[BoP: The Fifth Sun] Main Thread

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Great Tikal is back! Though disappointed that she has not taken the grand prize, Ix Ajaw (Queen) of the Kingdom of the Mutal is greatly pleased to have led her team personally to be ranked in the top three ballplayers in the Pan-Mesoamerican League! 8 Hummingbird enjoyed the performance, and thanks all those she beat on the court. Next time: the first place is mine!

And @ our dear host, Curio, a protip on how to play the ballgame:
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use THE HIPS
 
Just posting to let you guys know progress is cruising along. There's a progress tracker in the OP but basically 11 out of 22 cards are greened and most of those that remain are easily doable in a day. I am optimistic I should be able to get somewhere close to the deadline of March 5th that I set for myself, though at this point it might be too late for me to make it that exact day.

For those who haven't noticed, a couple of the OP's pages have been devoted entirely to historical trivia, divided into spoilers, as well as an FAQ in the third post. Some of these are not complete yet but they should make for decent reading while you wait :smile:
 
Hey ya'll, I'm about 10 days late but cards are released! The global will either be later tonight or tomorrow, I'm not home right now and the partly-written global is sitting in a notepad doc. Enjoy your reptors and please make note of any errors or oversights to point out later.
 
Cemanahuac: 11.10.8.13.9 - 3 Rabbit
Mesoamerica: Wednesday, March 8th, 1430
You can check here when some random Mesoamerican word pops up and you don't know it. This list is in order of appearance.
Tlatoani (Classical Nahuatl): Lit. "He who speaks" usually translated as Speaker, the ruler of a city-state, often an elective or hereditary position with absolute power over war, commerce, diplomacy, and religious affairs.
Cihuacoatl (Classical Nahuatl): Lit. "Female Snake" usually approximated as Prime Minister, a relative appointed by the tlatoani who shares power, often with absolute power in domestic and legal affairs.
Altepetl (Classical Nahuatl): Lit. "Water-mountain" usually translated as city-state. Plural is altepemeh.
Ahpop (various Mayan languages): Lit. "The mat" usually translated as king, usually in a more traditional or conventional sense.
Halach Uinik (various Mayan languages): Lit. "True Man" usually translated as king, but more as the leader of a ruling council government or oligarchy.
(Ix) Ahau (various Mayan languages): A sacred or divine king or queen. This title was used by the rulers of Classic-period Maya city-states, but fell out of favor during the Maya Collapse, being replaced by much humbler titles like 'the mat' or 'true man' which may reflect the loss of popularity in divine kingship.
Añine (coastal Mixtec): Refers to both the king and queen, or "royal couple" of a Mixtec kingdom. Both are equal rulers. The queen rules her home country together with her husband's country and vice versa until *both* partners die.
Yuhuitayu (coastal Mixtec): A city-state or kingdom, similar to altepetl.
Kuchkabal(ob) (Yucatec Maya): A province or subservient vassal state of the League of Mayapaan.
As we have a bunch of people who are participating in a (Taleworlds) BoP for the first time, I wanted to stress a few things about globals that may also be useful to keep in mind even for veterans.
Not everything on the global is necessarily accurate. If anything the global tends to exaggerate. Many, many, many details are omitted but elaborated in player reports.
However, the global is also not impartial nor neutral, and may reflect the popular in-universe opinion of something at times. Certainly, anything said in the global is basically public knowledge. For this reason many events that may have been very important or interesting for some players may not have been noticed enough to warrant global attention. You can always talk about them yourself, though!

