they survive a month in the coldest month with no food, clothing or shelter. But beyond this, experienced Xoxicohtli can modify their physiology and anatomy in more extreme ways. Tales are told in the villages of northern Kalmasa of famous Xoxicohtli who defended villages from enemy warriors by growing scales and claws and spitting poison or surviving and regrowing amputated limbs.
The Xoxicohtli are also a political organization. They are the glue that holds the Neztlalpan Confederation together in the face of some of its self-serving tlatoani. Many commoners worry about the day the beloved Itzcuauhtli finally passes away, fearing that the nobles will use the opportunity to weaken the power of Xoxicohtli.
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