Zaltec

Bringer of War, Eater of Hearts

Maztican Deities: Maztica | Qotal | Zaltec | Azul | Tezca | Plutoq | Kiltzi | Watil | Nula | Eha

Aliases:	Micat (poisonous desert viper aspect)
Gender:	Male
Demonym:	Zaltecan
Power Level:	Unknown
Symbol:	Hearts, Skulls, Macas, Knives, Bloody Hand, Talons, Fangs, Jaguars, Rattlesnakes
Alignment:	Chaotic Evil
Portfolio:	War, Destruction, violence, hishna, magic.
Worshipers:	Brutal warriors, tyrants, torturers, practitioners of hishna magic.
Arelith worshippers' alignments:	CE, NE, CN
Aspects:	War and Destruction, Magic

Description

The god of war, violence, and hishna magic.

Physical Appearance

Zaltec's appearance is much more human-like than Qotal's, in that it is a torso walking upright, with two legs, two arms, and a face. That face, however, is beastlike and savage with widespread jaws revealing a mouth filled with curved teeth like a jaguar's, sometimes with two very long, sharp fangs like those of a rattlesnake. Zaltec is almost always visualized as a hungry, angry god. His face is perpetually scowling or snarling, and his hands are ready to clasp around any weapon, to drive home any blade.

Role

Zaltec is the god of war, and as such most violence is worked in his name. He is known to all the peoples of Maztica, though none have raised him to such as height as did the Nexala. They attributed the patronage of Zaltec as directly responsible for their success at war, and they tried to reward him by carrying the cult of sacrifice to appallingly excessive levels. The Feathered Wars, ironically named after a symbol of Zaltec's chief rival Qotal, were waged in Zaltec's name, in an effort to procure sufficient sacrifices during times of peace.

Tenets and Priestly Practices

Zaltec demands blood and hearts, and his priests struggle to keep up with his essentially insatiable hunger. Hearts offered on the altar are deemed the most satisfying, though slaying on the field of battle is also gratifying to him. He is thought to favor the fortunes of those who wage war in his name. Zaltec's priests fast constantly, and often mark themselves with ritual wounds. Their characteristic garb is a black, soiled robe. They cake their hair with the blood of their victims, and twirl it into sharp points jutting out in all directions from the head.

Priests of Zaltec gain access to the Hishna (Talonmagic) and tend to focus on battle, death, destruction, agony, and war in their magic rites.

See Also

• Arelith forums
• Forgotten Realms Wiki