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Previous player map for comparison

The Tepaneca Wars

Maxtla's usurping the throne of Tepanecapan and sending his half-brother Tayatzin into exile provoked a succession crisis, as the many vassals and allies made by Tezozomoc, Maxtla's predecessor, find themselves forced to pick a side. Tayatzin's exile in Tenochtitlan (AdmiralThrawn), however, earned Maxtla's seething wrath against the Mexica mercenaries that played such a pivotal role in his father's conquests. Subsequently, Tenochtitlan's tlatoani, Chimalpopoca, was assassinated under Maxtla's orders, despite Tayatzin choosing to warn his new co-conspirators. Rather than accept Maxtla's viceroy, Tenochtitlan ultimately elected a new tlatoani, Itzcoatl, who in turn has appointed the Mexica's first cihuacoatl, or prime minister, Tlacaeleltzin. In response to Maxtla's assassination, Itzcoatl declared war against Maxtla, backing Tayatzin's claim to the throne.

At least initially. Some time after Tenochtitlan declared war, Tlacaelel had Tayatzin killed, and announced that they were no longer fighting a civil war to install their preferred candidate on the throne of Tepanecapan, but rather to assert the Mexica's destiny as the new masters of Anahuac and create a new hegemony centered around Tenochtitlan. To aid them in this goal, they found allies first in the form of Nezahualcoyotl, former ruler of Texcoco, who had been forced into exile in the nearby kingdom of Huexotzingo when Tezozomoc's armies defeated the Acolhua Confederacy in 1414 and captured the city - with the crucial aid of Mexica mercenaries, to which Tezozomoc granted the bulk of the conquered lands as a reward for their loyalty. Despite this last fact, Tlacaelel orchestrated a plan to offer Nezahualcoyotl his kingdom back, provided he joins Tenochtitlan in an alliance to crush the Tepanecs. Nezahualcoyotl agreed to this. One other unexpected ally came in the form of Tlacopan, a Tepanec altepetl, lead by Totoquihuatzin, renowned through Anahuac for his shrewd negotiation skills. Thus despite the relatively small size and gravity of Tlacopan, Totoquihuatzin bargained a high position in the new coalition, promised territories and tribute should they participate in the conquest. These three allies, together with Tlatelolco, who were also Mexica and shared a dynastic relation with the rulers of Tenochtitlan, were poised to strike against Azcapotzalco, the capital of Tepanecapan and the center of Maxtla's power. They sought to end this war quickly by cutting the head of the snake.

They were opposed by a similarly newly-formed coalition in support of Maxtla's claim to the throne, which included Tecollotzin, ruler of Coyoacan, and Maxtla's son. Colhuacan, having a history of having been betrayed by the Mexica, also contributed forces to Maxtla's cause. But most surprising, and perhaps most key, Totomochtzin (IacobusCaesar), Tepanec governor of an Acolhua colony in the Classic Period-metropolis of Teotihuacan, has chosen to join the fight against the Mexica rather than attempt to assert his own independence as the many other altepemeh of Anahuac have. Totomochtzin's decision to aid Maxtla proved critical, as this also meant the renowned commander Tzompantecuhtli - "Lord of the Skull Rack" was appointed marshal and supreme commander of coalition forces. Despite this turn of events, the Mexica and their new alliance - dubbed Excan Tlahtoloyan or The Triple Alliance, marched on Azcapotzalco in November, confident in victory. Tzompantecuhtli was however able to organize a combined defensive effort from all parties of the Tepanec coalition, despite difficult geography, and met the Triple Alliance with an almost equivalent-sized force outside Azcapotzalco. A series of skirmishes and a battle over the next four days saw heavy losses for the Triple Alliance, who decided to withdraw and develop a new strategy.

Warded off from their initial plan of trying to end this war in one fell swoop, the Triple Alliance instead refocused their efforts, bolstered by ample reserves despite losing Tlatelolco's contribution, to strike against each of Maxtla's allies and destroy them one-by-one, starting with Coyoacan, which was defeated in a short campaign, and annexed by Tlacopan, while Tecollotzin fled with his retinue through the hills of Otlazpan to join his father's armies. Colhuacan fell next, after a somewhat more determined defense, but nonetheless fell under the domain of the Mexica. Teotihuacan is likely the next target, and now the altepemeh must grapple with the new political situation the aftermath of these campaigns has created...

