"OC YE NECHCA..."*

... there were the ancients.  Powerful beyond even imagining, ancient beyond reckoning, incomprehensible and omnipotent.  Such was their strength that when they warred, as they frequently did, the stars of the heavens were their weapons.  In their folly and their anger they nearly destroyed the universe, but at last among them rose a group more powerful than the rest, who devoured all those who opposed them.  Chief among these was Ometecutli and in the fullness of time he devoured even the others of his own faction, and thus existed, victorious and alone in the universe.

Eventually Ometecutli grew bored in his isolation and sought for companions with whom he might interact.  But nowhere in the universe did Ometecutli find any who were his equals.  Thus did he determine to create a race of companions for himself. Thus he created the 400 tribes of the Huitznahua, and began to guide them in their development, that they might one day be as he himself was.  He instructed each of the 400 tribes in their destiny - they themselves must seek out others throughout the universe, just as he had done.  Each tribe was to select one race to foster and nurture, just as Ometecutli had fostered and nurtured the tribes of the Huitznahua.  In this way Ometecutli hoped to recreate the manner in which his own people had lived, and thus experience again a history he could no longer remember.

At first all was well with the tribes of the Huitznahua - each selected a race of their own to nurture and aid.  But as time went by, some tribes perceived that others had selected more promising races, or had succeeded better or faster in their development and nurturing.  Those who had not done as well grew fearful that those who had done better would receive more favor in the eyes of Ometecutli.  IN their fear they began to hinder the works of the more successful tribes.  Eventually they were discovered, and eventually the tribes of the Huitznahua began to war among themselves.  First the races that they nurtured were destroyed, then the Huitznahua themselves were nearly destroyed in their battles.  Thus did the first destruction come about.  And Ometecutli was displeased.

Ometecutli raised the Huitznahua from the rubble of their war and set them once again on the path he had chosen for them.  The Huitznahua, fearful of another cataclysmic war, restrained their petty jealousies. They selected new races, and opened their minds and spirits, teaching them many of the secrets of the universe.  Eventually these new races made contact with one another, but this proved to be disastrous, for unlike the Huitznahua they had not yet grown restrained.  The new races began to war with one another.  Eventually, these wars became so violent that the Huitznahua themselves entered the conflict to protect their charges. Once again the fury of the conflict grew until the universe was very nearly destroyed.  Thus did the second destruction come about.  And Ometecutli was displeased.

Again Ometecutli raised the Huitznahua from the depth to which the war had plunged them.  This time he instructed them sternly not to interfere in the wars of the races they nurtured.  Again the Huitznahua sought out promising races and began to instruct and nurture this time. The cultures that they oversaw prospered and spread throughout the universe, learning much wisdom and discovering many things.  They built vast empires, and learned secrets that even the Huitznahua themselves did not know.  But gradually the various races began to think themselves equal to, or even superior to the Huitznahua.  In a great rebellion the races rose up and made war on the Huitznahua, who were forced to fight back to preserve themselves.  Thus did the third destruction come about.  And Ometecutli was displeased.

For the third time Ometecutli raised the Huitznahua up.  This time he raised them to the point where they were able to leave their bodies, becoming creatures of spirit alone much as Ometecutli himself.  Then he once again sent them out into the universe to set about their task. This time the Huitznahua vowed that they would have no direct contact with the races they nurtured.  Instead, they created great servants of metal and invested them with vital spirit, and sent them as emissaries to their people.  This plan worked for a time, but in the end the Huitznahua discovered to their dismay that they had put too much of themselves into their servants.  The metal servants rebelled against the Huitznahua, building armies of themselves and fighting against the Huitznahua for control of the universe.  In addition, they corrupted the races that the Huitznahua had selected, and turned these races against the Huitznahua as well. In the end the Huitznahua were forced to destroy both their metal servants and the races who had allied with them.  Thus did the third destruction come about.  And Ometecutli was displeased.

Desperate and frustrated, the Huitznahua cried out to Ometecutli for guidance.

And Ometecutli answered them:

"Your way is in error.  You have always sought to enlighten the warrior and then have him do your bidding.  This is wrong.  Enlightened warriors will not do things unthinkingly, they will always question authority.  Finish the war before educating the masses. In this way you will succeed."

"You must not lose your grip on the reigns of power. You cannot expect a beast of burden to respond to your tasks properly if you do not maintain command. Never let your warriors have enough power to suspect they are your equals.  Jealously guard your strengths."

"You must not fight against one another directly.  Your power is too evenly matched and you are capable of destroying the universe with the strength you now wield. You must only fight though others of limited power or you will lose everything."

And Ometecutli replied, saying,

Create the rules you speak of and give them to me.  The one who violates even the smallest of these rules will be destroyed, completely and forever."

And so the Huitznahua gathered together and created the Covenants of War. It was decided that each would cultivate and nurture a single, promising race, train it in the arts of war, and then pit that race against the races of the other 399 tribes of the Huitznahua.  The race which defeated all of the others would be rewarded by the Huitznahua and elevated to godhood.

One tribe among the 400 chose the planet earth as the world from which it would draw its race to nurture and train.  The first people chosen by the Huitznahua were the Tolteca, a people of great spirit and warrior heart.  The Huitznahua selected the greatest warriors from among the Tolteca and brought them to the stars.  There they trained them in the arts of war and supplied them with weapons and Warrior Skins derived from those developed by the rebellious metal servants during the Fourth Destruction, and sent them to war against the other tribes of the Huitznahua. The Tolteca proved to be all the Huitznahua had hoped for and more, and won many battles among the stars against the alien KreeSara, the Ja-Nakath, and the mysterious Shadow Walkers.  During their battles with the Ja-Nakath the Tolteca captured the world of Tamoachan, formerly the homeworld of that race, and destroyed them completely.

But at last, after many years of war, even the mighty Tolteca grew wearyand began to falter.  The Huitznahua decided that they would return to earth to gather more warriors from the Tolteca.  But when they arrived there was no sign of the Tolteca.  Their mighty empire had been completely destroyed by a savage and barbarous group known as the Chichimeca.  The Huitznahua examined the Chichimeca, but found them unsuitable for their goals, for the Dog People put their faith only in themselves, not in any of the Huitznahua.  But there was little other available material, save for a small tribe known as the Tenochcan who seemed to possess the necessary wit and bravery.  The Huitznahua raised up the Tenochcan into a mighty empire - the Azteca, and when they deemed the time to be right they selected some from among the greatest warriors and priests among the Azteca to travel to the stars to serve them.

But in the meantime, things had been going poorly for the Tolteca -the pressures of war and battling simultaneously against three other empires were making things very difficult for them.  The Huitznahua realized that it would take some time to train the Azteca properly, and that something had to be done immediately to aid the faltering Tolteca.  Thus in addition to the greatest among the Azteca they selected also many from among the Chichimeca.  Instead of the leisurely training that the Aztaca received, the Chichimeca were trained quickly and often brutally by the Huitznahua, then placed among the Windhomes of the Tamoachan system to protect and guard the Azteca as they prepared for war.

For two hundred years the Azteca have learned, adapted, and prepared for war, guarded by the Chichimeca.  The Tolteca continue to grow weaker, barely holding onto the borders of the empire they have carved out.  Now the Azteca have taken the field for the first time, however, and have driven the KreeSara back to their homeworld.  Even now the forces of Quetzalcoatl strike at the heart of the KreeSara empire, and soon they will be defeated, even as the Tolteca defeated the Ja-Nakath.

*"Once upon a time..."

And yes, we know that Palenque was a Maya site, not Aztec.  Deal with it.

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