Far Payit

The Far Payit lands were a heavily forested jungle region of Maztica, occupying the peninsula on the eastern side of Maztica, directly south of Payit. The sea between the peninsula and the rest of the continent was called the Sea of Azul.

Geography
The region was covered with steamy, leaf-shrouded rainforests, some covering swamps or low mountains, sometimes interrupted by patches of farmed land or the ruins of ancient cities and temples.
 * Tulom-Itzi: Tulom-Itzi was the greatest city in Far Payit. It features, among other buildings, a massive temple to Qotal and the greatest observatory in Maztica.
 * Maxal: The City by the Sea, as Maxal was sometimes called, was indeed built on a bay on the south end of the peninsula. It was fairly isolated, though, due to a lack of easy overland routes to and from it.
 * Ixtzul: An abandoned city deep within the jungles of Far Payit.
 * The Great Salt Marsh: A massive swamp located on the southern tip of the peninsula, directly across the bay that the city of Maxal overlooks. It is home to many animals, including crocodiles and many different snakes that make the swamp dangerous to traverse.

Inhabitants
Far Payit was primarily occupied by humans of the Payit cultural group, called Itzas, who spoke the Payit language and lived mostly in small villages scattered around the jungles. They did have two great cities, Tulom-Itza, from which they took their name, and Maxal. In addition, villages of wild halflings were said to lie in the deepest parts of the jungle.

History
Centuries, possibly millenia, before the rise of Nexal, the peoples of Far Payit and Payit reached incredible heights of civilization and knowledge in their twin cities of Tulom-Itzi and Ulatos. Their sages and scholars created the writing system used by all Mazticans, and physicians learned how to treat nearly any disease or injury. Of all the deities, they worshiped Qotal the greatest, and performed no sacrifices of humans like the Mazticans to the west. Great works of art and pluma were created during this time, which lasted centuries. This was also when a great, paved highway was built connecting Ulatos and Tulom-Itzi.

This golden age ended when a prince of Tulom-Itzi came to greatly desire a princess of Ulatos, but she was already betrothed to another prince. Despite that, he plotted with his companions to steal her away, a plan that went into motion at her wedding. However, the warriors of Ulatos proved too numerous for the conspirators to defeat, and they, along with the princess, were slain. Not long afterwards, for no apparent reason, the Payit (which referred to both groups at the time) culture began to decline, with people leaving the cities and moving back into the jungles. Knowledge was lost, cities were abandoned and fell into ruin, and the great highway was slowly overgrown by the jungle.

Not long after, though, the tribe that would become the Nexalans arrived in the Valley of Nexal from the north. After Nexal's rise, merchants from Nexal began to travel to Payit to trade.

Society
The Itzas once had one of the greatest nations on Maztica, and retained much of their culture even during the decline of their population. They had an inherently peaceful culture, and abhorred violence. They did not practice human sacrifice or slavery, unlike the warlike Nexalans. Rulership was very informal among the Itzas: in a village, an honored warrior, wise man, or priest would be designated the headman, and would then have the responsibilities of dealing with outsiders and settling internal disputes. Rulership in the cities worked much the same way, with a warrior, sage, or priest winning respect from others for his wisdom and becoming leader by default.

The Itza people enjoyed a good deal of freedom in their lives, and were one of the few peoples in Maztica to allow women in positions of authority. They also had a strong tradition of knowledge, especially in regards to astronomy. However, they had a poor tradition of fighting, and had few warriors among them. Despite this, they had never been conquered.

The Itzas worshiped the Maztican pantheon, honoring Qotal the most. Some worshiped the elder god Kukul, as well.

Itzas were accomplished artisans and made many beautiful works of art over the years. They especially liked bright colors.

Economy
Villages were largely self-sufficient, growing crops such as coconuts, citrus, mango, and other fruits. Cities grew most of their own food in garden plots, but would trade with villagers. Each city had a market square for trading with both villagers and outsiders. The villagers might bring items such as rubber, gold, and jade, while foreign traders primarily brought obsidian to exchange for the brightly colored feathers that could only be found in the jungles of Far Payit.