12 Rabbit Ballgame tournament!
This year the international ballgame championship, hosted in Tzintzuntzan (Curio), attracted ballplayers from all over Cemanahuac, as far as Cuauhtemallan. Unfortunately Tzintzuntzan did not perform nearly as well as anticipated, indeed perhaps the Purepecha preference for that weird hockey-like sport has betrayed their ineptitude at the traditional ballgame. Fortunately, the Purepecha talent for debauchery and partying was evident in the endless celebrations that accompanied each ballgame, with plenty of tobacco, pulque, chocolate, dancing, music, to last the course of the entire event. The finals came down to K'iche (Arch3r), whose team had players from both K'umarkaaj and Iximche, their vassals, and who demonstrated an unsurpassed skill with the game that earned them the admiration of just about everyone who came to witness it. Yet, out of the blue, somehow, the team from Tlaxcallan (Fredelios), formed impromptu and with relatively little training done prior to the event, emerged as the chief contestants to K'iche's victory. In an upset that could only possibly be Macuilxochitl's (the god of games) doing, the Cranes of Tlaxcallan came out of the finals as the victors of the very first international ballgames, making a few gamblers extremely rich.

In last place, Tzintzuntzan (Curio) scored 47!
Pushing just ahead is Acalan-Tixchel (Titan) with 50!
Chactemal (Crimson) put up a modest show with 79!
Cholollan (Joe) performed respectably with 90!
Yax Mutal (Alma) gave a surprisingly good turnout of 115!
Kiche (Arch3r) formed a team together with their vassals, Iximche, and were among the most skilled teams and have earned hordes of rabid fans with 117!
And the winner is Tlaxcallan (Fred) with an impressive 124!

In addition, Tayasal Itza (Monty) has elected to attend the championship but not play, instead contributing to the prize pool - but not for the winner, but the most popular player, which ended up being Kiche (Arch3r).

Bloodless Sacrifices in Tollan-Cholollan
The holiest city in all Mesoamerica, Cholollan (CapturedJoe) has made a resolution declaring the practice of sacrificing humans to be sacrilege against their patron deity, and patron of humankind, Quetzalcoatl, to be replaced by the burning of incense. This declaration sent shockwaves through Cholollan's society as burning incense only replaces one of the roles that sacrifice plays in the typical Mesoamerican political system, and further has been perceived as abrupt and imprudent. Opposition to this reform was faced from every level of society, though less so from the merchants, but backlash was reduced somewhat by the subsequent institution of a number of state programs directed at aiding the poor, freeing slaves and taking orphans under state care. While in the short-term this, among other important actions undertaken by the ambitious Tenanquiahuac dynasty, has not resulted in great instability for Cholollan, it remains to be seen if the reform will be successful, as tensions remain high and will remain so for the foreseeable future. As an important center of pilgrimage for many peoples of the known world, it also remains to be seen how pilgrims and perhaps even kings may react to this notion...

The Last Prophet
The high priest of Teotihuacan (IacobusCaesar), Ixtteocalletzin, is said to have awoken one night in intense distress after a long week of studying the ancient ruins of this once-great metropolis, reporting he has had vivid visions, having been visited by a goddess with a headdress of snakes and spiders. The goddess said that she has entrusted him to revitalize the old faith of ancient Teotihuacan and to seek the guidance of the goddesses Xochiquetzal and Chalchiuhlicue. Passionate about what he sees as his life mission, the king has made his prophetic role reality, and soon may even sponsor his proselytizing, both in Teotihuacan and abroad.

