Zaltec

Zaltec
Alignment	Chaotic Evil
Divine Rank	Greater God
Pantheon	Maztican
Portfolio	Hishna magic, violence, war
Domains	Major / Minor: Charm, Combat, Hishna, Sun
Home Plane	Zompantli, the Place of Skulls (Carceri), Teotli Itic (Abyss)
Worshippers	Mazticans

Zaltec, the Bringer of War, and Eater of Hearts, is the Maztican god of war, violence, and hishna magic.

Lore

Zaltec was the second son of Kukul and Maztica, born after Qotal. His initial gift to humanity, after their creation, was honor and courage. After Qotal gave humans maize, he grew jealous of his brothers fame, so he created and gave his clerics and warriors hishna magic, which they used to wage great and terrible wars that spread throughout the land.

Eventually Qotal, with help from Maztica, gave humans pluma magic, which caused the wars to end. This angered Zaltec, who took his maca and killed Maztica. War then erupted among the gods, with Azul, Tezca, and Plutoq taking Zaltec's side. The gods of both sides commanded that a great pyramid be built for this war, and atop it, each god performed a sacrifice to show their courage, with Zaltec having 10,000 brave warrior killed as his sacrifice. The gods then did battle, with Qotal eventually winning against Zaltec, casting him down the pyramids steps.

Zaltec then lived in exile, until Kiltzi came to him, seeking shelter from Qotal, and eventually Watil and Nula came to him as well, having heard what Qotal did, and causing the world to suffer. Zaltec again grew in power, and sent his clerics to tell that the gods were hungry and demanded sacrifices, and with that, they offered themselves, and Zaltec feasted on the hearts offered to him, becoming the dominant god in Maztica, whilst Qotal left the land.

Appearance

Zaltec appears as a humanoid with a jaguar-like head and the fangs of a rattlesnake. He's perpetually scowling, or snarling, and his hands are ready grasp the closest weapon.

Worshippers

Zaltec is worshipped through blooshed and human sacrifice. Killing others in the battlefield and waging war in his name is acceptable, fresh hearts offered on altars are the most satisfying to him. His clerics wear soiled, black robes, cover their hair in the blood of their victims and twirl it into jutting points, mark themselves with ritual wounds, and are constantly fasting.