Teoticuaitl
Blood-Soaked Dreams
Puebla is a place full of dreams. Some of those dreams are far older than the colonists and their descendants could ever imagine. But all of those dreams are constantly compressed under the brutish hand of nightmarish monsters. The Sabbat crush the hope out of their human “herds”, luring would-be Dreamers into tragic Blood Feasts. What the undead do not prey upon becomes ridden with fear, desperation, and ultimately, despondency. Even the Unseelie have a difficult time thriving in Puebla. Some cottage industry-styled manufacturing and crafts go on in smaller communities near the city. Potential Glamour may be found there, but the roads can be treacherous: such small towns tend to be near Nahuani strongholds, and what few Trods may be open are even more capricious.
Consequently, the Kithain remain hard to find in Puebla. Many get by through acting as cruel if not crueler than the undead. As far as the commoners are concerned, the best thing about Puebla’s banal streets is the lack of interest by the nobility. No Sidhe courts exist here, despite being considered part of the Kingdom of the Feathered Snake. Duke Topaz and his knights have no power this far south into Mexico. The real power is found among the “Pure Land” Gallain. It is they who truly control the Dreaming and flow of Glamour in these parts, leaving only the barren streets of Puebla for the commoner Kithain.
Gallain
The Nunnehi are not native to this part of Mexico but rather instead the Pure Land Great Family called the Nahuani. Two tribes comprise the dreams of the indigeneous peoples of this region: the sprite-like Aluxob and the sorcerous shapechangers called Nagual.
Laws
The Escheat is given little notice by the Unseelie-dominant commoners. The few freeholds generally enjoy good management who at the least uphold the Right of Ignorance and some form of the Right of Safe Haven out of a mutual sense of survival. The Nahuani follow their own laws, much of which are steeped in Mayan or Aztec rituals of respect and reverence towards the spirits. The Nagual are especially dangerous in the enforcement of taboos, using their magic to painfully punish mortals and faeries alike who dare transgress.
The Dreaming
Nearly no freeholds thrive in or around Puebla that the Kithain may dare claim. The Nahuani claim the rural and wild ones and fiercely defend them against the Kithain, who often act too aggressively and unrestrained (Unseelie, basically) to ever appeal to the Nahuani’s charitable sides.
The Near Dreaming of Puebla is in a sad state: the streets are often covered in a gray loam and chimera appear scrawny and starved (and rarely have Glamour to lend). Beyond the city, the Dreaming suddenly changes, becoming vibrant and green. A constant wind blows tall grass and hides treasures. But it is wild and overgrown and also filled with dangerous chimerical beasts. The Kithain also fear it is filled with Nahuani masquerading as harmless chimera to lure them into ambushes. For the Nahuani’s part, though they come from the Dreaming (they call it the Yayauhqui), they focus much of their attention on the health of natural spirits (the Umbra).
Special Events
Special events are annual (or more frequent) holidays or special ritual days that the main group or groups observe as a whole community. Attendance and participation are often expected of all members, and sometimes required.
Carnival
The Kithain in Puebla consider Carnival the most important holiday to uphold. For a few brief days, Glamour surges, and they gobble up as much as they can, Seelie and Unseelie alike. Energetic parades and colorful costumes and great food dominate this pre-Lent celebration, in which the fae have long and traditionally indulged.
Rain Festivals
Traditionally, the indigenous peoples of Puebla celebrated three distinct Rain Festivals, each demarcating the coming of the wet season in accordance to their farming. The Nahuani (and especially the Aluxob) uphold these celebrations, renewing and reaffirming their mortal kin’s faith in the old ways. These festivals are perhaps the least bloody of ancient Aztec celebrations. Rarely were people (or any living creatures) sacrificed. Instead, ritual obeisance to the gods of rain (like Tlaloc) were observed in February, led by senior priests, or rather the most huehueintin (Grumps). March sees the second Rain Festival, wherein fresh flower arrangements adorn the shrines. October honors the third festival, in which the people craft small models of mountains from whatever artistic skills they possess, to appeal to the gods to bring the rains over the peaks into their farmlands.
“The old magic, it’s still here. It dwells in the dust, in the wind, in the grass, in the mountains. And it’s in me.”
-- Ixcamara Momoztli, Tlahtoani of the Teoticuaitl Protectorate
