TEPEYOLOHTLI

The city-state of Mictlantecutli lies at the bottom of a deep, steep sided valley devoid of vegetation.  The mountainous valley forms a tremendous ditch running out into a cold, gray sea.  The city-state starts at the rotting harbors of this sickened sea, sprawls across every square inch of the valley floor, and pushes its forced farms up onto the mountainsides themselves.  The bay becomes grayer each day as filth from the city vies with waste from the floating dropships as if in a race to see which can pollute the water faster.

The city of Tepeolohtli never seems to sleep.  Throngs of people shuffle slowly to their duties in an almost trance-like state at all hours of the day.  The well-to-do of the city cover their bodies with protective clothing and wear air filters to protect themselves from the dangerous chemical wastes that fill the air and floods the streets, but the majority of the people walk the streets unprotected.  The city is hideously overpopulated despite the fact that hundreds die each day from the pollutants, lack of food, and epidemics which sweep the city almost monthly.

The society is highly stratified.  Hereditary warrior clans, priests, and the nobility live in opulent splendor in penthouse dwellings located atop huge pyramids.  This create a looming, oppressive skyline far above the starving masses calculated to reduce the will of the worker even further.  A large middle class performs the duties of maintaining the city's day-to-day functions.  This class also supplies the bulk of the powersuit pilots.  Its enormous lower class is used as levies in foot wars.  In fact, they jump at the chance to get one square meal a day as warriors rather than continue to toil at the dangerous work of waste disposal, menial factory labor, or even become slaves.  For those peasants who decide that life is too horrible to live, there is one other final fate - to join in union with the mechanized city-state.  Workers can volunteer to become part of the fabric of the city-state and are bonded to the machinery operating the city.  The worker loses all control of bodily function, bur maintains awareness of what is happening and can speak.  However, he need never worry about food, living conditions...  or free will.

Death here is all pervasive.  Bodies litter the streets and gangs of slaves constantly work at piling the dead and near dead into trash compactor vehicles (who were once slaves themselves).  The populace has become jaded to the horrors of their everyday life and is fatalistic and lethargic.

The mecha and powersuits of the Death Messengers are constructed from the scavenged parts salvaged from past battles.  They prefer to paint their mecha black and decorate them with morbid art.  Mecha and powersuit pilots enjoy favored status within the city-state, and all mech are equipped with homing pods so they are more likely to return home safely.  Slave mecha are common in Mictlantecutli's ranks.

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