IXCUINA

(eesh-KWEE-na)

Yacatecutli

The City-State of Yacatecutli

The Way Bringers of Yacatecutli are the mysterious priests who harbor the secrets of fold-space travel. Their city-state, Ixcuina, exists in the no-space between destinations within a space fold. It is kept there by the attentions of a circle of eight priests (twice the mystic number, four), who dwell in a constant state of meditation keeping the fold open. Since the city-state has no land mass of its own, the Way Bringers have claimed no-space itself as their homeland. They ask (and receive) tithes from the other city-states each year in return for travel privileges through no-space when folding. In addition to these privileges, the priest teach young pilots the Way of Seeing, the Way of Being, and the Way of Travel, the three disciplines necessary to fold space. Other city-states are wary of the Ixcuinans for a number of reasons. First, the education of navigators is almost exclusively their province. It could be done elsewhere, but space folds are dangerous in the extreme and poorly trained navigators/pilots would be a risk to more than just themselves. Secondly, since the entire city-state is within no-space, they are within a mere moment of anywhere in real space. Part of the tithe acts as assurance that Ixcuina will not suddenly appear above a vulnerable city to take vengeance for a small or lax payment.

Ixcuina is a place of mystery and mysticism for the Spirit Warrior Empire as a whole. All mecha pilots, and a few privileged powersuit pilots, are brought here for their initiation ceremonies. The awesome sight of the swirling blues and purples just outside the bubble of reality that houses Ixcuina hold the warriors transfixed as they take their solemn vows to the Empire, and serves well to intensify the dramatic rituals of the Way Bringers priests.

The priests themselves are arrogant beyond the common bravado of the Spirit Warrior. Confident that they are greater than any others in the Azteca Empire, they play a continuous game of one-upsmanship among themselves, seeking to prove which of them is greater than the others. One of the ways the mechwarriors play this game is by the acquisition of slaves. The more slave mecha a warrior has, the larger his presence on the battlefield. To enter a battlefield without a slave attendant is to be subject to hoots of derision from one's fellow warriors.

At the beginning of the current civil war, the Jaguar Lords made a deal with the Way Bringers. Favors were exchanged, marriages arranged, and promises were made to the Way Bringers so that regardless of any urgent requests coming from the KreeSaran homeworld, there would be no pickups. By purposefully abandoning Yaoltzin and the Feathered Serpents, Ixcuina appears to have allied with Chantico, but this is not so. The Way Bringers are merely opportunists who believe that a destabilized political situation will be easier to manipulate for their own purposes. They will likely fight to keep the situation unstable until, despite their efforts, one side finally gains the upper hand. If nothing can be done about this, Ixcuina will then join the side of the winners.

Ixcuina itself is the last ditch defensive position for the Spirit Warrior Empire. If all their borders were to crumble, if all their planets were to be lost, the Azteca, Tolteca, and Chichimeca would fall back to Ixcuina to regroup in no-space. From there they would rebuild their strength and attack their enemies anew.

Predominantly painted with the purples and reds that surround their city-state, Way Bringer mechs and powersuits tend to be more human in appearance than those of other city-states. Where others have adopted a bestial appearance, the priests of Yacatecutli have opted to celebrate their human nature instead.