Ixtzul

Ixtzul was a lost city deep within the jungles of Far Payit on the continent of Maztica.

Geography
The Valley of Ixtzul was a five-mile (? km) long valley on the eastern edge of the mountains that ran down the middle of the Far Payit peninsula. At its wider, western side, the Ixtzul River entered the valley in a 120-ft high waterfall. The river ran the length of the valley before exiting through the valley's mouth on the eastern side. Because the land rose sharply on the north and south sides of the valley, the only way into it was through the valley's mouth, a narrow, 100-yard gap, of which the river took up the middle 50 yards. The valley was surrounded by mountainous jungle.

In the valley itself, there were few trees and the grass was short, due to the bacar. The bacar also had six outposts scattered throughout the valley, each with an army ant colony in it. There were also about eighty stelae (ornate stone columns about 10 ft tall, part of the enchantments on H'Calos) located in the valley itself. On the eastern side of the valley was a pool formed by the waterfall, and the city of Ixtzul itself. On the northern cliff of the valley was a small set of ruins, the remnants of a small farming community.

The city of Ixtzul itself was centered around a great plaza (under which H'Calos slept). The plaza was used as a marketplace as well, and pyramids built as temples to the gods were built on the edges. Another pyramid served as a debate forum, and the biggest pyramid (about 120 ft tall, or _ km) was a temple to the Star Worm itself. Another 14 stelae dotted the plaza, each one dedicated to a Revered Counselor of Ixtzul, with writing detailing their reign on it. Another, smaller plaza in Ixtzul was the Library Court, by which the Revered Counselor's palace and the city's library were built. Other buildings of note in the city included the ball court and a set of soldiers' barracks.

Inhabitants
The valley was originally inhabited by humans. However, they eventually left or died, leaving only the giant ant-creatures that the last Revered Counselor created were left. These creatures, the bacar, soon became the valley's only inhabitants.

In addition, the Star Worm, H'Calos, slept in the valley beneath the city of Ixtzul. Magic cast by the humans, and maintained by the bacar, kept it bound and asleep.

Society
The humans in Ixtzul were Itzas. They farmed the valley extensively, worshiped the Maztican pantheon, and were accomplished at pluma and hishna magic. They were ruled by a Revered Counselor.

The bacar, however, had their own organized "culture", which greatly resembled an ant colony. They spent much of their time maintaining and fixing the city and its wards (the enchantments on H'Calos), guarded the valley, and collecting food.

History
Originally, the valley of Ixtzul was inhabited by seven human tribes, each ruled by a petty chieftain. This changed when the Star Worm, encased in a cocoon, fell from the sky (and supposedly from the stars) and landed in the valley. The chieftain Osctl Sleeping Turtle found the cocoon before H'Calos got out, intending to make a bargain with the creature so that he could gain power. What happened afterward was a mystery, except that H'Calos ended up being magically bound to sleep.

After the Star Worm's arrival, the tribe of Osctl Sleeping Turtle, and Osctl himself, began to claim that Osctl had made a bargain with H'Calos, who had become their guardian. They would protect its sleep, and it would protect them, they claimed. The tribe founded the city of Ixtzul, building over where H'Calos lay sleeping underground, and Osctl became the first Revered Counselor of Ixtzul, uniting the seven tribes.

Some 200 years later, the city had grown greatly, but overcrowding and farming had depleted the valley, forcing the people to leave or die. The last Revered Counselor of Ixtzul, Greyst Seven Cloud, created the bacar from ants to be enternal, dedicated guardians of the Star Worm. The bacar lived in the valley, maintaining the city and magical wards, for at least another 600 years after the humans had left.