Vision of Cavujancha
The young adolescent king of Zacatollan has apparently chosen to begin his new reign, having just taken over from his aunt, by initiating wars of conquest against his neighbors, boasting that he had a dream of a united Chumbia people. While this move was initially frought with opposition from many of the elite of Zacatollan, who questioned the rash decision of going off to lead a campaign when the lord has yet to secure a wife or heirs, ultimately the former regent intervened and ensured the cooperation of Cavujancha's (Murtox) vassals in conquering the patchwork of Chumbia kingdoms to the east. This sparsely populated region's four small kingdoms nonetheless chose to band together for mutual defense and opposed Cavujancha with an army of similar size, even establishing themselves on a good position on a hill that, to most, would seem unassailable. Cavujancha also could not bypass the enemy army and was forced to take an engagement or withdraw home. Yet here the young Cavujancha demonstrated his talent in the art of war, and through diversion, feint, and a daring night assault, overcame the enemy's superior position despite only a small numerical advantage, and ultimately went on to annex these new territories and winning great respect from the voices that once spoke out against him.

Q'uik'ab's Vengeance
In 1424 ahpop K'uk'umatz of K'iche sent his daughter to be married to Tekum Sic'om, ahpop of the kingdom of C'oja, in the hopes of establishing a personal union of sorts over the latter kingdom. Tekum, uneager to be a lackey of K'iche, had her killed, provoking the anger of K'uk'umatz who lead an army to punish C'oja, only for that army to be ambushed in the Cuchumatan mountains and slaughtered, among the casualties K'uk'umatz. Thus Q'uik'ab (Arch3r) was sworn in as the new ahpop, inheriting his father's dynastic conflict, and thirst for revenge. In 1426, after some time to recover and plan, Q'uik'ab drew his plans against Tekum, together with an army pledged by K'iche's vassals in Iximche. This time, C'oja was encircled and K'iche's army better supplied and informed for the trek through the mountains, preventing the ambush situation of two years prior, and forcing a decisive engagement near the town of Ak'aab. With Iximche's forces leading a charge and tying down the enemy, Q'uik'ab surrounded the C'oja and annihilated them, taking Tekum as prisoner for sacrifice to the gods in the process. Its armies crushed, C'oja was helpless against the punishment that followed, as the two armies roved through C'ojas lands, specifically given orders to loot, pillage, and murder to their heart's content. The effect was devastating, C'oja now an impoverished, war-weary land barely able to feed itself, whatever was left of its wealth now carried back to enrich the lords of K'umarkaaj. Nearby realms, though perhaps with much cause to be alarmed given the proximity of this brutality, also felt that Q'uik'ab's cause was justified... at least outwardly.

Rise of Tixchel
Tixchel's (Titantoe) border with the smaller kingdom of Chacan Putum was the site of a border dispute during 12 Rabbit, as farmers from both countries ended up arguing over the exact boundaries of their agricultural lands, arguments that got physical. Normally not a big deal, nobles in this region played it up so much it reached the ears of the halach uinik of Tixchel, Paxua, who ultimately used it to justify a war to seize land from Chacan Putum, a war that also saw support from the merchants.

Yet Paxua's might was not brought to bear against Chacan Putum until two years later, when finally a large force mustered out for a campaign. An early sack of the capital Chanputun was followed by the brief, though bloody and decisive, Battle of Tichac, where Tixchel emerged victorious and thus secured the whole of Chacan Putum's coast, its capital and bulk of the population for itself. The remainder of Chacan Putum's army, together with the ruling monarch, fled into the forested and sparsely populated lands of the interior, where for the moment they continue their hopeless war.

Star Wars
The politics of the Peten Lakes region took a turn for the dramatic as the handful of villagers squatting among the ruins of ancient Yax Mutal (today known as Tikal) have coalesced into a state known as Tuumben Mutal (Almalexia), lead by the ambitious young Waxak Ts'unu'uno' K’awiil (8 Hummingbird from here on), who has styled herself 'Ix Ahau' the first ruler to call themselves this in several centuries. She also went back on a generation of skirmishes with the newcomers from the north by forming a tight alliance with the Itza' kingdom of Tayasal (Monty), dubbing this partnership the 'Jaguar Cubs of the Peten' as both rulers were in their teens. 8 Hummingbird, an aspiring astronomer in the style of the Classic Maya, thus began to coordinate a new war to take place alongside her new allies against the Kowo'j kingdom, during the zenith of the war star (Venus).

