Twin expanses of endless blue stretched out before Ixchel. An existence once confined between the canopies of the rain-forest expanse and a layer of verdant ferns and fungi that carpeted the forest ground was faced with the vastness of the open ocean. The captain of the merchant vessel Ixchel had booked passage on was carrying cargoes of cacao beans from the sweltering lands of the the triple alliance to the more temperate locale of Fiore. Though the many religious orders of the triple alliance had once been in possession of much gold it had long dried up as a source of trade due to both greedy prospectors and the desire for Western amenities that it could be traded for.
Thus the priests of Huitzilopochtli had relied on the Fiorian citizens relatively newly-found taste for chocolate of both the eating and drinking variety. Even a superstitious and wary captain can be enticed to harbor a larger than life walking effigy of sacred stone with enough financial motivation. So it was that Ixchel waited on the deck of the ship - the salty wind tossing her obsidian tresses. Beside her loomed all nine feet of Tlatocan resplendent as only a piece of living art can be.
Many thoughts passed through the young sorceresses mind, dreams and fears, goals and fancies. But this contemplation was broken with a sudden unexpected sound - that of a most unusual horn. Fashioned from the shell of a large mollusk - possibly a conch of prodigious size the blast could doubtlessly be heard for leagues around. Were any other ships in the area such a hail would be easily identified as a call to attention. Her eyes searching for the source of this call -Ixchel's vision finally alighted on the point of origin. A figure somewhat humanoid in appearance but clearly no man. Encased in a crimson carapace and clutching the conch horn in one over-sized pincer the being displayed characteristics of both crustacean and human. Unbeknownst to Ixchel the shoreline of Lavanitir was relatively close - there was a chance that the crab-mans call would attract more attantion from the port cities denizens.
Thus the priests of Huitzilopochtli had relied on the Fiorian citizens relatively newly-found taste for chocolate of both the eating and drinking variety. Even a superstitious and wary captain can be enticed to harbor a larger than life walking effigy of sacred stone with enough financial motivation. So it was that Ixchel waited on the deck of the ship - the salty wind tossing her obsidian tresses. Beside her loomed all nine feet of Tlatocan resplendent as only a piece of living art can be.
Many thoughts passed through the young sorceresses mind, dreams and fears, goals and fancies. But this contemplation was broken with a sudden unexpected sound - that of a most unusual horn. Fashioned from the shell of a large mollusk - possibly a conch of prodigious size the blast could doubtlessly be heard for leagues around. Were any other ships in the area such a hail would be easily identified as a call to attention. Her eyes searching for the source of this call -Ixchel's vision finally alighted on the point of origin. A figure somewhat humanoid in appearance but clearly no man. Encased in a crimson carapace and clutching the conch horn in one over-sized pincer the being displayed characteristics of both crustacean and human. Unbeknownst to Ixchel the shoreline of Lavanitir was relatively close - there was a chance that the crab-mans call would attract more attantion from the port cities denizens.