Maxal

Maxal, also called the City by the Sea, was a city on the southern coast of Far Payit in Maztica.

Geography
The city of Maxal overlooked a bay on the southern tip of the peninsula of Far Payit. The Great Salt Marsh sat on directly opposite Maxal on the other side of the bay, and the bay itself opened into the Sea of Azul. Maxal was fairly isolated from the rest of Far Payit (and Maztica in general) due to a lack of easy overland routes leading to it.

Maxal was built of stone, and was a walled city (something rare in Maztica). The surrounding lands outside of the wall were farmed. Inside the city itself, which was built on a narrow jut of land, a great pyramid sat on the very end, overlooking both the city and the bay. Smaller buildings, including the temples of Qotal and Azul, surrounded the great pyramid. The center of the city was occupied by a large marketplace.

Inhabitants
Maxal was inhabited by humans of the Itza ethnic group, and spoke the Payit language. They also worshiped the Maztican pantheon, with a special reverence for Qotal (like all Itzas) and Azul. In the city and surrounding farmlands, there was a total population of some 20,000 (in 1362 DR).

Society
The citizens of Maxal were Itzas, and possessed a similar culture to that of the rest of Far Payit, but with some differences. Most notably, they had a remarkable level of seamanship, building canoes big enough to carry 40-50 people and sail across the Sea of Azul. In addition, although they did farm mayz, beans, and cocoa in the arable land by the city, they got as much of their food from the sea- the bay that Maxal overlooked was full of fish and kelp, both important food sources for them.

In their biggest canoes, they would sail across the Sea of Azul to to trade with villages of Green Folk that lived on the western shores. However, Maxal's remote location meant that they rarely traded with others.