The campaign against Kowo'j indeed took place during what the priests would say were good portents, however the military of the Itzas found themselves trying to levy the commoners during planting season, and as a result the demands to go home forced a premature end to the campaign, after initial success in securing half of Kowo'j, the rest of which followed later that year as the harvests were complete and manpower was available for war again.

Despite the success in conquering Kowo'j and substantially increasing her powerbase, 8 Hummingbird had her eyes set on the nearby kingdom of Dzuliunicob, particularly for its largest city, Lamanai, which was never abandoned during the Collapse. The perceived size and strength of Lamanai's realm, however, encouraged 8 Hummingbird to seek a pragmatic alliance of sorts with the kingdom of Chactemal (ComradeCrimson), which coincidentally enough started its own offensive military operations around the time that the Jaguar Cubs began their campaign. The three powers agreed in an emergency meeting to partition Dzuliunicob between them.

War in Heaven: Part 2
Long has the Land of the Sky (Yucu Dzaa, JudgeAlfred) sought to rebuild the empire of 8 Deer Jaguar Claw, who fell in 1115 and whose empire all but totally unified the Mixtec people as a nation. But recently, with the succession crisis and internal drama hanging high over the heads of Yucu Dzaa's chief regional rival in the Zapotec kingdom of Za'achila (Horrorluv), an opportune moment has presented itself wherein Yucu Dzaa's expansion can not be checked by another major power. To this end, ultimatums were sent by the añine to several minor yuhuitayus throughout the basin of the Rio Verde. Each kingdom that received the ultimatum was given three chances to accept: each one progressively granting fewer and fewer privileges upon annexation. Some accepted on the first try, others needed three, but two refused outright, one of them so minor that the ensuing war does not merit attention, but the other proved able to resist the expansionism of Yucu Dzaa due to the intervention of the holy temple of Xinivi, dedicated to the mummy bundle of the ancient Mixtec queen Lady 9 Grass in the nearby sacred caves, and its lightning warriors.

This and the difficult terrain meant that Yucu Eetuvui at this time could not be totally conquered, more due to logistical issues than failure in combat, but nonetheless Yucu Dzaa has occupied the sparsely-populated southern half of this prominent yuhuitayu.

For the Republic
No one but perhaps the Tlaxcaltecs (Fredelios) is exactly sure why the republic chose to prosecute war against the neighboring kingdom of Acacacatlan. Experts on geopolitics, when consulted, guessed it had something to do with that cancerous name, and welcomed the removal of that infernal altepetl from the map. Cuauhchinanco, however, assumed that Tlaxcallan was making its way toward them and their rich trade entrepot, and soon enough it became a war not just against Acacacatlan but also Cuauhchinanco, who intervened on the latter's behalf to try and delay or contain Tlaxcallan's expansion.

They would not be entirely successful, as the Tlaxcaltecs are capable of mustering a very large army, noted when more than 20,000 Tlaxcaltecs marched into the Chignahuapan Valley. For a time Acacacatlan and its new allies avoided engaging in direct combat, preferring instead to stay hot on the heels of the Tlaxcaltecs and await an opportune moment to give battle. That moment inevitably came near the end of the campaign season as Tlaxcallan's marshal, Tlacomihua, felt pressured to do something besides walk in circles for month skirmishing with an enemy he felt he could easily defeat. So he marched against the city of Chignahuapan and there forced the enemy to engage, finally. Tlacomihua then activated his trap card, and by the end of the week thousands of allied soldiers lay dead and Chignahuapan was occupied as a new province of the Republic.

Oh yeah some mercenaries from Tzintzuntzan (Curio) fought with Tlaxcallan for some reason.

A challenger in the Yucatan
Radical, desperate reforms at the highest level of society in Mayapaan (Draorn) together with a case-by-case diplomatic approach with each of Mayapaan's kuchkabalob made some modest progress in stabilizing the perilous situation of the league, but ultimately were not enough to prevent the rebellion of Ah Mekat Tutul Xiu, who has long been known at court for his ambitious personality. Ah Mekat has left the Tutul Xiu city of Mani, one of the three leading cities of the league, for his holdings in the northeast periphery of the Cocoms' control. There, he has declared the Tutul Xius in open rebellion against Mayapaan, aiming to secede from the league and throw off the shackles of Cocom tyranny.

Although the rebellion is relatively small, many kuchkabalob remain opposed to Cocom rule, and some are very worried that the rebellion could grow. Hunac must act fast and decisively.

Binding Highlander and Coast-dweller
Long have legends told of the marriage of the sea goddess and mountain god and the binding of our respective ways of life under the Me'phaa cultural and linguistic heritage. Long have these legends stood in stark contrast to the reality of life on the Costa Chica - Yopes, Tlapanecs, and Me'phaa all divide themselves into numerous kingdoms and city-states as politically disjointed as any other region of Mesoamerica. But the recent outcome of royal marriage with Tlapan, once Yopitzinco's (Ivelios) foremost rivals in the highlands, has made manifest this legendary marriage, and just as importantly it has made clear to Witsu Ru'wa the mission: Yopitzinco must unify all the Me'phaa. He would begin by targeting Mexcaltepec for conquest.

After a brief though surprisingly difficult campaign, Mexcaltepec has fallen.

Assembly of Masters
The ruler of Ndachjian (Doomykins), Tejngoo, has launched an inquiry into restoring the Dam of Purron, formerly the largest in the known world and among Mesoamerica's finest engineering achievements, despite falling into disrepair after more than a thousand years of use. A technocratic council of sorts has emerged in Ndachjian, consisting only of the Chocho kingdom's best and brightest minds, while merchant parties are accompanied by engineers who go to distant lands seeking to study public works projects.
 
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Retamayooho Na Dehe, king of Acoliman, can't help but praise Cholollan's effort to help his poor subjects. Such endeavor can't be unnoticed. He also hopes that no violence will erupt because of Cholollan's religious reformation. May those state programs bring great prosperity and happiness to Cholollan as a whole.

Moreover, our great ruler would like to publicly announce that the he is more than willing to offer the unrivaled skills of the Otomi people to help Tejngoo in the restoration of the Dam of Purron.

OOC: Great work, Pixel!
 
Great General Cavujancha can only laugh and smirk at the poor display of combat ability of those who refused to surrender to his great kingdom. Xaratanga blesses us with a victory once more just as she did to my forefathers. In order to celebrate this victory and the birth of my first son, Terazi. I will organize a feast in our capital and the rulers of the Chumbia, Acoliman, Tzintzuntzan, Yuzu Dzaa and Yopitzinco are invited to this feast. To share our food and drink, if for some reason you can't come directly. Then we will gladly receive with the same hospitality a representative from your nation into our own.
 
Retamayooho Na Dehe, king of Acoliman, is more than glad to accept the invitation of the glorious Cavujancha. The best craftsmen in his kingdom are already working on the magnificent gifts that the monarch himself will present to Terazi during these festivities. May our shared future be prosperous.
 
To the Great General Cavujancha,

No true Purepecha would ever miss out on great festivities and celebrations. We will definitly send a delegation, and I will probably attend the celebration personally as well.

May Curicaueri, The Great Fire, bless your young son Terazi!
Irecha Tangaxuan Uanacaze of Tzintzuntzan



To all who are concerned by the aggressive expansion of Tenochtitlan and their allies,

We in the basin of Lake Pátzcuaro look upon the destruction brought upon the people of Anahuac, the objectively inferior basin around Lake Texcoco, by the Mexica of Tenochtitlan and their allies with great concern. We urge them to stop their wars, as we do not wish to see the violence spread to our friends in Tlaxcala or to the ancient city of Teotihuacan.
 
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